Searching for the perfect CISSP study materials could be the one of the most important decision you make on your journey towards becoming a Certified Information Systems Security Professional.
The difference between effectively passing or failing the CISSP exam relies upon how well your study materials coordinate with your learning style and schedule.You will be spending countless hours studying it, so it’s crucial to find the one that best fits your learning style. Using the wrong prep course can cause you to score lower and fail your exam, costing you months of study time and additional exam fees. CRUSH is here to make sure that doesn’t happen!
So here’s the great news – we have personally tested and demoed online the CISSP study materials below so you don’t have to. The comparison chart below will enable you to make sense of which one best fits your requirements.
Best CISSP Study Materials 2020
- Kaplan CISSP Study Materials
- Grey Campus CISSP Study Materials
- ExamPractice CISSP Study Materials
- Master of Project Academy CISSP Certification Course
- Transcender CISSP Study Materials
- SimpliLearn CISSP Review Course
| CISSP Courses |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANKINGS | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| OVERALL RATING | |||||
| WEBSITE | Kaplan IT Training | CISSP ExamPractice | Grey Campus | Master of Project CISSP | Simplilearn |
| PRICE | $2,995 | SAVE $200 | $1,499 | $335 | $499 |
| VIDEO LESSON HOUR | 24 Hours +140 Short Videos | 15+ Hours | 32 Hours | 10+ Hours | 32 hours |
| PRACTICE TEST | 1 Diagnostic Exam+ 1 Assessment Exam | 10 Chapter Quizzes | Available | 1 Full Length Exam | 1 Full-Length |
| PRACTICE QUESTIONS | 1000 | 1000+ | 1250 | 1,000 | 5 Simulation Exams |
| CPEs | None | 18 CEUs | 35 | 30 CPEs | 30 |
| FORMAT | eLearning, or On-Demand Self-Paced | Online Self-Paced | Online Self-Learning, or Live Online | Online, Self-Paced | Online Flexi-Pass |
| GUARANTEE | 30-Day Money Back Guarantee for 180 Day Package Only | N/A | 24-Hour Money Back Guarantee for Live Online and 3-Day Guarantee for Self-Learning | 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee | 7-Day Money Back Guarantee |
| PROGRESS TRACKING |  | | | | |
| MOBILE FRIENDLY | | | | |  |
| ONLINE ACCESS | 12 Months | 180 Days | 12 Months | 12 Months | Lifetime Access to Self-Paced Videos |
| ACCESS COURSE | GET STARTED NOW | GET STARTED NOW | GET STARTED NOW | GET STARTED NOW | GET STARTED NOW |
1. Kaplan CISSP Study Materials
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2. CISSP ExamPractice Study Materials
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3. Grey Campus CISSP Study Materials
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The Bottom Line: Grey Campus’s online CISSP study materials provides students with several comprehensive practice tests that contain a total of over 1,000 practice questions, perfect for exam prep. They also serve as an excellent CPE resource.
4. Master of Project Academy CISSP
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5. SimpliLearn CISSP Study Materials
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CISSP Certification Tips & Tricks
The consistently changing digital universe of information technology is developing at a colossal pace. The reliance of governments, business and individuals on the IT framework has made it an alluring jackpot for criminals. The cost of cyber attacks, vandalism and hacking have fetched organizations billions. Most recent wanna-cry attack has already exposed several vulnerabilities.
One of the reason for failed security measures that surrender in front of advance threats is the incompetency of information security professionals. IT security is normally considered a job of high tech professionals expert in coding, scripting but with no business acumen. This has resulted in efforts that were not aligned with business objectives and goals.
Many certifications are available in market that accredit the expertise of information security professionals. The certifications help potential selection representatives and market as a whole to check the information security expertise of an expert. In the ocean of increasing certifications Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) rose as the best quality level because of its magnificent arrangement between specialized expertise and business learning. CISSP is the most all inclusive perceived accreditation in the data security showcase. Required by the world’s most security-consciuos associations, CISSP is the business driving certification that guarantees you have the profound specialized and administrative knowledge and experience to successfully design, build, and deal with the general security posture of an organization.
Definition and purpose of CISSP is clearly elaborated by ISC2, the organization that conducts CISSP certification program. They state
“The vendor-neutral CISSP certification is the ideal credential for those with proven deep technical and managerial competence, skills, experience, and credibility to design, engineer, implement, and manage their overall information security program to protect organizations from growing sophisticated attacks”
Hence CISSP exam tests and verify the person’s knowledge and skills both in technical and managerial domains. In the following section I will elaborate various questions that arise in the mind of CISSP aspirants.
How Can I Pass The CISSP?
If you have 5 years of information security experience in any two fields out of 8 domains of CISSP and you can pass the test. CISSP covers a wide array of topics and that makes it worthy. The 8 domains of CISSP are
- Security and Risk Management
- Asset Security
- Security Engineering
- Communications and Network Security
- Identity and Access Management
- Security Assessment and Testing
- Security Operations
- Software Development Security
So on the off chance that you have over 5 years of experience in the desired fields, you simply need to begin. However CISSP does not come at a low cost. A lot of invetment is required attending to CISSP training camps, CISSP preparing and purchasing CISSP learning material. CISSP exam itself cost $600. Most of the free material accessible on web is from old 10 domain design.
What Is On The CISSP Test?
A journey is successful if the goals are well defined and understood. Understanding CISSP test, what it is, how it test you and how tough it is can really set you on strong base for the gigantic task. The long 6 hours 250 multiple choice questions, test your knowledge, patience and persistence. It requires a lot of study, practice tests, practical experience and strong conceptual grasp on CISSP knowledge areas.
The test consist of multiple choice questions with the following distribution percentage of questions.
| Domains | Weightage |
| 1. Security and Risk Management | 16% |
| 2. Asset Security | 10% |
| 3. Security Engineering | 12% |
| 4. Communication and Network Security | 12% |
| 5. Identity and Access Management | 13% |
| 6. Security Assessment and Testing | 11% |
| 7. Security Operations | 16% |
| 8. Software Development Security | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Courtesy ISC2
As you witness the inquiries will be well spread over all spaces and true endeavors must be made to ace every one of the 8 domains. All the questions in CISSP don’t carry equal marks. The value of every question depends on its difficulty level. In addition to these 25 questions are experimental which are included for test purposes. These questions are not rated for calculation of your last score. In any case you can’t separate between these test questions and the evaluated ones.
How to prepare for the CISSP Test
CISSP requires knowledge of all the 8 domains mentioned above. You will need the following four resources to prepare for the exam.
- Books
- Video lectures
- CISSP boot camp or CISSP trainings
- Practice tests
I will explain each in resource in detail
- Books
Your choice of book will help you determine the scope and milestones of your study. I would recommend CISSP (ISC)2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide 7th Edition. It’s one of the highest rated book on amazon with various 5 star reviews. The book is well written and concise. The information given is to the point and there is no extra detail that is not related with CISSP exam. The book is divided into 21 chapters that are curated to make the reading and understanding easy.
In addition to this main book you can always consult additional books for in depth understanding of concepts. CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide is an excellent book for going through your weak topics. However the detail oriented book should only be used as reference instead of using it as one and only book. Books by Eric Conrad are also praised and highly rated by CISSP test takers.
- Video Lectures
A lot of free and paid video lectures that are available in the market. The most effective ones are by Kelly Handerhan on Cybrary. Her lectures are brief, to the point and creates the mindset which is very important for passing CISSP test. CISSP puts you in a position of risk manager, hence all your decisions and choices must be based on that context. The great news is that lectures the are free of cost.
3. CISSP boot camps
CISSP market demand has made it an appealing certification which is look for by enormous number of IT security experts. A ton of organizations offer on web and on location CISSP trainings. These CISSP classes give a quick head start for learners and aides in understanding the scope and knowledge areas of CISSP. You can see our comparison at the top of this page for the best CISP training camps accessible.
4. Practice Tests for CISSP Training
Successful CISSP test attempt depends on big practice sessions. Practice questions must be utilized subject wise and in blend form to consolidate information security ideas. One explanation behind CISSP difficulty level to be high is that no training questions approach actual question asked in exam.
Therefore practice questions from multiple source must be used to diversify the test experience. Some of the resources used by me are
- Sybex Test Bank: This comes along with the book and adds significantly to the value. There are 20 questions for each chapter along with (4) 250 questions full exams.
- MCGraw Hill practice exams. These CISSP practice questions and audio lectures were developed by Shon Harris and the Logical Security development team. We worked hard to develop a comprehensive set of questions and lecture files that will better prepare you for the CISSP.
*A sample from each of the sources is included at the end
Ongoing CISSP certification
The CISSP credential is valid for three years; most holders renew by submitting Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. There is also a yearly membership fee of $85 required to maintain certification
CISSP Salaries
A survey reports that the highest concentration of CISSPs are located in DC, NYC and Atlanta Georgia. The city with the highest average salary was NYC, coming in at $119,840/yr.
CISSP Certification Concentrations
Holders of CISSP certifications can earn additional certifications in areas of specialty. There are three possibilities:
- Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (CISSP-ISSAP). The architect plays a vital role within the information security department with responsibilities that functionally fit between the C-suite and upper managerial level and the implementation of the security program.
- Information Systems Security Engineering Professional (CISSP-ISSEP), an advanced information security certification issued by (ISC)2 that focuses on the engineering aspects of information security. ISSEP is the guide for incorporating security into projects, applications, business processes, and all information systems.
- Information Systems Security Management Professional (CISSP-ISSMP), an advanced information security certification issued by (ISC)2 that focuses on the management aspects of information security. An ISSMP establishes, presents, and governs information security programs demonstrating management and leadership skills
Sample Sybex Test Questions
- What security flaw conveys information by writing data to a common storage area where another process can read it ?
- Covert timing channel
- Buffer overflow
- Covert storage channel
- Maintenance hook
Answer: C
A covert storage channel conveys information by writing data to a common storage area where another process can read it. Securing data in such a way introduces a security flaw that allows unauthorized user to access the data.
- Generally a privacy policy is designed to protect what?
- A user’s privacy
- The public’s freedom
- Intellectual property
- A company’s right to audit
Answer: D
The purpose of a privacy policy is to inform users where the do and do not have privacy benefit of the protection of company’s right to audit and monitor user activity.
Sample CCCure Quizzer question
- Jean is an internal auditor who consistently uses the audit logs of various network systems to product reports. In an email to the VP of IT, she stresses how important it is that proper protection controls are put in place to protect the audit logs. Of the justification listed below, which is the weakest.
- Unprotected audit logs can be easily altered by an intruder after committing a crime.
- Unapproved changes to audit logs hurt the consistency and efficiency of automating reporting.
- Audit logs often contain sensitive information and must be protected.
- In the event of an investigation, an unprotected audit log may be deemed inadmissible in court.
Answer: B
Unapproved changes to audit logs, which can negatively affect the automation process of reporting, are not the main concern of security. Audit logs are protected to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of logs.
Sample McGraw Hill question
- What is the first step in developing a DRP(Disaster Recovery Plan)
- Identify all critical systems and functions of the company
- Decide if the company needs to perform a walk-through, parallel or simulation test.
- Perform a BIA(Business Impact Analysis)
- Interview a representative from each Department
Answer: C
A BIA includes identifying critical systems and functions of a company and interviewing representatives from each department. Once management’s support if solidified, a business impact analysis needs to be performed to identify the threats the company faces and the potential costs of these threat.
Top 3 Best CISSP Study Materials
| CISSP Course | CISSP ExamPractice | Transcender | SimpliLearn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $499 | $399 | $599 |
| Practice Questions | N/A | 949 | 1,250 |
| Video Lessons | 35+ Hours | 23 Hours | 32 Hours |
| Guarantee | None | On Practice Exam Software Only | 3 Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Online Access | 6 Months | 12 Months | 180 Days |
