EC-Council · 2026 Edition
A complete preparation guide, edited by Johnson Ajibi, a network and security engineer with 12+ years' experience. Covers the exam format,all 8 blueprint domains, a week-by-week study plan, and proven tips for passing first time.
2–4 months
Prep time
Intermediate
Difficulty
100
Exam questions
Exam code
312-39
Full name
Certified SOC Analyst
Vendor
EC-Council
Duration
180 minutes
Questions
100 items
Domains covered
8 blueprint domains
Recommended experience
Foundational IT knowledge recommended
Typical prep time
2–4 months
Domain percentage weights are not currently available for this exam. The checklist below is still useful for planning your study.
Phase 1
Incident Response
Tip: Start with the official Incident Response objectives, then practise questions on it.
Phase 2
SOC For Cloud Environments
Tip: Cover the SOC For Cloud Environments objectives, then answer practice questions to confirm you can apply them.
Phase 3
Cyber Threats Iocs And Attack Methodology
Tip: Cover the Cyber Threats Iocs And Attack Methodology objectives, then answer practice questions to confirm you can apply them.
Phase 4
Forensic Investigation And Malware Analysis
Tip: Cover the Forensic Investigation And Malware Analysis objectives, then answer practice questions to confirm you can apply them.
Phase 5
Incident Detection And Triage
Tip: Cover the Incident Detection And Triage objectives, then answer practice questions to confirm you can apply them.
Phase 6
Log Management
Tip: Cover the Log Management objectives, then answer practice questions to confirm you can apply them.
Phase 7
Proactive Threat Detection
Tip: Cover the Proactive Threat Detection objectives, then answer practice questions to confirm you can apply them.
Phase 8
Security Operations And Management
Tip: Finish with Security Operations And Management, then re-test your weakest earlier domain before a mock exam.
Study the official exam blueprint — weight percentages tell you exactly where to invest prep time.
Practise scenario-based questions regularly — every modern cert exam is scenario-heavy.
Use spaced repetition to retain what you've learned (Courseiva does this automatically).
Book your exam date once you're scoring 80%+ consistently on practice tests.
Review explanations for every wrong answer, not just the question — the 'why' is what makes it stick.
Apply everything in this guide with adaptive practice questions, detailed answer explanations, and domain analytics.