Is AI really on the Security+ SY0-801 exam?

Last updated: October 15, 2026.

The biggest content change in Security+ SY0-801 (V8) is artificial intelligence. AI now has its own objective, appears in the attack surface list, and shows up in security automation. Here is what each piece covers and how to study it, based on CompTIA's published SY0-801 objectives.

This is part of our complete guide to Security+ SY0-801.

Where AI appears in the objectives

• Objective 2.4 lists large language models (LLMs) among the types of vulnerabilities and attack surfaces.
• Objective 2.6 is dedicated to threats and vulnerabilities associated with AI usage.
• Objective 4.6 covers AI as part of automation and orchestration to secure operations.

Objective 2.6: threats and vulnerabilities of AI use

The topics listed fall into three groups. Plain-language definitions follow.

Attacks on AI systems

• Model manipulation: interfering with how a model behaves or what it outputs.
• Poisoning: corrupting the data a model learns from so that it produces flawed or attacker-chosen results.
• Prompt injection: crafting input that causes an AI system to ignore its intended instructions or reveal or do something it should not.
• Jailbreaking: getting an AI system to bypass its built-in safety restrictions.
• Evasion: shaping inputs so a model fails to recognize or flag something it normally would, for example malicious content.
• Session hijacking and code execution: taking over an AI session, or getting an AI-connected system to run code it should not.

Weaknesses and risks of the technology itself

• Hallucinations: confident-sounding output that is wrong or invented.
• Bias: skewed results caused by unrepresentative data or design.
• Explainability: difficulty understanding why a model produced a given result, which complicates auditing and trust.

Data and governance concerns

• Data loss and privacy: sensitive information entered into, or exposed by, AI tools.
• Ethical considerations: responsible and fair use of AI in security decisions.

Objective 4.6: AI in security operations

This objective looks at AI from the defender's side. The capabilities named include agentic AI (systems that can take actions toward a goal), chatbots, predictive analysis and AI-augmented baselines. The intended outcomes include time savings, enforcing baselines, continuous and productivity improvements, reduced downtime and being more proactive. Expect to weigh benefits against considerations such as guardrails, complexity, cost and process risks.

How deep does the exam go?

Security+ is a foundational exam, and CompTIA offers a separate AI-security certification, SecAI+, for deeper coverage. For Security+ you should be able to:

• recognize each AI-related threat from a short scenario,
• explain why it matters and what control reduces the risk,
• apply familiar principles such as least privilege, input validation, data protection and monitoring to AI systems.

Study tips

1. Connect AI to what you already know. Prompt injection resembles other input-handling problems, and poisoning is a data integrity issue.
2. Practice scenario questions. Describe a situation and name the risk, then choose the best mitigation.
3. Do not over-study the math. You do not need to build or train models.
4. Keep the defender mindset. Think about policies, guardrails, logging and data handling.

Keep going

See how the AI objectives fit into everything else that changed in SY0-701 vs SY0-801, and plan your weeks with our SY0-801 study plan. For official training and labs, explore our CompTIA Security+ SY0-801 (V8) collection.

Frequently asked questions

Is AI really on the Security+ SY0-801 exam?
Yes. It has a dedicated objective, appears in the attack surface list and is part of the automation objective.

Do I need to know how machine learning works?
You need to understand the risks and how to apply security principles. You do not need to build or train models.

Will SY0-701 candidates see any AI content?
Published comparisons describe SY0-701 as touching AI only lightly, so AI is a clear difference in V8.

Is SecAI+ required for Security+?
No. SecAI+ is a separate CompTIA certification focused on AI security.

Written by an instructor who holds Security+, CySA+, PenTest+ and SecurityX. CertInstructor is an Authorized CompTIA Partner.