Microsoft Cloud Red Team Expert (MCRTE)

Microsoft Cloud Red Team Expert (MCRTE) is earned through the Microsoft Cloud Attack and Defense bootcamp, Expert Edition, an on-demand Pwned Labs program that goes deep on modern attack chains and the detections that catch them, then certifies you hands-on.

Real enterprise intrusions rarely stop at a single tenant or a single cloud. Attackers chain identity, hybrid Active Directory, and multiple workloads into one long campaign. An expert-level cloud red team certification should reflect that scale. The Microsoft Cloud Red Team Expert (MCRTE) is built for practitioners who have the fundamentals and now need to prove they can run a full enterprise attack chain, hands-on, in a live environment.

What the MCRTE certification proves

MCRTE is the expert-level Microsoft cloud red team certification. It builds on the professional-level Microsoft Cloud Red Team Professional (MCRTP). You are assessed inside a live, production-like Microsoft environment with realistic misconfigurations and telemetry, and you have to execute a complete attack chain across Entra ID, Microsoft 365, Azure, and hybrid Active Directory. Passing signals that you can operate at the level a real red team engagement demands, not just complete isolated exercises.

Who this certification is for

MCRTE is for experienced red teamers, senior penetration testers, and cloud security engineers who already understand Microsoft cloud attack tradecraft and want to prove enterprise-scale capability. It is the natural next step after MCRTP. If you have not yet worked hands-on with Entra ID abuse and Microsoft 365 lateral movement, start with MCRTP and the Microsoft Cloud Attack and Defense bootcamp before attempting the expert path.

What the expert path covers

MCRTE emphasizes chaining and scale rather than single techniques. Core areas include:

• Full attack chains that begin at initial access and end at enterprise-wide impact across multiple workloads.
• Advanced Entra ID abuse, application and consent attacks, and conditional access bypass in complex tenants.
• Hybrid identity attacks that bridge on-premises Active Directory and Entra ID in both directions.
• Lateral movement and persistence across Azure subscriptions and Microsoft 365 at organizational scale.
• Operating against layered detection, including Microsoft Entra logs, unified audit logging, and Microsoft Defender, while managing your footprint.

The expert assessment rewards operators who understand not just how a technique works but how to sequence many techniques into a coherent campaign while staying aware of what defenders can see.

MCRTE compared to MCRTP and other certifications

MCRTP proves you can compromise a Microsoft cloud environment. MCRTE proves you can do it at enterprise scale, across a longer and more complex chain, against stronger defenses. Neither resembles the AZ-500, which is a defensive knowledge exam about implementing Azure security controls rather than attacking them. Other offensive exams validate penetration testing fundamentals but do not test the enterprise Microsoft cloud identity attacks MCRTE focuses on. For senior practitioners who need to demonstrate top-tier cloud red team capability, MCRTE is the credential that maps to real engagement difficulty.

How the MCRTE exam works

The certification is assessed in a live, enterprise-scale Microsoft environment, not a simulation. You are given objectives and a time window and must accomplish them through a complete attack chain using real tradecraft against real services with real logging in place. There is no quiz and nothing to memorize. The expert credential is difficult to earn precisely because it mirrors the demands of a genuine enterprise red team operation.

Inside the MCRTE exam environment

The exam is a single realistic scenario rather than a question bank. Once you start, you have 24 hours to work through it. You are given an entry point and you have to complete an exploitation chain to reach the flag. The services are real, the misconfigurations are the kind that appear in production tenants, and the logging is live while you operate.

The expert exam expects operator tooling. A command and control framework is required, and any framework is acceptable, though Havoc and Mythic are the ones we recommend. Operational security is not evaluated, so redirectors are unnecessary and a direct C2 setup is sufficient. Phishing is part of the exam, but you do not need to supply your own domain.

The C2 requirement is the clearest signal of what separates expert from professional. At the professional tier the chain can be completed with cloud-native tooling and a browser. At expert level you are expected to establish and operate an implant, which means the exam tests infrastructure competence alongside cloud tradecraft. Choosing not to evaluate operational security is a deliberate scoping decision: it keeps the assessment focused on whether you can achieve the objective, rather than on whether your redirector chain would survive a mature blue team.

The exam is not proctored. You receive an invitation confirming your start time, which serves as a reminder rather than a check-in. There is no report to submit after you capture the flag. Some offensive certifications turn the practical component into a documentation exercise; MCRTE does not. You either build the chain or you do not.

How MCRTE differs from the professional level

MCRTE is the expert tier above the Microsoft Cloud Red Team Professional (MCRTP). The difference is not simply a harder exam. The delivery model changes as well.

Every Pwned Labs bootcamp is on-demand, so the difference is not how it is delivered but the depth of the material and the lab entitlement. All training content is available as soon as your access begins, and you work through it at your own pace. For MCRTE, lab access is lifetime rather than the 45 day Academy window that comes with the professional tier, so there is no clock forcing you through material faster than the material deserves. Private discussion and support channels come with enrollment.

Lifetime lab access changes how the material is used. Professional-tier candidates typically work through a path once, sit the exam, and move on. Expert candidates tend to return to specific labs months later when a client engagement surfaces the same technique, which is only practical when access does not lapse.

That structure suits the audience. Practitioners attempting an expert credential are usually fitting study around client engagements, and a fixed schedule tends to be the thing that derails them. Open-ended access removes the most common reason capable operators do not finish.

Scheduling, attempts, and retakes

Exam booking opens as soon as your access begins. There is a rolling three day buffer, meaning you can select any available date at least three days ahead. You are not waiting on anything to unlock before you can sit it.

Registration includes two exam attempts. If the first does not go your way, the second can be booked at least two weeks later. That gap is deliberate: it is enough time to work back through the labs covering whichever stage of the chain stopped you, rather than immediately repeating the same approach against the same defenses. Additional retake attempts can be purchased if needed.

Because booking is not tied to a fixed schedule, there is no queue and no window to miss. Practitioners who have sat certifications that release exam slots in batches will recognize how much friction that removes.

Neither your exam attempts nor your lab access expire, and there is no deadline by which the exam must be taken. You can prepare at whatever pace your workload allows and sit it when you are genuinely ready.

After you pass: certification and badge

The Microsoft Cloud Red Team Expert certification does not expire and never needs renewing. There are no continuing education credits to log and no annual maintenance fee.

Alongside the official certificate you receive a Credly digital badge, which most recruiters and internal HR systems can verify directly. For an expert-level credential that verification matters: it removes the step where a hiring manager has to take your word for it, and it distinguishes a practical certification from the many that are awarded on attendance alone. For senior roles where the hiring bar is capability rather than coursework, that distinction is often the whole point.

For practitioners building breadth as well as depth, the professional certifications cover the other providers: the Amazon Cloud Red Team Professional (ACRTP) for AWS and the Google Cloud Red Team Professional (GCRTP) for Google Cloud and Google Workspace. Completing the three professional certifications earns the Multi-Cloud Red Team Professional (M-CRTP3). MCRTE goes deeper on Microsoft rather than wider across providers, so the two paths complement each other rather than overlap.

Related labs and the path to expert

If you are building toward MCRTE, continue practicing against live Microsoft cloud scenarios and validate your skills in production-like ranges before the assessment. Browse the full lab catalog at pwnedlabs.io/explore.

Gain career-ready skills

Employers hire for what you can do, not what you can recall. Every objective in this certification maps to a skill you will use on real engagements. By the time you certify, you can:

• Chain initial access through to enterprise-wide impact across multiple workloads
• Execute advanced Entra ID, application, and consent attacks in complex tenants
• Run bidirectional hybrid attacks between on-premises Active Directory and Entra ID
• Establish persistence and move laterally across Azure and Microsoft 365 at scale
• Operate against layered detection while managing your footprint
• Sequence many techniques into a coherent, engagement-grade campaign

These are the capabilities behind senior red teamer, lead cloud penetration tester, and red team operator roles. You can build the foundations first with free hands-on labs at pwnedlabs.io/explore and the MCRTP, then go deep and certify through the Microsoft Cloud Attack and Defense bootcamp, Expert Edition.

Pricing and enrollment

Enrollment includes the full self-paced curriculum, lab access, and certification exam attempts. Full details are on the Microsoft Cloud Attack and Defense bootcamp, Expert Edition page.

The Microsoft Cloud Red Team Expert bootcamp is $2,500. Existing Pwned Labs enterprise customers and MCRTP alumni pay $2,000. Enrollment covers the on-demand curriculum, lifetime lab access, two exam attempts, and the private discussion and support channels.

The step up in price from the professional tier reflects what the expert path assesses. The exam requires you to stand up and operate a command and control framework and to run a phishing component, which is a materially different bar from the professional certifications, and the material behind it is correspondingly deeper.

Need employer sponsorship? Download the employer funding request letter.

Frequently asked questions

Is MCRTE a hands-on certification?

Yes. MCRTE is assessed in a live, enterprise-scale Microsoft environment with realistic misconfigurations and telemetry. There is no multiple choice component.

What is the difference between MCRTE and MCRTP?

MCRTP is the professional-level certification proving you can compromise a Microsoft cloud environment. MCRTE is the expert-level certification proving you can execute a full enterprise-scale attack chain against stronger defenses.

Should I take MCRTP before MCRTE?

Yes. MCRTP builds the hands-on Entra ID and Microsoft 365 attack skills that MCRTE assumes you already have. Start there if you are new to Microsoft cloud red teaming.

Does MCRTE cover hybrid Active Directory?

Yes. Hybrid identity attacks that bridge on-premises Active Directory and Entra ID are a core part of the expert assessment.

Who should pursue MCRTE?

Experienced red teamers, senior penetration testers, and cloud security engineers who need to prove enterprise-scale Microsoft cloud red team capability.