The Practical Junior Malware Researcher (PJMR) certification is a unique program focused on Malware Analysis, Research, and Triage. The certification exam assesses the ability to analyze and document malware samples, create detection rules, and present technical findings. It simulates the real-world experience of an enterprise-level malware researcher and includes no multiple-choice questions. The exam consists of a 5-day assessment and 2 days to write a professional report and a live debrief presentation. The certification costs $329 and includes a lifetime voucher, one exam attempt, and one free retake.
Additionally, students who opt for the PJMR with Training package receive access to over nine hours of training materials covering malware analysis fundamentals, advanced techniques, and practical labs. The training materials are derived from the Practical Malware Analysis & Triage course on TCM Academy.
To become certified, individuals need to follow three steps: purchase the exam, take the certification exam within a flexible time frame, and, upon successful completion, receive a certificate and badge that can be shared and verified by employers through Accredible.
Difficulty: 4 out of 5.
The course itself (PMAT) is solid but is not a complete replacement for courses like Zero2Auto or GREM.
To be fair, I watched the videos for the course as I took the exam. Many of the concepts can be delved much deeper into to make the course more holistic.
The exam was a fair challenge, and I immensely enjoyed it. I wrote about 100 pages for my report during the beta test (fysa). However, who knows how long it will take to hit the mainstream in the field. Even then, malware reverse engineering/analyst roles are hard to come by.
BLUF: Invest the money into a course like Zero2Auto from 0ffset Training Solutions and use the PJMR exam itself as a challenge. Just remember it carries next to 0 weight.
