EC-Council Discovers New Way to Separate Fools from Their Money: AI Certifications

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just when I thought the certification circus couldn’t get any more pathetic, EC-Council has decided to hop on the AI hype train with all the grace of a three-legged elephant on meth. Because apparently, what the world *really* needs is another collection of overpriced paper certificates to hang on the wall while actual competence goes out the window.

According to the press release vomited onto the internet this week, these bastards are launching a “comprehensive AI certification portfolio” to “strengthen U.S. AI workforce readiness and security.” Translation: they’ve figured out how to monetize the collective panic of C-suite idiots who think throwing money at acronyms will magically protect them from the robot apocalypse.

The new lineup includes gems like the “Certified Artificial Intelligence Security Specialist” (CAISS) and “CEH AI”—because nothing says “I understand complex neural networks” like paying $1,200 for a multiple-choice test you can brain-dump your way through. Oh, and let’s not forget the “AI Governance and Risk Management” cert, which is basically a $2,000 certificate in telling people “have you tried turning it off and on again” but with more PowerPoint slides about ethics.

The best part? They’re partnering with government agencies, which means your tax dollars are probably subsidizing this pyramid scheme. The article mentions these certs will address “critical gaps” in AI security skills. Right. Because what we really need is more checkbox-certified meatbags who can recite OWASP Top 10 for LLMs but couldn’t debug a prompt injection if their life depended on it.

They claim it covers deepfake detection, adversarial AI attacks, and secure model deployment. Great. So after three days of death-by-PowerPoint and a 70-question exam, you’ll be qualified to do exactly what any competent security professional was already doing: telling developers “stop putting your API keys in plaintext, you absolute muppet.”

Availability? Q2 2026. Cost? Arm and a leg. Value? About as much as a chocolate teapot in a sauna. But hey, at least the EC-Council’s bank account will be very secure.

Read the original corporate wankfest here: https://thehackernews.com/2026/02/ec-council-expands-ai-certification.html

So my manager wanders over yesterday, coffee in hand, asking if I should get AI-certified to “stay competitive.” I told him I’m already certified—in Cynicism, Applied Bullshit Detection, and Advanced User Disintegration Techniques. He said those aren’t real certifications. I pointed out that neither are half the things on my resume, and yet here I am, still employed. Then I may have suggested he could test my disintegration technique personally. Meeting adjourned.

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