SYNOPSIS • CISSPvs
The CISSP® is an extremely advanced certification meant for IT professionals who want to achieve "mastery of an international standard for information security and understanding of a Common Body of Knowledge (CBK®)." Earning the CISSP® certification requires a candidate to pass a single exam and meet the exam vendor's prerequisites. The two prerequisites for this exam are for the candidate to: "execute the candidate agreement, attesting to the truth of the candidate's experience assertions and legally commit to adhering to the Code of Ethics"; and successfully "answer four questions regarding criminal history and related background." Users that attain this exam commonly carry the titles of Security Auditor or Network Security Analyst.
The topics covered by this exam come from the CISSP® Common Body of Knowledge (CBK®) and include:
Access Control Systems & Methodology
Applications & Systems Development
Business Continuity Planning
Cryptography
Law, Investigation & Ethics
Operations Security
Physical Security
Security Architecture & Models
Security Management Practices
Telecommunications, Network & Internet Security
Within this Common Body of Knowledge (CBK®), the vendor will ask a series of very challenging question involving particular extracted from the published information. While the material itself is not considered to be overly complex, the actual amount of information on the exam can be slightly intimidating to users new to the security field. The pass score for this form-based multiple choice exam is a scaled score of 700 points or greater. There are 250 questions and the exam lasts 6 hours. Helpful:Compare this exam with others.
CISSP (2008) Quiz Me Series This title is available to you as a digital download or 2-CD set. This audio training product includes hours of questions and answers in a verbal quizzing format. Topics covered include:...
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CISSP Practice Exam This practice exam covers all the exam objectives for CISSP and includes 750 challenging questions inside 3 test modules built to simulate the actual exam. Unlimited, FREE auto-updates are provided...
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CISSP Training Pack This Training Pack includes the PrepLogic CISSP Practice Exam (3 exam modules with 750 practice questions - unlimited auto-updates and a money-back pass guarantee) and Printables. The Training Pack will...
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PDF / Software Download
CISSP Lecture Series This title is available to you as a digital download or 3-CD set. This Lecture Series Product features topical information in instructor-based lecture format. Topics covered include: Access...
$57.00
CD
CISSP Mega Guide This Mega Guide covers the key points you need to know to pass the CISSP as well as 25 practice questions. Topics covered include: Access Control Systems and Methodology; Applications and Systems Development;...
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CISSP (2008 Edition) LearnSmart Video Training Gain in-depth CISSP (2008 Edition) knowledge from industry-leading instructor Michael Solomon. Michael's enthusiasm and expert insight brings technology to life to make learning exciting...
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CD
It's a tough one...
brookjp on Friday, December 21, 2007
I just got my pass letter today! Exactly six weeks later. Man that was a long wait to see how I did. I went to a New Horizons week long class, and read a handful of books and study aids (Sybex, Shon Harris, and Transcender). The exam is pretty vague, but totally worth it!
Not as hard as I thought
akuncewitch on Monday, August 06, 2007
I way overstudied for this test. However, at 500 dollars a pop it's worth it to overstudy. I read the All in One third edition and the passport book for the test. Both really helped.
Very hard - study your bum off
BShoemaker00 on Saturday, August 04, 2007
Been in the IT industry for 11 years as a network engineer, took a prep class, read for 3 weeks, and took multiple prep exams - and it was still extremely hard. Passed by the skin of my teeth! Attempt if you have the time and cash, AND if you are very serious...
A Straightforward Exam
glm8709 on Monday, December 04, 2006
The CISSP exam is straightforward. If you know the material well you will pass, because there is very little room for subjective interpretation of the answers. All in all, a very well designed evaluation.
Broad but not too deep
steve_steele on Friday, August 11, 2006
The exam covers a broad range of subjects, but not in any great depth. The questions are not really trick questions but they are certainly not always black and white. There are hundreds of great sample questions on www.cccure.org which will help you prepare.
Don't try and cram for this exam, it's not possible.
I used the shon harris CISSP all in one 3rd edition book and CISSP exam cram 2.
It helps if you've taken a other security certs. I was MCSE:security, Security+ and Cisco certified Security Professional before I started.
6 hours is a long time to focus, but it's not as bad as some people have made out.
good luck all.
a mile wide and a foot deep
jvandiveer on Friday, June 30, 2006
CISSP is nice broad exam with enough depth to drain you after the 2nd or 3rd hour of questions.
To summarize the exam experience
Questions:
1-50 (warming up and shook off the exam jitters)
51-100 (going well)
101-150 (is it lunch time yet, definitely time for a break)
151-200 (are we there yet?)
201-250 (the end couldn't come fast enough and by then I really didn't care if I passed or not)
In the end this test isn't very technical, if you have good retention skills and/or experience to draw from you will pass. It is just plain long and fatiguing, so you just have to know it.
10 years IT, 5 years Security, 4 months of inconsistant studying and 2 weeks of cramming. Mike Myers's Passport help put the whole exam into perspective.
Lots of trick questions
web100 on Friday, June 02, 2006
I've passed a lot of technical exams and thought a theory based exam would be easy, but I was wrong. The questions are not so hard, but about 95% of them have trick answers. It's not just two answers which are similar and test your language ability either- the answers will be completely different but both right. This means you are 50/50 on nearly every question. The exam doesn't really test your security knowledge, it's more a battle of attrition to test how you are on answering a huge amount of trick questions. I received a pass today (took just under 2 weeks to arrive) but it can't have been by much.
Study often
csbob77 on Monday, May 22, 2006
This exam is broad in nature and covers a lot of material. If you are serious about passing this exam I would study a couple of hours everyday for at least two months. Two of the best resources I found for preparing for this exam was Shon Harris's book and cccure.org.
Very Hard Test and Tricky
ESOK on Saturday, April 22, 2006
The CISSP is a very hard test. They load the test with lots of trick questions, where 2 or 3 answers will look right or may be right under certain situations.
Test prep is very, very important. Get practice questions from preplogic, boson, cccure, etc... wherever you can find them. The more practice questions you see, the better off you will be on the test. Don't rely on just a study book or video, because you are bound to fail that way. Lots of practice questions and knowing why a certain answer is correct or where the answer comes from in your study material and what it says will help you pass.
By the way, I took the exam and passed the 1st time, but it was hard and I was not sure I passed it until I found out a week later.
Nothing from the Cramsession
b_bawa on Friday, February 10, 2006
I did not find the cramsession of any help or assistance to pass the exam. No question come from the database. You need to know the subject to pass the exam. Subject understanding would give you success.
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