Certified Narrative Intelligence Analyst
CNIA. Earned in a live environment.Narrative intelligence now has a named Treadstone 71 credential. Complete three courses, then sit a five-day practical exam on a real adversary campaign as it runs. Trace the seed, map who built the narrative, decide whether to answer, and put a number on what comes next. An examiner grades the work. Pass, and you carry the letters CNIA.
NAMED CREDENTIALEXAM INCLUDEDLIVE PRACTICALUP TO 79 CPEor 3 payments of $1,849
EXAM FEE INCLUDED. NO SEPARATE TEST CHARGE.Three courses, the practical exam and the credential in one enrollment.
Enrollment and checkout run on the Treadstone 71 Cyber Intelligence Training Center.
- Credential
- Certified Narrative Intelligence Analyst (CNIA)
- Issued by
- Treadstone 71, LLC, Half Moon Bay, California
- Format
- Online. Three self-paced courses, then a five-day practical exam in a live information environment
- Exam
- Unique packet per candidate. 100-point rubric, pass mark 70, possible 20-minute video debrief
- Price
- $5,299 USD or 3 payments of $1,849. Exam fee included
- CPE
- Up to 79
- Validity
- Three years. Renew with 60 CPE or a re-sit
- Eligibility
- United States, NATO and EU member states, and allied nations
No canned scenario. No two packets alike.
At 09:00 US Eastern on Day 1 the examiner sends your packet: an assigned adversary set, a live seed item from the past 72 hours, and a forecast question you must answer. Draw a sample below. Then move the rubric sliders and watch where a submission lands.
Sample packet for illustration. Real packets carry a live item collected by the examiner within the past 72 hours.
Rubric weights match the CNIA Candidate Handbook. Score 70 or above earns the credential. Score 55 to 69 earns one free resubmission with a new packet. Below 55, a new attempt carries a $499 retake fee.
Four steps. One named credential.
Enroll once. Every step sits inside the same enrollment and the same price, the exam included.
Complete three courses
PEOPINT / NARINT, Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law, and Foresight. Self-paced, up to 71 CPE.
Request your exam window
Email three start dates. The examiner confirms one and builds your packet that morning.
Sit the live practical
Five consecutive days on a real adversary campaign, from primary sources, under passive-collection rules.
Earn the credential
Pass at 70 or above, clear any called debrief, and receive the CNIA certificate with a unique credential ID.
Who built it. Whether to answer. What comes next.
Most narrative training stops at detection. The CNIA path carries the analyst from the people behind a story to the decision about it, then forward to a scored forecast.
People & Narrative Intelligence (PEOPINT / NARINT)
Map the people and networks behind a narrative: influence architecture, the unwitting participant, AI simulators, and Chinese, Russian, DPRK and Iranian PEOPINT doctrine. About 35 CPE.
SEE THE COURSE → 02 // WHETHERNarrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law
A false claim takes seconds to make and hours to correct. Operate above the claim, set a response threshold, and manage the exchange rate. Up to 12 CPE.
SEE THE COURSE → 03 // WHAT NEXTForesight: Estimative and Predictive Intelligence
Sherman Kent probability bands, scored forecasting, twelve Treadstone 71 foresight methods with labs, and a graded Red versus Blue capstone. Up to 24 CPE.
SEE THE COURSE → 04 // PROVE ITCNIA Practical Examination
Five days, one live campaign, one examiner, a published rubric. Included in the certification price. About 8 CPE.
ENROLL IN CNIA →INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTTREADSTONE 71
What CNIA proves.
A CNIA holder has shown, under examination in a live information environment, that they find the narratives an adversary is running, map who builds and carries them, decide whether to answer, and forecast what comes next with a stated probability.
PDF certificate with a unique credential ID in the form CNIA-2026-0001.
Use the letters CNIA after your name while the credential is current.
Three years from issue. Renew with 60 CPE hours, 20 of them in narrative, influence, cognitive warfare or forecasting work, or sit the exam again.
Employers email
From a certified analyst to a team in the fight.
CNIA builds the skill in one analyst. Treadstone 71 services put it to work against the narratives aimed at your organization.
Narrative Threat Emulation: 1-Day Sprint
A red cell runs adversary narratives against your business for a day. Your team detects, attributes and counters.
SEE THE SPRINT → PREPAREStrategic Narrative Inoculation Sprint
Ten business days of pre-bunking before a corporate milestone.
SEE THE SPRINT → WATCHCognitive Warfare Monitor
A standing, graded watch on the narratives aimed at your organization.
SEE THE MONITOR → TESTCognitive Warfare Red Teaming
Adversary emulation against your decisions and your story.
SEE RED TEAMING →Standards and sources behind the exam.
Jeff Bardin
FOUNDER AND CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, TREADSTONE 71
Fourteen years of US military service across the Air Force and Army, enlisted and officer: cryptologic linguist, then armored scout platoon leader. Builder of the cyber intelligence, cyber counterintelligence and cybercrime programs at Utica University. Author of The Mind Domain and Tradecraft at Machine Speed.
Woman-owned, veteran-led cyber and strategic intelligence training and consulting since 2002. Our People and Narrative Intelligence course is listed in the CISA NICCS training catalog.
Certifying a team? Contact Treadstone 71 about team readiness pricing.
Questions answered.
What is the CNIA credential?
Certified Narrative Intelligence Analyst. A Treadstone 71 professional credential earned by completing three online courses and passing a graded five-day practical exam in a live information environment. Holders use the letters CNIA after their name while the credential is current.
Is the exam fee extra?
No. The practical exam is part of the $5,299 certification price, together with the three courses, one free resubmission for scores of 55 to 69, and the certificate. The only extra charge is a $499 retake fee, and only when a new attempt is needed.
How does the practical exam work?
You request a window after finishing the three courses. At 09:00 US Eastern on Day 1 your packet arrives: an assigned adversary set, a live seed item to trace, and an examiner-set forecast question. Over five days you log and grade at least 20 items, map the network behind a narrative, make response decisions, write two forecasts and file a six-page watch report. An examiner grades it against a 100-point rubric. Pass mark 70.
What is narrative intelligence?
Intelligence about the stories an adversary builds: who builds them, who carries them, which audiences they target, which decisions they set out to degrade, and what comes next. Treadstone 71 teaches it as tradecraft, not as one vendor's software.
How many CPE does CNIA carry?
Up to 79 CPE: about 35 for PEOPINT, up to 24 for Foresight, up to 12 for Narrative Defense, and about 8 for the practical exam. Self-report hours under your certifying body's rules, such as ISC2, ISACA or CompTIA.
How long is the credential valid?
Three years. Renew by logging 60 CPE hours over the three years, at least 20 of them in narrative intelligence, influence operations, cognitive warfare or forecasting, or by sitting the exam again. Employers verify a credential by emailing
Where do I enroll?
On the Treadstone 71 Cyber Intelligence Training Center at cyberinteltrainingcenter.com/p/narrativeintelligencebundle. Pay in full or in 3 monthly payments of $1,849.
Who is eligible?
Students in the United States, NATO and EU member states, and allied nations. Treadstone 71 verifies every enrollment.
Enrollment is open to students in the United States, NATO and EU member states, and allied nations. Treadstone 71 verifies every enrollment.
Expertise. Knowledge. Ahead of the crowd.
$5,299 or 3 payments of $1,849. Three courses, a graded live practical and the CNIA credential. Exam fee included. Up to 79 CPE.
