1. What is the CISSP® exam?

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‘CISSP’ or the ‘Certified Information Systems Security Professional’ is considered to be the gold standard of all Information security certifications. The CISSP certification shows that “you have the knowledge and experience to design, develop and manage the overall security posture of an organization” (ISC)2 The exam tests you on eight domains which are ‘Security and Risk Management’, ‘Asset Security’, ‘Security Architecture and Engineering’, ‘Communications and Network Security’, ‘Identity and Access Management’, ‘Security Assessment and Testing’, ‘Security Operations’, ‘Software Development Security’.

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2. Am I qualified to take the exam?

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If you have 5 years of full-time security experience in two of the eight domains of the (ISC)2 CISSP® CBK(Common body of knowledge) you can definitely take the exam.

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3. I am a ‘Security Analyst’ – do I need the CISSP®?

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Yes, if you are a ‘Security Analyst’ you will need the CISSP® credential to boost your career. Here are some other job titles that could benefit from having the CISSP:

• Chief Information Officer

• Chief Information Security Officer

• Director of Security

• IT Director/Manager

• Network Architect

• Security Analyst

• Security Architect

• Security Auditor

• Security Consultant

• Security Manager

• Security Systems Engineer

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4. I only have 2 years of full time experience – what should I do then to take the exam?

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All is not lost when you have only 2 years of full time experience. You can take the exam and become an associate of (ISC)2 and can then work towards getting the required amount of experience.

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5. Who conducts the CISSP® exam?

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      The CISSP exam is conducted by ‘ International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium’ or (ISC)2

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6. Can you give me some more details about the exam?

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• The exam has about 175 questions

• The candidate must score 700 out of a possible 1000 points to pass the exam

• The duration of the exam is about 4 hrs.

• All English versions of the CISSP® exam use CAT or ‘Computerized adaptive testing’

• The candidate can check the pricing of the exam from this link

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7. What are CPEs?

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Once you are CISSP® certified, you become a member of (ISC)2. The candidate is then required to recertify once every three years to maintain the certification. Recertification is done by gaining CPEs and paying an AMF of 125$.

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CPEs are  ‘Continuing Professional Education’  and some of the ways in which they can be accrued are by joining webinars, authoring an Information security article that is published in a journal or magazine, reading a book relating to CISSP® and writing a review, attending (ISC)2  chapter meetings, volunteering and more.

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8. How will the CISSP® credential help me in my career?

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The Infosec domain is growing by leaps and bounds every day.  The CISSP® credential will help you in the following ways:

• You will be respected more in the InfoSec community

• CISSP® certification will open the doors to new employment opportunities

• In spite of so many certifications being around, the CISSP certification is still “the” one certification that is demanded by most employers

• The CISSP® will also pave the way for higher salaries

• Since the CISSP® is a vendor neutral certification, you will be able to apply the skills to different technologies and methodologies.

• You will gain a deeper knowledge of the different domains in cyber security

For more information on the CISSP® certification, do download our whitepaper and pass the exam with flying colors!