WSOS 2026 sections
Every WorldSkills Cyber Security competition is marked against the WorldSkills Occupational Standards (WSOS). The 2026 standard has eight sections, and its weights are the same as in 2022 and 2024. A competition’s Marking Scheme may differ from these weights by up to five percentage points.
| # | Section | Weight | CoBOK pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Work organisation and management | 5% | Tagged pages |
| 2 | Communication and interpersonal skills | 10% | Tagged pages |
| 3 | Secure systems design and creation | 10% | Tagged pages |
| 4 | Secure systems operation and maintenance | 15% | Tagged pages |
| 5 | Secure systems protection and defence | 15% | Tagged pages |
| 6 | Operations and management | 20% | Tagged pages |
| 7 | Intelligence collection and analysis | 10% | Tagged pages |
| 8 | Investigation and digital forensics | 15% | Tagged pages |
Source: WSOS 2026, Cyber Security, WorldSkills International.
What the weights mean for training
Section titled “What the weights mean for training”- Section 6, Operations and management, is the largest at 20%. Despite its name, its content is offensive: threat actors, exploitation tools, gaining access and exfiltrating data.
- Attack, analysis and investigation (Sections 6 to 8) total 45%. Hardening and protection (Sections 4 and 5) total 30%.
- Communication is worth 10%. Clear findings, reports and evidence earn marks in their own right, not just flags.
- Knowledge is assessed through performance. Separate knowledge tests are used only where there is an overwhelming reason, so practise doing, not memorising.
Unofficial study guide, not endorsed by WorldSkills International or WorldSkills UK. Topics are example areas to prepare for, not the content of any test project: competition tasks are confidential, competitions are closed book, and formats change between competitions. More about this site.