In April 2026, Hack The Box introduced HTB Certified Offensive AI Expert (HTB COAE) as a new addition to its certification portfolio – a specialized credential focused on offensive AI security and AI red teaming. VSEC’s decision to invest in building in-house expertise around this certification reflects a broader effort to align its capabilities with international standards, while positioning the company among the early movers addressing AI security in Vietnam.

A Certification Built on Hands-On Practice, Not Theory

Hack The Box (HTB) is a global cybersecurity training and skills-assessment platform used by more than three million members worldwide, and has been recognized as a Leader by The Forrester Wave™ for cybersecurity skills training. Its certification portfolio spans multiple disciplines, including penetration testing (HTB CPTS), web application exploitation (HTB CWES, HTB CWEE), Active Directory security (HTB CAPE), and cyber defense (HTB CDSA). Unlike many theory-heavy certification programs, HTB evaluates candidates through practical exercises designed to closely mirror real enterprise environments, which has helped establish it as a widely recognized benchmark for hands-on security expertise.

HTB Certified Offensive AI Expert (HTB COAE) is a specialized certification in offensive AI security and AI red teaming, co-developed by Hack The Box and Google. The program is built on Google’s Secure AI Framework (SAIF), along with the OWASP ML Security Top 10 and OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications 2025.

HTB COAE certification — validating AI security expertise through hands-on practice, not theory.

The curriculum focuses on techniques for testing and attacking AI/ML systems, including training-data attacks, model manipulation, and exploitation of AI-powered applications. After completing 12 in-depth training modules, candidates must pass a seven-day hands-on examination set in a simulated enterprise environment. The exam is completed entirely independently, culminating in a professional-grade technical report – a format that closely resembles the security assessment engagements VSEC regularly delivers for its own enterprise clients.

The HTB COAE exam requires candidates to work alone for seven consecutive days within a simulated enterprise environment, without guidance or hints. Upon completion, candidates must submit a technical report detailing their findings, exploitation evidence, impact assessment, and remediation recommendations to a professional standard.

AI Security Demands Capabilities Beyond Traditional Testing

The number of professionals who have earned HTB COAE since its launch remains limited – a reflection of how AI security testing requires a distinct skill set compared with testing conventional network infrastructure or applications.

Modern enterprise systems now extend well beyond web applications and databases; AI is increasingly embedded across business processes, from chatbots and data analytics to LLM-driven automation. When AI systems can access data and execute actions independently, the associated risks go beyond generating an incorrect response – they can extend to data leakage, bypassing of control mechanisms, or direct influence over business decisions. This raises the bar for security professionals, who must understand both offensive testing techniques and how AI systems actually operate. It is this gap that has helped HTB COAE gain rapid recognition within the international security community, despite its recent launch, as a genuinely hands-on AI security credential.

Raising the Bar for International-Standard Service Delivery

Financial institutions and large enterprises in Vietnam are increasingly applying AI to fraud detection, credit scoring, operational automation, and a growing range of business processes. This shift introduces new categories of cybersecurity risk, requiring security providers to develop hands-on capabilities for assessing AI-specific threats.

For VSEC, investing in specialized team expertise and pursuing international certifications such as HTB COAE forms part of a long-term development strategy. Trained and evaluated against international security standards, VSEC’s team continuously updates its assessment methodologies to keep pace with the growing presence of AI across enterprise infrastructure.

As a strategic partner of AWS and Kaspersky, VSEC views ongoing investment in team development, offensive AI certifications, and alignmen

VSEC’s team of experts — capabilities built through hands-on practice, standardized to international benchmarks.

t with international security standards as foundational to improving service quality. This commitment underpins VSEC’s ability to deliver professional security services validated against rigorous international benchmarks, in line with the rising expectations of its clients.

Alongside two major international honors earned this year – the Globee® Award for Cybersecurity 2026 and the Cybersecurity Excellence Award 2026 – the team’s achievement of HTB COAE reinforces VSEC’s ongoing commitment to building capabilities aligned with international standards, as it continues to meet growing market demand for specialized security services.

About HTB COAE

HTB Certified Offensive AI Expert is one of the newer additions to Hack The Box’s certification lineup, co-developed with Google and grounded in the Google SAIF framework and OWASP AI/LLM security standards. It is designed to validate hands-on expertise in offensive AI security and AI red teaming through a rigorous, practice-based examination.

About VSEC

VSEC is a member of G-Group and one of Vietnam’s pioneering cybersecurity companies. In 2022, VSEC became the first MSSP in Vietnam to hold CREST accreditation for both Penetration Testing and SOC services simultaneously.

A partner of AWS, Recorded Future, IBM, Splunk, and BlackPanda, VSEC currently serves more than 1,000 enterprise clients, including 89% of Vietnam’s leading banks.

Core service offerings include Pentest, Red Team, PTaaS, Managed SIEM, MDR, XDR, Cloud Security, DFIR, Compromise Assessment, Threat Intelligence Platform, and AI Security (TIP).

Contact: contact@vsec.com.vn | Hotline: 1800 2056 / 09 1800 2056