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What It Is

HackWithZach is a cybersecurity education project led personally by Zach Marcy. It is not positioned as traditional beginner-level security training, but rather around a career path of “getting hired, getting promoted, and moving toward architect-level roles.” The main copy emphasizes the intersection of cloud security, AI security, and API security, with a focus on real systems, real defense, and career outcomes. Its current core offerings include the free training material The AI Security Threat Model and the paid course AI Security Engineer Light.

Core Courses and Teaching Scope

The course areas focus on AI security, cloud security, API security, SOC operations, and security architecture. The free content introduces four pillars of AI security: LLM Security, AI APIs, Agentic AI, and Vibe Coding. It covers threats such as prompt injection, data leakage, API abuse, tool misuse, memory poisoning, and insecure AI-generated code. The paid course claims that students will build, attack, and harden 4 production-grade AI systems, ultimately creating a portfolio that can be shown to hiring managers.

In terms of delivery format, the page only explicitly mentions a 13-page free PDF training resource, courses, YouTube content, and a Founding Member Discord. It does not state whether the course is live, recorded, or includes 1-on-1 coaching. For certification, the copy clearly says “No extra certification,” so the program is more portfolio- and hands-on-project-oriented than certificate-oriented. The teaching language is not directly specified, but the page and materials are in English, so Chinese learners will need sufficient English reading ability and technical comprehension.

Pricing and Instructor Background

The pricing information is relatively clear: the free training material is available via email; AI Security Engineer Light is offered at a founding member price of $27 for the first 30 seats, after which it is stated to rise to $197, with lifetime access included. As for the instructor, Zach Marcy describes himself as a cybersecurity architect and mentor with over 20 years of IT experience and 6 years of cybersecurity experience. His day-to-day work involves designing and securing cloud environments, as well as securing API and AI deployments.

Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For

The strengths are its forward-looking direction, focus on AI security engineering, cloud security, and API security, and its emphasis on real systems, threat modeling, attack and defense, and portfolio building. Compared with simply grinding practice questions or pursuing certifications, it appears closer to job-relevant practical skills. The low entry price and free materials also reduce the cost of trying it out.

The limitations are that the page does not disclose a full course syllabus, course length, learning platform, update frequency, refund policy, payment methods, or student success stories. The “$145K AI Security Engineer role” claim is a strong marketing statement, and the copy does not provide verifiable employment data. Support is described only as access to Zach via Discord, so the actual level of support remains unclear.

Access from China and Alternatives

Access from mainland China cannot be determined from the available copy, so it should be considered unknown. Payment methods are also not disclosed, and users may need to attempt checkout to confirm whether domestic Chinese bank cards or other payment channels are supported. If access, language, or payment becomes a barrier, alternatives worth comparing include Coursera, Udemy, Pluralsight, TryHackMe, Hack The Box Academy, PortSwigger Web Security Academy, as well as domestic cloud security or cybersecurity bootcamps. Overall, it is best suited to learners who already have some cloud or security foundation and want to move into AI security while building a portfolio. Complete beginners can try it, but they will need stronger self-study ability.