CISSP Certification Introduction and Exam Tips

Learn CISSP exam prerequisites, including four years of security experience, domain overview, and study strategy for the 2021 exam, emphasizing breadth over depth across cryptography, controls, and physical security.

Master the CISSP exam format: a computerized adaptive test with 100–150 randomized, weighted questions in 3 hours, four options, drag-and-drop occasionally, and a 700/1000 passing score.

Register early for the CISSP exam through Pearson VUE to secure a seat and force yourself to study.

Discover the mandatory CISSP endorsement: secure a KSP or Esquire endorser, obtain their number, document five years of work history across two domains, and pass manager verification to apply.

Explore the eight CISSP domains, from security and risk management to software development security, including asset security, cryptography, physical security, IAM, security assessment and testing, and disaster recovery.

Understand domain one security and risk management, covering the CIA triad, governance, relevant laws like GDPR and Sarbanes-Oxley, security policies, ethics, BCP, and risk assessment.

Classify information assets with data classification levels, such as secret, top secret, confidential, and public. Determine asset ownership and apply privacy protections, encryption, and retention policies for handling and disposal.

Explore security architecture and engineering with a high-level overview of cryptography, secure design principles, security models, and vulnerability assessment across databases, IoT, web, mobile, embedded systems, and physical security.

Explore domain four: communication and network security, focusing on secure design principles and the OSI model. Delve into protocols, devices, cloud security, sdn, wireless security, vpn, and network access control.

Explore identity and access management fundamentals, including single and multi-factor authentication, federated identity with SAML, credential management, and various access control models like RBAC, ABAC, and mandatory access control.

Explore the security assessment and testing domain, covering internal, external, and third party audits, vulnerability assessments with NEXUS scanner, white box, black box, grey box testing, and audit roles.

Learn security operations, including digital forensics, e-discovery, log monitoring with intrusion detection systems and siem. Master incident management steps, change management, firewall architectures, and disaster recovery planning.

Integrate security in the software development lifecycle by understanding SDLC phases, secure coding practices, and securing development environments, configuration management, auditing and logging, APIs, and code repositories.

Apply proven exam tips for the CISSP test, including extensive practice questions, morning testing, think like a manager, select the best answer, justify choices, and read questions carefully.

Practice questions apply six tests and tips to sharpen CISSP exam skills. Identify the most important factor when storing PII by considering encryption, laws, data location, and access controls.

maintain your CISSP certification by earning 125 continuous professional education credits every three years and paying the $125 renewal fee, with about 40 credits per year.