Certification — small, useful, real
Thinking out loud about a ZeroTrace certification path. Starting small with a HID-course completion cert, then maybe something bigger like an OSINT training cert later. Not finished yet — open to feedback on what you'd actually use.
Two ideas, sequenced
A small HID-course cert first. An OSINT-investigation cert later, if there’s real demand.
ZeroTrace HID Course completion cert
A small, simple certificate for people who finish a ZeroTrace HID course and pass a tiny exam. More of a verifiable badge that you went through the material and can run the workflow on a real device than a heavyweight credential.
- Free or token-priced — accessible, not an industry hurdle
- Short scenario-based exam after the course
- Issued as a verifiable badge (PDF + public lookup)
- Counts as: this person has actually used the kit
ZeroTrace OSINT Training Cert
Down the road, something more substantial: a certification you earn by completing the ZeroTrace OSINT training and finishing a real investigation scenario. Closer to what other industry certs look like — but still small-team, still authorized-testing-first.
- Scenario-based — solve a real OSINT case
- Recognises real investigation discipline, not trivia
- Probably proctored, probably with a recertification rhythm
- Honestly thinking about it — feedback welcome
Three principles
Not a manifesto — just the shape we want to avoid drifting away from.
Start small, ship something real
A small cert that proves you ran the HID workflow is more useful than a big cert nobody finishes. Better one good badge in a year than a polished framework in three.
Tied to courses people actually complete
Every cert maps to a real course. No exam-room theatre — if you’ve done the work on a real device, you should be able to pass.
Authorized-testing-first language
No ‘elite operator’ branding. The cert acknowledges you can run authorized engagements responsibly — that’s what employers and labs actually want to see.
Tell us what you’d actually use
We’d rather build the cert people want than guess. Hiring manager, training lead, operator with an opinion — drop a line.