Certified Information Systems Security Professional, also acronym as CISSP, is a type of certification that includes the fields of access control, telecommunication, networking, and cryptography. The prerequisite for the CISSP certification test is a minimum of three to five years of field experience in network security. This experience should be validated by an individual with an ISC 2 credential along with certification of the applicant’s good character. The per annum salary that a certified professional may earn in the best scenario is approximately around 1.5 million dollars.
It is a globally accepted certification on cybersecurity that has a wide preference among aspiring candidates due to its features. It is administered and managed by the organization named ISC 2 (International Information System Security Certification Consortium).
It generally testifies the skills of the candidate regarding cybersecurity that include various techniques used in a penetration test, detection of threats, issues, vulnerabilities, weak access points, risks, malware like viruses, worms, Trojan horses, etc. in the system and managing them efficiently and preventing them from attacking the system again. It also includes the restoring of lost data successfully as well as a reversal of damages in the network due to some unavoidable threats that might havoc an organization.
Certain basic ideas about CISSP
Duration:-6 hours
Total questions: – 250
Validity: – three years
Cost of the examination: – Approximately around $699.
The examination is based upon a CBK or Common Body of Knowledge, which includes a collection of 10 knowledge areas that are non-negotiable for a security manager or network security specialist and follows the CISSP training. The focus areas are as follows:-
- Access controls
- Systems and application security development
- Cryptography: – Symmetric algorithms, encryption, message integrity, public key infrastructure, email security, internet security, digital signatures, etc.
- Disaster recovery and business continuity plans
- Laws and ethics
- Security models and architecture
- Physical security: – This is also known as environmental attacks. Includes concepts of threat mitigation techniques, perimeter security, HVAC guidelines, equipment security, personal security, political threats, etc.
- Operations security
- Networking and telecommunication security
- Best management practice
Importance of CISSP certification:-
– Increment in salary: – While a normal IT employee may earn up to about $80 000 per year, a CISSP certified professional will make it easier to $ 1.5 million per annum. The monetary hike is in accordance with the trust of an organization instills in the employee and his network security skills.
– Better career opportunities: – Certified applicants are invariably preferred over the uncertified ones for the obvious reasons. Many IT firms that have a strong footing in the business world have come to prefer individuals with a CISSP certification.
– Better resume: – A good certification is a lifetime investment. CISSP is no exception. Rather it is the best option for any IT professional. As per the report of Cybersecurity trends spotlight of the year 2017, CISSP is the most valued credential among employers.
– A wider horizon of cybersecurity: – The higher you rise, the more you see. CISSP makes you soar high enough to understand the concepts of applied cybersecurity techniques and methods like penetration test, cloud security, and architecture, etc.
– The experience, the validation from a former ISC 2 credential holder, and the painstaking study were undertaken to pass the certification exams improve your knowledge apart from glorifying the 3 – 5 years experience.
– Being a member of a group such as the ISC 2 comes loaded with perks like continuous evaluation and recording of points gained by self-study, attending seminars, webinars, volunteering, etc., free journals, free access to credible study materials, etc.
Thus, the above-mentioned advantages are availed by the individual holding a CISSP certification. Certification is the shortest route for an organization to hire an employee that is already trained and skilled, thus making their work easier and time-efficient as well as economical. Therefore, it can be rightly said that a candidate with a certification has a far greater chance of being selected in an interview pertaining to the said skills than an uncertified individual. CISSP individual has thus been and is being pursued widely by IT professionals regardless of their expertise in skills and preferences in the job.
