Courses / Live bootcamps
Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp
Secure AWS, Azure and Kubernetes the way a cloud security team does: find it, fix it, prove it.
Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp is a 12-week live online bootcamp, taught on Zoom by one instructor at about 15 hours a week, with 6 deployed projects and a one-to-one every week. The founding price is A$200, down from A$400. Live sessions run on weekday evenings from 5:30 PM Sri Lanka and India time, with full-day sessions at weekends.
Founding cohort: A$200A$40050% off
Founding price for the first cohort, until 21 October.
Founding cohort, one payment. Founding students keep their founding price on any second programme.
First cohort
Spot holders hear the start date first.
By week 12, you will have shipped
Weeks 1 to 2
The baseline
Weeks 3 to 4
The IAM review
Weeks 5 to 6
The posture audit
Weeks 7 to 8
The hardened cluster
Weeks 9 to 10
The intrusion
Weeks 11 to 12
Employer brief
- weeks, live on Zoom
- 12
- hours a week
- 15
- deployed projects
- 6
- minutes 1-1, every week
- 30
Who it is for, and what you receive.
IT people, developers and career-changers who are comfortable with Linux and a cloud console and want to secure AWS, Azure and Kubernetes for a living. No security background needed.
Before you start
Comfortable with Linux and a cloud console; no security background needed.
Skills
- AWS security
- Azure security
- IAM
- Terraform
- Kubernetes security
- detection and response
A week, about 15 hours
- Live on Zoom
- 4h
- Set reading and exercises
- 6h
- The project
- 5h
- 1
Six deployed projects
Each graded by Nova against a published rubric and signed off by the instructor at the gate.
- 2
The twelve-week plan
Every week has its theme, its topics and what you build, published before you apply and taught live by your instructor.
- 3
Live on Zoom every week
A 90-minute live code review, a 60-minute squad lab, 60 minutes of office hours, and a 30-minute 1-1 with your instructor.
- 4
Your hiring plan
Opened in week 1 and reviewed in every 1-1: target roles, the gap map, the proof list, weekly actions, an interview log, the outcome.
- 5
The record
Every grade and every project with its repository at square1ai.com/u/{handle}, and the recording of your viva, verifiable by any employer.
- 6
The certificate
A credential ID that resolves at square1ai.com/verify to the real completion.
- 7
The hiring sprint
Weeks 11 and 12: CV and portfolio from graded work, applications, mock interviews scored against the role, demo day.
- 8
Nova for twelve weeks
A tutor with every submission of yours in its memory, at 2am as well as in class.
Twelve weeks in six parts.
Each part teaches for a week, then you build and deploy a project, then a gate checks it before the next part opens. The project and its gate are the part's entry on your record.
Live time each week on Zoom: a 90-minute class where the instructor reviews real submissions, a 60-minute squad lab, 60 minutes of office hours, and your own 30-minute 1-1. Nothing is lectured live; the recorded lessons do that.
Cloud foundations for security
Part 1 · Weeks 1 to 2
Take a fresh AWS or Azure account running a small application and baseline it: account-wide logging, encryption defaults and a written threat model naming the top risks and where an attacker would start.
- AWS
- Azure
- Terraform
Key skills- How cloud accounts are attacked
- Identity, networks and encryption in the cloud
- Logging everything
Week 1
Cloud foundations for security
How cloud accounts are attacked. Identity, networks and encryption in the cloud. Logging everything.
You build: A baselined account
Week 2
Project 1: the baseline
Threat modelling a cloud app. Log coverage.
You build: A cloud account baseline with logging and a threat model
Project 1 · the gate at week 2
The baseline
A cloud account baseline with logging and a threat model, deployed
You hand in
- Account baseline in code
- Logging configuration
- Threat model
The gate
Every account action is logged and the threat model names the top risks.
Identity and access
Part 2 · Weeks 3 to 4
A lab environment has years of accumulated permissions. Review identity and access on AWS or Azure, remove wildcard and unused high-risk permissions, and show the application still works.
- AWS
- Azure
- Terraform
Key skills- IAM on AWS and Azure
- Least privilege and permission boundaries
- Finding risky access
Week 3
Identity and access
IAM on AWS and Azure. Least privilege and permission boundaries. Finding risky access.
You build: An access review
Week 4
Project 2: the IAM review
Removing access safely. Proving nothing broke.
You build: An IAM review that removes risky access without breaking the app
Project 2 · the gate at week 4
The IAM review
An IAM review that removes risky access without breaking the app
You hand in
- Access review report
- Permission changes in code
- Proof the app still works
The gate
No wildcard or unused high-risk permission remains and the app's tests still pass.
Posture and misconfiguration
Part 3 · Weeks 5 to 6
Run a posture tool against a deliberately misconfigured cloud environment, fix the findings in Terraform rather than the console, and add policy as code so they cannot return.
- Terraform
- AWS
- Azure
Key skills- Posture tools and benchmarks
- Fixing misconfigurations in code
- Policy as code
Week 5
Posture and misconfiguration
Posture tools and benchmarks. Fixing misconfigurations in code. Policy as code.
You build: A posture audit; squads form
Week 6
Project 3: posture
Before and after scores. Fixes in Terraform.
You build: A posture audit fixed through Terraform
Project 3 · the gate at week 6
The posture audit
A posture audit fixed through Terraform, with before and after scores
You hand in
- Posture report before and after
- Terraform fixes
- Policy-as-code rules
The gate
The benchmark score meets the bar and every fix is in code.
Containers and Kubernetes
Part 4 · Weeks 7 to 8
An instructor-supplied Kubernetes cluster has known weaknesses. Secure the images and supply chain, set RBAC, network policies and admission control, and add runtime detection, then rerun the lab attacks.
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- AWS
Key skills- Image and supply-chain security
- Kubernetes RBAC, network policy and admission
- Runtime detection
Week 7
Containers and Kubernetes
Image and supply-chain security. Kubernetes RBAC, network policy and admission. Runtime detection.
You build: A hardened cluster
Week 8
Project 4: the cluster
Lab attacks. Blocking and detecting.
You build: A hardened cluster that blocks the lab attacks
Project 4 · the gate at week 8
The hardened cluster
A hardened cluster that blocks the attacks from the lab
You hand in
- Cluster hardening changes
- Image scanning and signing
- Attack rerun results
The gate
Every lab attack is blocked or detected.
Detection and response in the cloud
Part 5 · Weeks 9 to 10
A simulated attacker gets into a cloud environment through leaked credentials. Detect it, contain it, build the timeline from cloud logs and report to leadership and engineers.
- AWS
- Azure
- Terraform
Key skills- Cloud detections
- Incident response in AWS and Azure
- AI for cloud security operations
Week 9
Detection and response in the cloud
Cloud detections. Incident response in AWS and Azure. AI for cloud security operations.
You build: Detections and a response plan
Week 10
Project 5 and the viva
A cloud intrusion end to end. Defending a finding.
You build: A cloud intrusion detected, contained and reported; the viva
Project 5 · the gate at week 10
The intrusion
The capstone: a cloud intrusion detected, contained and reported
You hand in
- Detections
- Containment steps
- Timeline
- Incident report
The gate
The viva: defend a finding from detection to fix.
Employer brief and hiring sprint
Part 6 · Weeks 11 to 12
A hiring partner, or another outside organisation such as a startup preparing for a security review, brings a scoped cloud security problem. Your squad delivers it to its owner in the fortnight. If no partner brief is available, the instructor sets an equivalent one.
- AWS
- Azure
- Terraform
Key skills- A partner's cloud security problem
- Demo day
- CV, portfolio, applications, mock interviews
Week 11
Employer brief
A real problem from a hiring partner, in squads. A partner's cloud security problem. Working to someone else's definition of done.
You build: The employer brief in progress
Week 12
Hiring sprint
CV and portfolio built from graded work. Applications and follow-ups in the hiring plan. Mock interviews scored against the role. Demo day.
You build: Project 6 delivered; demo day
Project 6 · the gate at week 12
Employer brief
The employer brief shipped, and demo day
You hand in
- The brief delivered to its owner
- Short handover write-up
- Demo day presentation
The gate
The brief's owner accepts the result.
What you can do by week 12.
Six cloud security projects and a defended finding, for one of the most-hired security roles as companies move to AWS, Azure and Kubernetes.
- 1
Baseline a cloud account with logging and a threat model.
- 2
Review identity and access on AWS and Azure and remove risky permissions safely.
- 3
Audit cloud posture against a benchmark and fix it in code.
- 4
Secure container images, the supply chain and Kubernetes clusters.
- 5
Detect, contain and report a cloud intrusion.
- 6
Defend a finding from detection to fix, on camera.
Roles this prepares you for
- Cloud security engineer
- Security engineer
- DevSecOps engineer
- Cloud security analyst
No placement rate is shown, because there are no graduates to count yet. The roles above are what the projects are built for.
Your record at week 12.
Every exercise and project is graded by Nova against a rubric you can read, and every grade is kept on one page an employer can open and run. This is what the programme writes to it.
- Graded, line by line
- Nova reads every submission against the brief and the rubric and returns a score, what you did well and what to fix.
- Six gates
- A block does not open until the previous project passes its gate. You always know where you are and what is next.
- A weekly 1-1
- Thirty minutes with your instructor, who has already read your code before the call.
- One page an employer can run
- Every grade, project and the viva recording at /verify. An employer opens it, runs the code and watches you defend it.
Record, Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp
Example
- Week 2Graded, gate signed
The baseline
Every account action is logged and the threat model names the top risks
- Week 4Graded, gate signed
The IAM review
No wildcard or unused high-risk permission remains
- Week 6Graded, gate signed
The posture audit
The benchmark score meets the bar and fixes are in code
- Week 8Graded, gate signed
The hardened cluster
The lab attacks are blocked or detected
- Week 10Graded, gate signed
The intrusion
A viva: defend a finding from detection to fix
- Week 12Graded, gate signed
Employer brief
The brief's owner accepts the result
- Weeks 1 to 12Kept
Twelve 1-1 notes
What your instructor saw in your work each week, and what you agreed to do next.
- Week 12Kept
Your hiring plan and its outcome
Target roles, the gap map, applications, interviews and where you landed.
The entries, not the grades: those are yours to earn. The page lives at /verify and an employer needs no account to open it.
8 entries, twelve weeks. 25 spots are open.
Reserve my spotHow we help you find a job.
The last block is not curriculum. It is the hiring sprint, and the proof you built in the ten weeks before it.
- 1
Your hiring plan, from week 1
Six parts you and your instructor keep: target roles, the gap map from real postings, the proof to send, weekly actions, an interview log, the outcome. Read before every 1-1.
- 2
The hiring sprint
Weeks 11 and 12: CV, portfolio, applications, mock interviews, and demo day in front of hiring partners.
- 3
A record an employer can run
Your six deployed projects and the recorded viva on /verify. An employer opens it, runs the code and watches you defend it.
- 4
The career agent
Paste a real job posting at /career and it maps the role to your graded work and what to do next.
- 5
The roles directory
Every role we prepare people for, what it pays and what it asks, at /roles.
Questions people ask.
About Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp, answered from the plan on this page.
Related programmes
- Cybersecurity Bootcamp · 12-week live bootcamp
- Web Application Security · 9.5 h on demand
- SOC Analyst Essentials · 9.5 h on demand
How long is the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp?
12 weeks at about 15 hours a week. The weeks run as six two-week blocks; each block ends in a project you deploy and a gate you must pass before the next block opens.
Is the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp live or self-paced?
Live. It is taught on Zoom by one instructor, with a 30-minute one-to-one every week. Nova, Square 1's AI tutor, grades every exercise and project between sessions against a rubric you can read.
When are the live sessions for the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp?
Live sessions run on weekday evenings from 5:30 PM Sri Lanka and India time, with full-day sessions at weekends. That is 5:00 PM in Pakistan, 5:45 PM in Nepal and 6:00 PM in Bangladesh, so the sessions fit around a working day.
How much does the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp cost?
A$200 for the founding cohort, paid once; the standard price is A$400. It is the same price in every country. Founding students keep their founding price on any second programme.
Who is the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp for?
IT people, developers and career-changers who are comfortable with Linux and a cloud console and want to secure AWS, Azure and Kubernetes for a living. No security background needed. Before you start: Comfortable with Linux and a cloud console; no security background needed.
What will I build in the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp?
6 deployed projects: The baseline, The IAM review, The posture audit, The hardened cluster, The intrusion and Employer brief. Each is graded against a published rubric and kept on a record an employer can open at /verify.
What skills does the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp teach?
AWS security, Azure security, IAM, Terraform, Kubernetes security and detection and response. It prepares you for roles such as Cloud security engineer, Security engineer, DevSecOps engineer and Cloud security analyst.
Does the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp guarantee a job?
No. No placement rate is published because the first cohorts have not graduated. What you leave with is six deployed projects, a recorded defence of your code and a hiring plan worked through with your instructor, including a two-week hiring sprint at the end.
How do I join the Cloud Security Engineer Bootcamp?
Reserve one of the ten spots on this page with your email. Spot holders hear the start date first, and nothing is charged before you confirm. The price on this page is in Australian dollars and is the same in every country.
25 spots. Hold one of them.
25 spots, one instructor, 12 weeks, six things you ship. Spot holders hear the start date first, and nothing is charged before you confirm.
- Six cloud security projects and reports
- A recorded viva
- Your record on /verify
About a minute. No account, no card, and nothing is charged until you confirm.