This page is provided for study guidance and may not always reflect the latest official exam updates. If you are unsure about any detail, verify on the official provider website. Official exam page.
CompTIA • Cysa Plus
CompTIA Cyber Security Analyst (CS0-003)
Enhance security operations processes, differentiate threat intelligence and threat hunting, and identify malicious activity using appropriate tools.
Practice setup
Exam info
- Exam ID
- CS0-003
- Cost of Exam
- $425.00
- Length of Test
- 165 Minutes
- Number of Questions
- Maximum of 85
View full exam details
- Exam Versions
- V3
- Launch Date
- June 6, 2023
- Expected Retirement Date
- ~3 Years from Launch (estimated 2026)
- Recommended Experience
- Network+, Security+, or equivalent knowledge, with a minimum of 4 years of hands-on experience as an incident response analyst, security operations center (SOC) analyst, or equivalent experience
- Validity
- 3 years
- Question Types
- Multiple Choice / Performance Based
- Passing Score
- 750 (on a scale of 100-900)
Domains and Objectives
Security operations1.033%
Objectives in this domain
- System and network architecture: log ingestion, OS concepts, infrastructure, network architecture, IAM, encryption, and sensitive data protection.
- Malicious activity indicators: network anomalies (bandwidth spikes, rogue devices), host issues (unauthorized software, data exfiltration), application irregularities (unexpected communication, service interruptions), and social engineering threats.
- Tools and techniques: Wireshark, SIEM, VirusTotal; techniques like pattern recognition and email analysis; scripting in Python and PowerShell.
- Threat intelligence and hunting: threat actors, TTPs, confidence levels, collection methods, intelligence sharing, and hunting techniques.
- Process improvement: standardizing processes, streamlining operations, integrating tools, and using a single pane of glass.
Vulnerability management2.030%
Objectives in this domain
- Vulnerability scanning: asset discovery; internal vs. external; agent vs. agentless; credentialed vs. non-credentialed; passive vs. active; static vs. dynamic; critical infrastructure scanning.
- Assessment tool output: network scanning, web app scanners, vulnerability scanners, debuggers, multipurpose tools, and cloud infrastructure assessments.
- Vulnerability prioritization: CVSS interpretation, validating findings, exploitability, asset value, and zero-day considerations.
- Mitigation controls: controls for XSS, overflow vulnerabilities, and data poisoning.
- Vulnerability response: compensating controls, patching, configuration management, maintenance windows, exceptions, governance, SLOs, secure SDLC, and threat modeling.
Incident response management3.020%
Objectives in this domain
- Attack methodology frameworks: cyber kill chain, diamond model of intrusion analysis, MITRE ATT&CK, OSSTMM, and OWASP testing guide.
- Incident response activities: detection, analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery.
- Incident management life cycle: incident response plans, tools, playbooks, tabletop exercises, training, BC/DR, forensic analysis, and root cause analysis.
Reporting and communication4.017%
Objectives in this domain
- Vulnerability management reporting: compliance reports, action plans, inhibitors to remediation, metrics, KPIs, and stakeholder communication.
- Incident response reporting: incident declaration, escalation, reporting, communication, root cause analysis, lessons learned, and metrics/KPIs.
Resources
Resources are being added for this exam.
Exam history
The History of CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-003 Context)
Last reviewed: 2026-03-08
CompTIA CySA+ was designed to validate analyst-level cybersecurity skills centered on security operations, vulnerability management, and incident response. Unlike introductory security certifications that focus mainly on broad fundamentals, CySA+ has consistently emphasized defensive execution in active environments where analysts interpret data, prioritize risk, and respond to evolving threats.
As cybersecurity teams matured, organizations needed professionals who could bridge tooling and decision-making. CySA+ emerged to address that need by focusing on practical SOC and blue-team responsibilities, including threat detection workflows, telemetry interpretation, and incident lifecycle activities that map to day-to-day analyst work.
A defining characteristic of CySA+ is its balance between technical analysis and communication outcomes. Candidates are expected not only to identify and mitigate issues, but also to translate findings into reports, escalation guidance, and stakeholder-ready recommendations. That dual expectation reflects real operations where analysis without communication has limited organizational impact.
Over its versions, CySA+ has evolved with changes in threat landscape and enterprise architecture. Objective priorities have increasingly accounted for cloud and hybrid environments, modern adversary behaviors, structured vulnerability programs, and coordinated response playbooks that require cross-team collaboration.
Earlier generations established the certification's analyst-focused identity and practical orientation. The CS0-002 era expanded exam relevance for SOC functions and threat-focused workflows. The current CS0-003 version, launched on June 6, 2023, continues that trajectory with clearer framing around security operations maturity, vulnerability lifecycle management, and reporting discipline.
CS0-003 reinforces the expectation that analysts must combine tooling proficiency with process rigor. Candidates are expected to work across detection, investigation, prioritization, remediation guidance, and post-incident learning, not just isolated technical tasks.
Compared with older versions, the current exam places stronger emphasis on integrating threat intelligence, hunting concepts, and measurable reporting into operational security programs. This aligns the credential with how modern security teams measure effectiveness and continuously improve defensive posture.
CySA+ remains an important vendor-neutral credential for professionals pursuing security analyst pathways because it validates actionable defensive capability. Its historical direction has stayed consistent: evolve objective detail with modern threats and tooling while preserving analyst-first, operations-driven competency as the core mission.
Change tracker
CS0-003 (V3) launched
CompTIA released CySA+ CS0-003 with updated analyst-focused domains covering security operations, vulnerability management, incident response management, and reporting/communication.
Expanded emphasis on operational reporting and communication
Current objectives make communication outcomes more explicit, including incident reporting, remediation planning context, stakeholder metrics, and process-improvement alignment for security programs.
CS0-002 launched
CS0-002 strengthened practical SOC and threat-focused workflows, broadening CySA+ coverage for contemporary security operations, vulnerability handling, and incident response activities.
CySA+ introduced (CS0-001)
CompTIA introduced CySA+ as a behavioral analytics and threat-detection oriented certification, establishing a dedicated analyst-level credential between foundational and advanced cybersecurity tracks.
CySA+ maintained as defensive analyst pathway
Across revisions, CySA+ has retained its core role as a vendor-neutral certification for blue-team and SOC-oriented professionals focused on detection, response, and continuous security operations improvement.