CISSP - Cybersecurity Certification: Comprehensive Guide
This blog covers the following questions related to CISSP accredited by (ISC)²:
- What is CISSP?
- Why is Cybersecurity critical?
- Who should do CISSP?
- What are the requirements of CISSP Certification?
- How to get CISSP Certification?
- What is the cost of the CISSP exam?
- What are the job opportunities for CISSP in 2021?
- What are the skills developed after getting CISSP Certified?
- What are the benefits of getting CISSP Certified?
- What is the average annual salary of professionals with CISSP Certification?
What is CISSP?
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is an esteemed certification in Information Security accredited by the prestigious International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)². The globally recognized CISSP certification validates the knowledge in designing, implementing, and managing the best practice of cybersecurity and hands-on experience in highly secure business environments.
According to (ISC)², as of a recent update, i.e., Jan-1-2021, there are 147,591 CISSP certification holders worldwide. The United States holds the highest number of 92,938 CISSP certification holders. Cybersecurity professionals are in high demand due to the never-ending cyber-attacks and skill gap. Many organizations demand a qualified and skilled professional to avoid data breaches in their organization.
Why is Cybersecurity critical?
The global pandemic has spared none! Though the emergence of remote working has helped the organizations to maintain continuity, there was a considerable increase in cyber-attacks and data breaching. As a result, Cybersecurity is of utmost importance to avoid significant cyber-attacks. To validate the above point, let us consider a few data published during the 2020 global pandemic.
- According to Gartner, 52% of legal and compliance leaders are concerned about third-party cyber risks due to remote work since COVID-19.
- According to IMC Groupo, The FBI’s IC3 and Google report a significant jump in the number of reported cybercrimes. FBI Reports a 300% Increase, and Google is now blocking an average of over 18 million daily malware — along with 240 million daily spam messages.
- According to Fintech news, 27% of COVID-19 cyberattacks targeted banks and healthcare organizations, and COVID-19 is credited for a 238% rise in cyberattacks on banks in 2020.
- The data breaches increased to 58% in the healthcare industry during 2020.
Considering the above statistics, there is a considerable demand for the cybersecurity industry and cybersecurity professionals. With the rise in cloud services, smartphones, and the Internet of Things, and emerging technology trends, cyber threats have increased.
The cybersecurity involves protection of:
- Personally identifiable information (PII)
- Protected health information (PHI)
- Personal information
- Intellectual-property data
- Governmental and industry information
Who should do CISSP?
The CISSP is suitable for security practitioners, data security managers, and professionals working in the field of cybersecurity as following professionals:
- Chief Information Security Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Director of Security
- IT Director/Manager
- Security Systems Engineer
- Security Analyst
- Security Manager
- Security Auditor
- Security Architect
- Security Consultant
- Network Architect
What are the requirements of CISSP Certification?
As mentioned in (ISC)², CISSP is an advanced level certification and has many prerequisites:
- Candidate must have a minimum of 5 years of work experience in two or more domains mentioned below:
- Domain 1. Security and Risk Management
- Domain 2. Asset Security
- Domain 3. Security Architecture and Engineering
- Domain 4. Communication and Network Security
- Domain 5. Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Domain 6. Security Assessment and Testing
- Domain 7. Security Operations
- Domain 8. Software Development Security
- Four-Year College Degree or Regional Equivalent
- Work experience can be reduced to 4 years if the candidate holds a four-year college degree or regional equivalent or an advanced degree in information security from the U.S. National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE/IAE).
- The candidate can also reduce one-year work experience if the candidate holds at least one approved credential on (ISC)² approved list of primary level and the managerial level certifications like,
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
- Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
- Certified Authorization Professional (CAP)
- Certified Business Continuity Professional
- Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)
- Certified Computer Examiner (CCE)
- Certified Cyber Forensics Professional (CCFP)
- Certified Ethical Hacker v8 or higher
- Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE)
- Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) etc.
- A candidate can also attempt the CISSP exam even without experience. In that case, they obtain Associate of (ISC)2 certification and can get the CISSP tag once they gain the experience. The Associate of (ISC)2 will then have six years to earn the five years required experience.
How to get CISSP Certification?
The steps involved in getting CISSP certification is:
- Once you meet the requirements mentioned above, understand the format of the CISSP exam. There are two separate tests for the English language and other languages.
- CISSP CAT (Computerized Adaptive Testing)- English
- CISSP Linear Examination - French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish-Modern, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean
CISSP CAT Examination Format:
Duration: 3 hours
Number of questions: 100-150
Question format: Multiple choice and advanced innovative items
Passing Grade: 700 out of 1000 points
Testing center: (ISC)2 Authorized PPC and PVTC Select Pearson VUE Testing Centers.
CISSP Linear Examination Format:
Duration: 6 hours
Number of questions: 250
Question format: Multiple choice and advanced innovative items
Passing Grade: 700 out of 1000 points
Testing center: ((ISC)2 Authorized PPC and PVTC Select Pearson VUE Testing Centers