With the increasing span of human capabilities, world organizations have changed. Assets are critical, and infrastructure is sensitive. Take, for instance, the MNCs, these organizations perform widespread operation around the globe, with expatriates. Things are getting complex each passing day.
The environment gets derailed with ever-growing Cyber-attacks. Malware, Phishing, Man in the middle attack, Denial of service attack, SQL injection, and zero-day exploits. Peeling back the layers makes us understand that the meltdown of global security. Prototypes are not capable enough to handle far more efficient attacks like credential stuffing attacks. One such example is the Iranian cybercrime, Blackbaud attack into the two US healthcare organizations.
More than 190K customers are affected by the Service NSW data breach in the month of September. Today experts are claiming and calling for professionals to be ready with for a quantum leap. Look at what happened to the New Zealand stock exchange by DDoS attack.
To solve all these pressing issues, we need experts at the frontline. Certifications like CISSP and CISM proves your worth to the zenith level. Be it managing Projects or taking on infrastructural development all can be done with Cybersecurity. Companies are calling for Open Cybersecurity positions. There are many Professional positions about Cybersecurity.
Positions like security analyst, security engineer, Security Architect, Security Administrator, Cryptographer, Cryptanalyst, to name a few.
All about CISSP
It was introduced in the year 1994 by (ISC)2. The exam is multi-lingual and comes in 8 languages functioning in 114 countries in 882 locations. There are more than 129000 CISSP professionals who are working in more than 160 countries. The average salary that CISSP professional draws are around $140000 per annum. This certification is DoD approved and meets the credential of ISO and IEC standard 17024. This credentialing makes it elite and one of the most sought cybersecurity certifications on LinkedIn.
The certification exam is of 3 hours long to answer 150 questions in the timeframe. An applicant has to score 700 out of 1000 total score. Earlier candidates have to appear the examination of 250 questions in 6 hours. That made it one of the toughest examinations of the world to crack. The examination is tough, but the toughest are its prerequisites. An applicant has to produce valid paperwork of experience of minimum 5 years in any two of the Cybersecurity domain.
The domains
There are in total of 8 domains to be covered in the CISSP exam, and they are as follows:
- Security & Risk Management
- Asset Security
- Security Architecture and engineering
- Communications and Network Security
- IAM
- Security Assessments and testing
- Security Operations
- Software Development Security
The domains are diverse, making it very difficult for applicants to excel in the examination. The pass rate to this date remains only 20%! To clear the examination one has to seriously devote to a high level of preparation. The preparation is in general 250 hours long spanning from 6-9 months.
Enrolling in a Bootcamp is a game-changer along with following the study guide and the textbook. However, there are not so many, reference books available except the Eleventh Hour by Erik Conrad. This special edition is for last hour refreshing of all the domains.
Applicants who have cleared the certification exam at one go. Preferred to have a study roadmap, they generally invest 2 hours of weekday’s study of the BOK. And 4 hours of study at the weekends. They keep at least 45 days for the simulation test and practice exams. Simulation exams play an important role to assess your velocity.
The reasons
We have outlined the following reasons that make this certification exam an elite course. We have included factors such as the changing paradigm of Cybersecurity, Hands-on experience through CPEs, and the gravy train.
Credentialing
The CISSP meets the US DoD’s 8570 IAM level II requirement. To seek a Cybersecurity job in the public sector, this certification is a prerequisite. The certification has a concentration of 3 variants in it. They are as follows:
- CISSP-ISSEP
- CISSP-ISSAP
- CISSP- ISSMP
These concentrations are specializations in CISSP, and the (ISC)2 has laid career pathways in Architecture, Engineering, and Management. All these concentration certifications are accredited.
The community
Currently, there is a shortage of 3 million professionals in the Cybersecurity industry. Employers are quite choosy when it comes to hiring for a Cybersecurity position. They cannot hang on with rookies and amateurs. This certification itself is proof of your Cybersecurity excellence. The community of CISSP is filled with professionals with alluring expertise. With this certification, you become a part of this community. Above all, you stand tall among your peers with this certification.
The landscape
With the technological expansion, we head into the oblivion and swim in the uncharted waters. Take, for instance, 5G, with emerging technologies and framework to support the upcoming technology is making the paradigm a place with hounds at loose. The ecosystem is getting critical each passing day. It requires professionalism like continuous and critical testing of the information system environment regularly. A CISSP professional is quite fluent in interaction with the landscape and conducts daily testing and simulations.
Conclusion
There are ample reasons to support the fact that CISSP Certification is the elite certification in the Cybersecurity domain. No other certification is comparable to this certification. The knowledge of Ethics, governance makes you an indomitable force to guide your organization through dark hours.
You are in a way a forensic scientist who reverts to the management when any attack is contracted.
I’m a prolific content expert with a passion for online marketing and business management. Completed my Bachelors in Engineering to polish his skills that are suited for the highly competitive world. Furthermore, I’m a dedicated content collaborator at Real Guest Bloggers and other similar websites.
