DOD Civilian COOL Snapshot - Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is an advanced skill level certification for experienced professionals in the computer security field who are responsible for developing the information security policies, standards, and procedures and managing their implementation across an organization. To be eligible for CISSP, candidates must have five years of information security experience in at least two of the exam domain areas including security and risk management, asset security, security engineering, communications and network security, identity and access management, security assessment and testing, security operations, and software development security.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

The following DOD Civilian Occupations provide training and/or experience that contributes to attaining this credential:

The following Federal Occupations provide training and/or experience that contribute to attaining this credential:

	Federal Occupation	Related As
	0080 Security Administration Series	Other
	0132 Intelligence Series	Some
	2210 Information Technology Management Series	Most

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

Credential Prerequisite
Experience: 5 years
Education
Training
Membership
Other
Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for becoming eligible. Listed are the minimum requirements based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

Exam
Written Exam
Oral Exam
Practical Exam
Performance Assessment

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 3 years

Continuing Education
Exam
Continuing Education OR Exam
Fee
Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. (ISC 2)

311 Park Place Blvd
Suite 400
Clearwater, FL 33759

Phone: (866) 331-4722

Fax: (703) 356-7977
Email: membersupport@isc2.org

Show All / Hide All

Education and/or Experience REQUIREMENTS

Option 1:

Candidates must have a minimum of five years of cumulative paid full-time work experience in two or more of the eight domains of the CISSP. Valid professional experience includes information systems security-related work performed as a practitioner, auditor, consultant, vendor, investigator or instructor, or that which requires IS security knowledge and involves direct application of that knowledge.

Option 2:

Candidates must have four years of direct full-time security professional work experience in two or more of the eight domains of the CISSP with a four year college degree or regional equivalent, or an advanced degree in information security from the U.S. National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE/IAE).

Option 3:

Candidates must have four years of direct full-time security professional work experience in two or more of the eight domains of the CISSP and hold an (ISC²) approved credential. See (ISC²) website for complete list of approved credentials.

Other REQUIREMENTS

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credential has the following other requirements:

Candidates must subscribe to the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. (ISC)² Code of Ethics.

Anyone who passes a CISSP exam must have their qualifications endorsed by another (ISC²) credential holder.

Passing candidates will be randomly selected and audited by (ISC²) Services prior to issuance of any certification. Multiple certifications may result in a candidate being audited more than once.

Written Exam

Security and Risk Management (15%)
- Understand and apply concepts of confidentiality, integrity and availability
- Evaluate and apply security governance principles
- Determine compliance requirements
- Understand legal and regulatory issues that pertain to information security in a global context
- Understand, adhere to, and promote professional ethics
- Develop, document, and implement security policy, standards, procedures, and guidelines
- Identify, analyze, and prioritize Business Continuity (BC) requirements
- Contribute to and enforce personnel security policies and procedures
- Understand and apply risk management concepts
- Understand and apply threat modeling concepts and methodologies
- Apply risk-based management concepts to the supply chain
- Establish and maintain a security awareness, education, and training program
Asset Security (10%)
- Identify and classify information and assets
- Determine and maintain information and asset ownership
- Protect privacy
- Ensure appropriate asset retention
- Determine data security controls
- Establish information and asset handling requirements
Security Architecture and Engineering (13%)
- Implement and manage engineering processes using secure design principles
- Understand the fundamental concepts of security models
- Select controls based upon systems security requirements
- Understand security capabilities of information systems (e.g., memory protection, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), encryption/decryption)
- Assess and mitigate the vulnerabilities of security architectures, designs, and solution elements
- Assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in web-based systems
- Assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in mobile systems
- Assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in embedded devices
- Apply cryptography
- Apply security principles to site and facility design
- Implement site and facility security controls
Communication and Network Security (14%)
- Implement secure design principles in network architectures
- Secure network components
- Implement secure communication channels according to design
Identity and Access Management (IAM) (13%)
- Control physical and logical access to assets
- Manage identification and authentication of people, devices, and services
- Integrate identity as a third-party service
- Implement and manage authorization mechanisms
- Manage the identity and access provisioning lifecycle
Security Assessment and Testing (12%)
- Design and validate assessment, test, and audit strategies
- Conduct security control testing
- Collect security process data (e.g., technical and administrative)
- Analyze test output and generate report
- Conduct or facilitate security audits
- Implement Disaster Recovery (DR) processes
Security Operations (13%)
- Understand and support investigations
- Understand requirements for investigation types
- Conduct logging and monitoring activities
- Securely provisioning resources
- Understand and apply foundational security operations concepts
- Apply resource protection techniques
- Conduct incident management
- Operate and maintain detective and preventative measures
- Implement and support patch and vulnerability management
- Understand and participate in change management processes
- Implement recovery strategies
- Test Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP)
- Participate in Business Continuity (BC) planning and exercises
- Implement and manage physical security
- Address personnel safety and security concerns
Software Development Security (10%)
- Understand and integrate security in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
- Identify and apply security controls in development environments
- Assess the effectiveness of software security
- Assess security impact of acquired software
- Define and apply secure coding guidelines and standards

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) examination:

Best Sources

General References

Testing Information

Testing for this credential is handled by Pearson VUE. The test centers are located in the U.S. They also have some test centers on military bases.

To find out more, use the following links on the Pearson VUE website:

For more information on the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. (ISC 2) testing process, visit the agency website.

RECERTIFICATION

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credential has the following recertification information:

The CISSP credential must be renewed every three years by meeting continuing education requirements. All (ISC²) certifications also require an annual maintenance fee.

Additional considerations for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) include:

Candidates who do not have the required experience may still sit for the exam and become an Associate of (ISC)² until they have gained the required experience. Once the required experience for the CISSP certification is reached, the Associate of (ISC)² can be converted to CISSP status. Annual maintenance fees and continuing education requirements apply while working towards the experience requirement.

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

In Demand

COOL Bucks

COOL Summary

COOL Summary

COOL Summary

Some

Most

Other

Promotion Points

Star

Skill Level

Proponent Funded

Navy Bucks

CG Bucks

Early Career

Mid Career

Late Career

Early Career

Mid Career

Late Career

LaDR

GI Bill®

ANSI

ICAC

ABSNC

NCCA

IAS

Low

Medium

High

Army e-learning

NKO e-learning

GI Bill^®