⚔️ CRTE – Certified Red Team Expert

🧠 1. Certification Name and Issuing Body

  • Full name: Certified Red Team Expert (CRTE)

  • Issuing organization: Pentester Academy / Altered Security

  • Reputation and global recognition: Considered a challenging and highly hands-on certification in advanced Active Directory (AD) exploitation. Builds upon CRTP and is respected among red team professionals and adversary simulation teams worldwide.

📚 2. Curriculum and Skills Covered

  • Covered domains:

    1. Advanced AD enumeration techniques

    2. Abuse of Kerberos delegation (Unconstrained, Constrained, RBCD)

    3. Lateral movement using various protocols (WMI, DCOM, WinRM)

    4. Forest persistence (SID History, Shadow Credentials, Skeleton Key, Golden/Silver Tickets)

    5. Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) attacks

    6. Domain trust abuse and multi-forest attacks

    7. Advanced ACL abuse and DCSync attacks

    8. Red team infrastructure setup, OPSEC-aware operations

  • Depth of content: Deep, highly realistic simulations of enterprise environments; focused on stealth, privilege escalation, domain persistence, and evasion

  • Technologies and tools included: Cobalt Strike (trial), SharpHound, Rubeus, PowerView, Certify, Mimikatz, Kekeo, AD Module, custom scripts

  • Relevance in the current job market: High — red team roles, internal threat emulation teams, and high-tier pentesting positions

  • Mapping to frameworks: Full mapping to MITRE ATT&CK (multiple categories), NIST 800-115, NICE Framework (AN-PR-OM specialties)

🧩 3. Prerequisites and Recommended Level

  • Prior certifications or experience required?: Strongly recommended: CRTP or equivalent AD pentesting experience

  • Expected skill level: Advanced

  • Required knowledge: Solid understanding of Active Directory, PowerShell, Kerberos, post-exploitation techniques, red team methodology

💵 4. Cost

  • Total cost: ~$399–$499 USD (includes course, labs, and 1 exam attempt)

  • Study materials or lab access included?: Yes — full access to advanced multi-forest lab, videos, and lab manual

  • Discounts: Available via bundles (e.g., CRTP + CRTE), during sales, or academic partnerships

⏳ 5. Estimated Preparation Time

  • Recommended study hours: 100–150+ hours depending on experience

  • Self-paced or instructor-led: Self-paced

  • Learning modes: Pre-recorded videos, lab guide, access to large simulated AD environments

🎯 6. Target Roles and Career Path

  • Job roles: Senior Red Teamer, Adversary Emulation Operator, Internal Pentester, Cyber Threat Emulation Analyst, Purple Team Engineer

  • Career goals: Designed for professionals leading offensive engagements or simulating advanced adversary behavior

  • Type: Deep technical and stealth-focused red teaming specialization in AD environments

🧪 7. Exam Format and Difficulty

  • Is the exam online or in-person?: Online (via screen recording, not live-proctored)

  • Theoretical, hands-on, or both?: 100% hands-on

  • Proctored exam or testing center?: Not live-proctored but reviewed manually

  • Length and number of questions: 48 hours lab access + 48 hours to submit full engagement-style report

  • Difficulty level or average pass rate: High — requires strong AD knowledge, chaining of attacks, and structured documentation

📜 8. Validity and Renewal

  • Does it expire?: No — lifetime certification

  • Renewal process: None required

🧰 9. Study Resources Available

  • Official documentation: Lab manual, videos, and access to the CRTE AD lab

  • Recommended books:

    • The Hacker Playbook 3

    • Adversarial Tradecraft in Cybersecurity

    • SpecterOps ADCS whitepapers

  • Online labs or platforms: CRTE official lab, Hack The Box (Enterprise and AD-focused boxes), CyberWarFare Labs

  • YouTube channels, community guides: John Hammond (CRTE/AD content), IppSec, HackTricks AD Advanced section

  • Online communities: Reddit (r/redteamsec), Altered Security Discord, AD Attack Slack groups

💼 10. Industry Value and Demand

  • Is it frequently mentioned in job postings?: Less frequent than OSCP or CRTO, but highly respected when listed for red team roles

  • Does it boost your profile with recruiters?: Yes — proves advanced AD post-exploitation and stealth operator skills

  • Is it recognized by top companies or certain countries?: Yes — especially in enterprise-level consulting firms and red/purple teams

  • What’s the average salary?: $120,000–160,000+ USD/year depending on geography and operational role

🧭 11. Related Certifications and Progression

  • Is it part of a larger learning path?: Yes — second level in the Red Team track after CRTP

  • What can you study after completing it?:

    • CRTO (SpecterOps) for C2 and adversary emulation

    • OSEP for evasion and tradecraft

    • CRTE2 (coming soon) for even deeper AD persistence

  • How does it compare or complement other certs?:

    • More focused on stealth and lateral movement in AD than OSCP or CEH

    • A solid complement to CRTO and OSEP for modern red team capability