“Red teaming isn’t just about tools — it’s about thinking like an adversary.”

On 27th August 2025, I officially passed the Certified Red Team Analyst (CRTA) exam by CyberWarFare Labs (CWL).
I had registered back in December 2024, and after an intense 6-hour hands-on exam, I’m proud to share my experience, preparation, and some honest tips for anyone planning to attempt it.

📌 What is CRTA?

The Certified Red Team Analyst (CRTA) is an entry-level red teaming certification that throws you into a realistic Active Directory (AD) environment.

Instead of multiple-choice questions, you get:

• 6 hours of lab exam → exploit, pivot, escalate, move laterally, and exfiltrate.

This makes CRTA stand out as practical and affordable, perfect for anyone transitioning from CTFs or blue team roles into offensive security.

🎓 The CWL Course & Labs

CWL provides two main platforms:

• 📂 LMS Portal → PDF modules + video lectures (don’t skip videos — most practical tricks are there).
• 🧪 Lab Portal → A shared lab with external-facing servers, internal AD, and pivoting challenges.

The lab simulates a corporate network where you’ll encounter:

• Service misconfigs
• SPN abuse
• Kerberoasting
• Delegation issues
• Privilege escalation & pivoting paths

💡 Tip: Treat the labs like a real engagement — stealthy commands, good note-taking, and tool discipline.

🧪 My Exam Experience (6 Hours of Adrenaline)

I started my exam at 23:00 IST. The moment I connected via VPN, I was in full attack mode:

• Initial Foothold → Enumeration revealed multiple exploitable services. Careful digging gave me the first access.
• Pivoting → Once inside, I had to chain tunnels and routes. Tools like ligolo-ng + proxychains worked flawlessly.
• AD Attacks → BloodHound gave me the bigger picture, while rubeus, crackmapexec, mimikatz handled tickets & creds.
• Dead End Moment → Around hour 2, I got stuck. Took a quick break, researched calmly, and got back on track.
• Final Flag → Exfiltrated data from the crown jewel host within the time limit.

⏱️ 6 hours fly by quickly — it’s less about speed, more about structured enumeration and keeping calm.

🛠️ Tools I Used the Most

• Enumeration → nmap, ldapsearch, crackmapexec
• Pivoting → ligolo-ng, proxychains, chisel
• AD Attacks → BloodHound, rubeus, mimikatz, kerbrute
• Notes & Report → Notion+ screenshots (saved me later!)

💡 CRTA Prep Tips (From My Notebook)

• 80% is enumeration → Don’t rush, read every clue.
• BloodHound is gold → But only if you collect enough data first.
• Know native commands (whoami, net group, nltest) → stealth > noisy tools.
• Don’t overcomplicate → Stick to tools you know well.
• Take screenshots as you go → You’ll thank yourself when writing the report.

🔑 Bonus Practice Labs

• THM: Wreath, Attacktive Directory, Breaching AD, Vulnnet Roasted
• HTB: Active Directory 101

🎯 Final Thoughts

For me, the CRTA wasn’t just about passing an exam. It was about:

• Strengthening pivoting & AD attack skills
• Learning to think like an adversary under time pressure
• Building a solid foundation for bigger red team challenges ahead

The value-to-cost ratio is excellent, especially compared to other red team certs. If you’re aiming to step into red teaming, CRTA is a great first milestone.

Would I recommend it? ✅ Absolutely.
But go in with patience, enumeration discipline, and solid note-taking — that’s the real key to success.

🔗 Useful Links

• CRTA Official Page
• Practice platforms: TryHackMe, HackTheBox
• Join Our Telegram Channel for Support & Resources:Telegram

That’s my CRTA journey. If you’re preparing or have questions, feel free to connect!