Tips for Acing CISSP

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification given by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 is considered to be the most widely recognized certification in the information security industry worldwide. It has become a standard baseline for showing knowledge and proving expertise in this field.

Most candidates fail the CISSP exam because they have not been basically aware of how to correctly start in the first place. Most of them try hard to study, yet they eventually do not pass the CISSP exam because they have just crammed and studied aimlessly. They fall for the exam maker’s traps even though they have spent over 200 hours preparing for the CISSP exam, have taken practice exams, and have memorized key terms.

While in the exam, they hit a question like “You are designing a server room. What is the ideal percentage of humidity required to prevent damage to electronic equipment?” Of course, they are not IBM’s Watson, so they don’t know how to answer. The CISSP exam contains materials that such candidates are completely unfamiliar with, despite all the hundreds of hours of preparation.

Another trap that a CISSP candidate is guaranteed to encounter is the honeypots questions. Exam makers attempt to lure candidates into picking a wrong answer with misleading answer choices. These choices may appeal to the candidate’s technical background or prey upon their fatigue on the exam day. Familiarizing yourself with common honeypots can help you avoid them.

Before we dig into more details about the CISSP exam, it is important to mention that the CISSP exam is available in eight languages at 882 locations in 114 countries. The exam can come in either of two forms: Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) or Linear Fixed-Form exam. The core difference is that while traditional Linear Fixed-Form exams present candidates with an ordered series of questions, CAT exams adapt the difficulty of questions presented to candidates depending on their responses to previous questions. The English version of the exam uses Computer Adaptive Testing, yet non-English CISSP exams are administered as a Linear Fixed-Form exam. Throughout this post, we will limit our discussion to merely the CAT version.

Now that we understand the importance of CISSP exam and the necessity of having an effective preparation for such an exam to guarantee acing it, we need to move on to discuss quick facts about CISSP exam, then briefly explain the main domains that CISSP covers and how InfoSecAddict’s CISSP course targets them, and finally discuss in detail seven important tips for efficiently passing the exam.

• • Number of Questions: 100 – 150
  • Test Duration: 3 Hours
  • Test Format: Multiple Choice and Advanced Innovative Questions
  • Test Delivery: ECC EXAM, VUE
  • Testing Center: (ISC)2 Authorized PPC and PVTC Select Pearson VUE Testing Centers
  • Passing Score: 700 out of 1000 (70%)

CISSP exam requires that successful candidates are competent in the following eight domains from the (ISC)2 Common Body of Knowledge (CBK):

• • Security and Risk Management
  • Asset Security
  • Security Architecture and Engineering
  • Communication and Network Security
  • Identity and Access Management (IAM)
  • Security Assessment and Testing
  • Security Operations
  • Software Development Security

In order to qualify to take the exam, you must meet certain prerequisites. First, it is necessary to provide evidence of full-time work experience for five years in at least two of the aforementioned domains. Alternatively, you can instead provide evidence of four years of experience along with having either a four-year college degree or an accepted credential or certification. Second, you have to accept the (ISC)2 Code of Ethics and explain on your application if you have any felony conviction and any identification with hackers. Kindly note that the exam content is updated regularly every three years.

First, you can start by looking through all the questions to make sure that your brain is on the same wavelength with the examiners. Then answer the questions which you are sure 100%. Next, answer the ones that you are not quite sure about but thought you know. That leaves just a few questions that, quite frankly, you just do not know the answers to. Since the CISSP is a multiple-choice exam, it is better to eliminate the two answers that are clearly wrong, and then gamble by picking one of the remaining two.

Whether you like it or not, the modern regulations, including GDPR, require technical and organizational measures to protect data, so security management issues are going to be everyone’s concern. Serious certification requires thorough prepping, so don’t rely on luck. Never stop refining your security expertise. It should be a continuous process. And remember: The problem isn’t as big as it seems. If you really want it and put in the right effort, you’ll pass the exam.