How to Get CISSP Certified: 2020 Edition

Understanding CISSP Certification Domains

CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) is the gold standard defined by International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)². This professional certification is universally accepted for validating the proficiency of security professionals. Ranging from basic security design to address the most crucial security challenges, CISSP certification training is a hands-on course that covers all vital domains of the security practice area. Sign Up for our live Webinar on “How to Get CISSP Certified: 2020 Edition” and get answers for all your queries!

Importance of Getting a CISSP Certification

CISSP is often recognized as the most-esteemed cybersecurity certification in the cybersecurity space on a global scale and carries a widespread acceptance in a variety of information security management roles. In today’s era, irrespective of where a cybersecurity management position is based, hiring companies recognize the added value of a candidate with CISSP certification.

CISSP certification holders demonstrate knowledge of effective cybersecurity efforts from a leadership perspective, which includes a deep, functional understanding of how to effectively spearhead a strong strategy and oversee the process as it’s delegated across a team or department. On the other hand, it’s also focused on practical skills and the technical processes needed to make a cybersecurity strategy effective on the ground level. This means a CISSP certification is a power-packed combination that can take a cybersecurity professional’s plan from conception through the development and installation phases, and then monitor, adjust, and improve as necessary.

The CISSP designation is also an effective and powerful networking tool. Since CISSP is so singularly focused on cybersecurity, it means certified professionals develop strong bonds with other experts and leaders in their chosen field.

Another CISSP value to consider is the knowledge of modern, real-world information and threats that the certification provides. Drawing on education, work experience, and the intensive studying that occurs before sitting for the exam, the CISSP label is a clear indication that holders of this esteemed designation understand cybersecurity issues faced by the organizations in today’s fast-developing digital world. While this knowledge is often cultivated in significant part through prior education and work experience, CISSP codifies and standardizes it. The certification acts as a clear, instantly recognized achievement in terms of effective cybersecurity skills on a variety of useful levels. This is a powerful asset in day-to-day operations, as proof of competence to colleagues and subordinates and as a selling point when holders seek new opportunities in the field.

Top 8 Domains in the Cybersecurity Field

CISSP will continue to be the top-notch certification in the field of cybersecurity space in 2020 and will cover the following domains to help you gain an in-depth understanding of core concepts and aspects from identifying risks, managing vulnerabilities, defining procedures and policies, to responding to the potential security threats with powerful remedies. Following are the top 8 domains in the cybersecurity field:

1. Security and Risk Management: With the growth of data, comes the chances of losing it. It’s both a warning and a precaution that risk is a crucial element in all our lives today. In every action we plan to take in our personal and professional lives, we need to analyze the risks associated with it. From a cybersecurity perspective, various sectors and industries such as energy, healthcare, banking, insurance, retail, etc., involves a lot of risks which makes it a regulation and a compulsion to adopt technology, the one that can be effectively managed.

The security and risk management domain explain various such aspects of potential security risks. Basic concepts of information security, including CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability), are focused areas in this domain. Aspiring CISSP certification professionals are educated and then evaluated on the key skills of defining and implementing security policies and procedures. High-level risk management to safeguard hardware, software, and services is expertly illustrated in the Security and Risk Management domain, along with the primary key areas of security governance principles, control frameworks, legal and investigation regulatory compliance, security policies, standards, procedures and guidelines, risk management concepts, and threat modeling.

1. Asset Security: Asset security domain deals with data management issues. It explains various roles and permissions regarding data processing and privacy concerns. This domain focuses on teaching the fundamentals of information and asset classification, data and system ownership, protecting privacy, data retention, data security controls, data handling requirements, and public key infrastructure (PKI).

All the CISSP pros must understand the core concepts of asset security and the applications that follow. The following topics are included and explained in this domain:

● Data Management: Maintain and determine ownership

● Longevity and Use: Data Security, access, sharing, and publishing

● Data Standards: Data lifecycle control, specification, storage, and arching

● Ensure Appropriate Retention: Media, personnel, and hardware, company data retention policies

● Determine Data Security Controls: Data at rest, data in transit, tailoring and scoping

1. Security Engineering: This comprehensive domain addresses the requirement to understand the vital elements of engineering models, designs, and processes. Database security, vulnerabilities, clouds, and cryptosystems are the primary topics covered in this domain.
2. Communications and Network Security: Network design and protection is the focused area of this domain. Key areas for achieving expertise in this domain include the essentials of various communication protocols, network architecture, segmentations, firewalls, IDS & IPS, network attacks and countermeasures, routing, and wireless transmissions.
3. Identity and Access Management: The identity and access management are the best practices to ensure that computer systems have a seamless and clear picture of the identity of each individual or resource that is authorized to access the system. It also aims to understand and reinforce that the system can control access in a way that prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing resources, while allowing authorized individuals to perform permitted and legal actions.

The identity and access management domain aim to describe the diverse methods used to control the way data is accessed and elaborates access control categories, identification, authentication, authorization, identity, and access provisioning.

1. Security Assessment & Testing: This is a crucial domain that offers a far-reaching explanation of the most recent techniques and tools used in assessing a system’s security and identifying the vulnerabilities. This domain gives deeper insights and teaches penetration testing, disaster recovery, test strategies, and security control testing.
2. Security Operations: The security operations domain illustrates digital forensic and investigations, intrusion prevention and detection tools, firewalls, sandboxing, resource protection techniques, disaster recovery processes and plans, incident management, and change management processes, along with other vital concepts with practical implementation.
3. Software Development Security: This domain teaches how to implement security controls during the entire software development lifecycle. You become familiar with various software development models, risk analysis, auditing, and the identification of vulnerabilities in the source codes of software.

Although there are several free tutorials and online training available over the internet designed to provide a detailed understanding of CISSP domains, it is always recommended to register and learn from an authorized training company that provides hands-on labs along with certification prep courses in custom learning modes.

NetCom Learning is an esteemed partner of (ISC)2 with a proven record of helping thousands of aspiring security professionals achieve the highest ranking CISSP certification successfully. With years of experience in delivering results-oriented training, our team of certified trainers leave no stone unturned to explain every essential detail of these domains. To learn more about CISSP training and certification courses and our convenient class schedules, visit our website.

If you are planning to upgrade your IT security career, you can also sign up for our free webinar and learn how to get CISSP certified by an accredited Instructor.