CKS: Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist Prep

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

This course delivers exam-focused preparation for the Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) exam from The Linux Foundation and CNCF, taught by Aseem Mankotia. CKS is a hands-on, performance-based exam administered on a live Kubernetes cluster with no multiple-choice questions, and it requires an active Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) certification to register — this course assumes that prerequisite and goes straight into the command-line and manifest work the real exam demands. You will work through all six official CNCF curriculum domains in order — Cluster Setup, Cluster Hardening, System Hardening, Minimize Microservice Vulnerabilities, Supply Chain Security, and Monitoring, Logging, and Runtime Security — with the heaviest emphasis placed on the three 20%-weighted domains that dominate the task list.

Every chapter follows a practical, zero-fluff structure: real kubectl commands, real YAML manifests, and real tool workflows for NetworkPolicy default-deny rules, kube-bench CIS benchmarking, RBAC least-privilege design, AppArmor and seccomp profiles, Pod Security Admission, OPA Gatekeeper and Kyverno policy engines, gVisor and Kata Containers runtime sandboxes, Trivy image scanning, kubesec static analysis, SBOM generation and image signing with Sigstore/Cosign, Falco runtime threat detection, and Kubernetes audit logging. Aseem Mankotia walks through each concept the way it shows up on the exam: a scenario, the control or manifest that solves it, and the common trap that catches unprepared candidates. Practice exercises are concept- and scenario-based so you can rehearse the same reasoning the live exam requires, using your own free-tier cluster such as minikube or kind.

The final chapter is a complete two-hour exam simulation walkthrough with a task-triage and time-management plan modeled on the real exam format of roughly 15 to 16 performance-based tasks. Exam format details, fees, task counts, the Kubernetes version tested, and the CKA prerequisite change periodically, so always confirm the current curriculum, pricing (approximately USD 445, often bundled), and requirements on the official Linux Foundation / CNCF CKS page before scheduling.

AI content disclosure: This course was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools. Lecture narration is AI-voice generated, and lecture scripts, slides, and practice questions were drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and curated by the instructor for technical accuracy and alignment with the official CKS exam guide.