Certifcation Exam Outline

Effective Date: April 15, 2024

About CISSP
The Certied Inormation Systems Security Proessional (CISSP) is the most globally recognized certication
in the inormation security market. CISSP validates an inormation security proessional’s deep technical
and managerial knowledge and experience to eectively design, engineer, and manage the overall security
posture o an organization.

The broad spectrum o topics included in the CISSP body o knowledge ensure its relevancy across all
disciplines in the eld o inormation security. Successul candidates are competent in the ollowing
eight domains:

• Security and Risk Management

• Asset Security
• Security Architecture and Engineering
• Communication and Network Security
• Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• Security Assessment and Testing
• Security Operations
• Sotware Development Security

Experience Requirements
Candidates must have a minimum o ve years cumulative, ull-time experience in two or more o the eight
domains o the current CISSP Exam Outline. Earning a post-secondary degree (bachelors or masters) in
computer science, inormation technology (IT) or related elds may satisy up to one year o the required
experience or an additional credential rom the ISC2 approved list may satisy up to one year o the required
experience. Part-time work and internships may also count towards the experience requirement.

A candidate that doesn’t have the required experience to become a CISSP may become an Associate o ISC2
by successully passing the CISSP examination. The Associate o ISC2 will then have six years to earn the ve
years required experience. You can learn more about CISSP experience requirements and how to account or
part-time work and internships at www.isc2.org/Certications/CISSP/experience-requirements.

Accreditation
CISSP was the rst credential in the eld o inormation security to meet the stringent requirements o ANSI/
ISO/IEC Standard 17024.

Job Task Analysis (JTA)

ISC2 has an obligation to its membership to maintain the relevancy o the CISSP. Conducted at regular
intervals, the Job Task Analysis (JTA) is a methodical and critical process o determining the tasks that are
perormed by security proessionals who are engaged in the proession dened by the CISSP. The results o
the JTA are used to update the examination. This process ensures that candidates are tested on the topic
areas relevant to the roles and responsibilities o today’s practicing inormation security proessionals.

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 2

 CISSP CAT Examination Information
The CISSP exam uses Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) or all English, German,
Spanish-Modern, Japanese, Simplied Chinese exams. You can learn more about CISSP
CAT at www.isc2.org/certicatons/CISSP-CAT.

Length of exam 3 hours

Number of items 100 - 150

Item format Multiple choice and advanced innovative items

Passing grade 700 out o 1000 points

Exam language availability Chinese, English, German, Japanese, Spanish

Testing center ISC2 Authorized PPC and PVTC Select Pearson VUE
Testing Centers

CISSP CAT Examination Weights

Domains Average Weight

1. Security and Risk Management 16%

2. Asset Security 10%

3. Security Architecture and Engineering 13%

4. Communication and Network Security 13%

5. Identity and Access Management (IAM) 13%

6. Security Assessment and Testing 12%

7. Security Operations 13%

8. Sotware Development Security 10%

Total: 100%

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 3

 Domain 1:
Security and Risk Management
1.1 Understand, adhere to, and promote professional ethics

» ISC2 Code o Proessional Ethics

» Organizational code o ethics

1.2 Understand and apply security concepts

» Condentiality, integrity, and availability, authenticity, and nonrepudiation (5 Pillars o Inormation Security)

1.3 Evaluate and apply security governance principles

» Alignment o the security unction to business strategy, goals, mission, and objectives
» Organizational processes (e.g., acquisitions, divestitures, governance committees)
» Organizational roles and responsibilities
» Security control rameworks (e.g., International Organization or Standardization (ISO), National Institute
o Standards and Technology (NIST), Control Objectives or Inormation and Related Technology (COBIT),
Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA), Payment Card Industry (PCI), Federal Risk
and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP))
» Due care/due diligence

1.4 Understand legal, regulatory, and compliance issues that pertain to information
security in a holistic context
» Cybercrimes and data breaches » Issues related to privacy (e.g., General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), Caliornia Consumer
» Licensing and Intellectual Property requirements
Privacy Act, Personal Inormation Protection Law,
» Import/export controls Protection o Personal Inormation Act)
» Transborder data fow » Contractual, legal, industry standards,
and regulatory requirements

1.5 Understand requirements for investigation types (i.e., administrative, criminal, civil,
regulatory, industry standards)

1.6 Develop, document, and implement security policy, standards, procedures, and guidelines

1.7 Identify, analyze, assess, prioritize, and implement Business Continuity (BC) requirements
» Business impact analysis (BIA)
» External dependencies

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 4

 1.8 Contribute to and enforce personnel security policies and procedures
» Candidate screening and hiring » Onboarding, transers, and termination processes
» Employment agreements and policy driven » Vendor, consultant, and contractor agreements and
requirements controls

1.9 Understand and apply risk management concepts

» Threat and vulnerability identication » Continuous improvement (e.g., risk maturity
modeling)
» Risk analysis, assessment, and scope
» Risk rameworks (e.g., International Organization
» Risk response and treatment (e.g., cybersecurity
or Standardization (ISO), National Institute
insurance)
o Standards and Technology (NIST), Control
» Applicable types o controls (e.g., preventive, Objectives or Inormation and Related Technology
detection, corrective) (COBIT), Sherwood Applied Business Security
» Control assessments (e.g., security and privacy) Architecture (SABSA), Payment Card Industry (PCI))

» Continuous monitoring and measurement

» Reporting (e.g., internal, external)

1.10 Understand and apply threat modeling concepts and methodologies

1.11 Apply supply chain risk management (SCRM) concepts

» Risks associated with the acquisition o products service level requirements, silicon root o trust,
and services rom suppliers and providers (e.g., physically unclonable unction, sotware bill o
product tampering, countereits, implants) materials)
» Risk mitigations (e.g., third-party assessment
and monitoring, minimum security requirements,

1.12 Establish and maintain a security awareness, education, and training program
» Methods and techniques to increase awareness » Program eectiveness evaluation
and training (e.g., social engineering, phishing,
security champions, gamication)
» Periodic content reviews to include emerging
technologies and trends (e.g., cryptocurrency,
articial intelligence (AI), blockchain)

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 5

 Domain 2:
Asset Security
2.1 Identify and classify information and assets
» Data classication
» Asset Classication

2.2 Establish information and asset handling requirements

2.3 Provision information and assets securely

» Inormation and asset ownership
» Asset inventory (e.g., tangible, intangible)
» Asset management

2.4 Manage data lifecycle

» Data roles (i.e., owners, controllers, custodians, » Data maintenance
processors, users/subjects)
» Data retention
» Data collection
» Data remanence
» Data location
» Data destruction

2.5 Ensure appropriate asset retention (e.g., End of Life (EOL), End of Support)

2.6 Determine data security controls and compliance requirements

» Data states (e.g., in use, in transit, at rest)

» Scoping and tailoring
» Standards selection
» Data protection methods (e.g., Digital Rights Management (DRM),
data loss prevention (DLP), cloud access security broker (CASB))

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 6

 Domain 3:
Security Architecture and Engineering
3.1 Research, implement and manage engineering processes using secure design principles

» Threat modeling » Keep it simple and small

» Least privilege » Zero trust or trust but veriy
» Deense in depth » Privacy by design
» Secure deaults » Shared responsibility
» Fail securely » Secure access service edge
» Segregation o Duties (SoD)

3.2 Understand the fundamental concepts of security models

(e.g., Biba, Star Model, Bell-LaPadula)

3.3 Select controls based upon systems security requirements

3.4 Understand security capabilities of Information Systems (IS) (e.g., memory protection,
Trusted Platform Module (TPM), encryption/decryption)

3.5 Assess and mitigate the vulnerabilities of security architectures, designs, and solution
elements

» Client-based systems » Internet o Things (IoT)

» Server-based systems » Microservices (e.g., application programming
interace (API))
» Database systems
» Containerization
» Cryptographic systems
» Serverless
» Industrial Control Systems (ICS)
» Embedded systems
» Cloud-based systems (e.g., Sotware as a Service
(SaaS), Inrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platorm as » High-Perormance Computing systems
a Service (PaaS))
» Edge computing systems
» Distributed systems
» Virtualized systems

3.6 Select and determine cryptographic solutions

» Cryptographic lie cycle (e.g., keys, algorithm » Key management practices (e.g., rotation)
selection)
» Digital signatures and digital
» Cryptographic methods (e.g., symmetric, certicates (e.g., non-repudiation,
asymmetric, elliptic curves, quantum) integrity)
» Public key inrastructure (PKI)
(e.g., quantum key distribution)

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 7

 3.7 Understand methods of cryptanalytic attacks
» Brute orce » Fault injection
» Ciphertext only » Timing
» Known plaintext » Man-in-the-Middle (MITM)
» Frequency analysis » Pass the hash
» Chosen ciphertext » Kerberos exploitation
» Implementation attacks » Ransomware
» Side-channel

3.8 Apply security principles to site and facility design

3.9 Design site and facility security controls

» Wiring closets/intermediate distribution acilities » Environmental issues

(e.g., natural disasters, man-made)
» Server rooms/data centers
» Fire prevention, detection, and suppression
» Media storage acilities
» Power (e.g., redundant, backup)
» Evidence storage
» Restricted and work area security
» Utilities and heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning (HVAC)

3.10 Manage the information system lifecycle

» Stakeholders needs and requirements » Verication and validation

» Requirements analysis » Transition/deployment
» Architectural design » Operations and maintenance/sustainment
» Development /implementation » Retirement/disposal
» Integration

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 8

 Domain 4:
Communication and Network Security
4.1 Apply secure design principles in network architectures
» Open System Interconnection (OSI) and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) models
» Internet Protocol (IP) version 4 and 6 (IPv6) (e.g., unicast, broadcast, multicast, anycast)
» Secure protocols (e.g., Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), Secure Shell (SSH), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/
Transport Layer Security (TLS))
» Implications o multilayer protocols
» Converged protocols (e.g., Internet Small Computer Systems Interace (iSCSI), Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP), InniBand over Ethernet, Compute Express Link)
» Transport architecture (e.g., topology, data/control/management plane, cut-through/store-and-orward)
» Perormance metrics (e.g., bandwidth, latency, jitter, throughput, signal-to-noise ratio)
» Trac fows (e.g., north-south, east-west)
» Physical segmentation (e.g., in-band, out-o-band, air-gapped)
» Logical segmentation (e.g., virtual local area networks (VLANs), virtual private networks (VPNs),
virtual routing and orwarding, virtual domain)
» Micro-segmentation (e.g., network overlays/encapsulation; distributed rewalls, routers,
intrusion detection system (IDS)/intrusion prevention system (IPS), zero trust)
» Edge networks (e.g., ingress/egress, peering)
» Wireless networks (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, satellite)
» Cellular/mobile networks (e.g., 4G, 5G)
» Content distribution networks (CDN)
» Sotware dened networks (SDN), (e.g., application programming interace (API), Sotware-Dened
Wide-Area Network, network unctions virtualization)
» Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
» Monitoring and management (e.g., network observability, trac fow/shaping,
capacity management, ault detection and handling)

4.2 Secure network components

» Operation o inrastructure (e.g., redundant » Network Access Control (NAC) systems

power, warranty, support) (e.g., physical, and virtual solutions)
» Transmission media (e.g., physical security » Endpoint security (e.g., host-based)
o media, signal propagation quality)

4.3 Implement secure communication channels according to design

» Voice, video, and collaboration » Data communications
(e.g., conerencing, Zoom rooms) (e.g., backhaul networks, satellite)
» Remote access (e.g., network » Third-party connectivity (e.g., telecom
administrative unctions) providers, hardware support)

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 9

 Domain 5:
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
5.1 Control physical and logical access to assets
» Inormation » Facilities
» Systems » Applications
» Devices » Services

5.2 Design identifcation and authentication strategy (e.g., people, devices, and services)

» Groups and Roles » Federated Identity Management (FIM)

» Authentication, Authorization and Accounting » Credential management systems
(AAA) (e.g., multi-actor authentication (MFA), (e.g., Password vault)
password-less authentication)
» Single sign-on (SSO)
» Session management
» Just-In-Time
» Registration, proong, and establishment
o identity

5.3 Federated identity with a third-party service

» On-premises » Hybrid
» Cloud

5.4 Implement and manage authorization mechanisms

» Role-based access control (RBAC) » Attribute-based access control (ABAC)
» Rule-based access control » Risk-based access control
» Mandatory access control (MAC) » Access policy enorcement (e.g., policy decision
point, policy enorcement point)
» Discretionary access control (DAC)

5.5 Manage the identity and access provisioning lifecycle

» Account access review (e.g., user, system, service) » Role denition and transition (e.g., people
assigned to new roles)
» Provisioning and deprovisioning
(e.g., on /o boarding and transers) » Privilege escalation (e.g., use o sudo,
auditing its use)
» Service accounts management

5.6 Implement authentication systems

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 10

 Domain 6:
Security Assessment and Testing
6.1 Design and validate assessment, test, and audit strategies
» Internal (e.g., within organization control) » Third-party (e.g., outside o enterprise control)
» External (e.g., outside organization control) » Location (e.g., on-premise, cloud, hybrid)

6.2 Conduct security control testing

» Vulnerability assessment » Coverage analysis
» Penetration testing (e.g., red, blue, and/or purple » Interace testing (e.g., user interace,
team exercises) network interace, application programming
interace (API))
» Log reviews
» Breach attack simulations
» Synthetic transactions/benchmarks
» Compliance checks
» Code review and testing
» Misuse case testing

6.3 Collect security process data (e.g., technical and administrative)

» Account management » Training and awareness
» Management review and approval » Disaster recovery (DR) and
Business Continuity (BC)
» Key perormance and risk indicators
» Backup verication data

6.4 Analyze test output and generate report

» Remediation
» Exception handling
» Ethical disclosure

6.5 Conduct or facilitate security audits

» Internal (e.g., within organization control) » Third-party (e.g., outside o enterprise control)
» External (e.g., outside organization control) » Location (e.g., on-premises, cloud, hybrid)

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 11

 Domain 7:
Security Operations
7.1 Understand and comply with investigations
» Evidence collection and handling » Digital orensics tools, tactics, and procedures
» Reporting and documentation » Artiacts (e.g., data, computer, network,
mobile device)
» Investigative techniques

7.2 Conduct logging and monitoring activities

» Intrusion detection and prevention (IDPS) » Log management
» Security inormation and event management » Threat intelligence (e.g., threat eeds, threat
(SIEM) hunting)
» Continuous monitoring and tuning » User and entity behavior analytics (UEBA)
» Egress monitoring

7.3 Perorm confguration management (CM) (e.g., provisioning, baselining, automation)

7.4 Apply foundational security operations concepts

» Need-to-know/least privilege » Job rotation
» Segregation o Duties (SoD) and responsibilities » Service-level agreements (SLA)
» Privileged account management

7.5 Apply resource protection

» Media management » Data at rest/data in transit

» Media protection techniques

7.6 Conduct incident management

» Detection » Recovery
» Response » Remediation
» Mitigation » Lessons learned
» Reporting

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 12

 7.7 Operate and maintain detection and preventative measures
» Firewalls (e.g., next generation, web » Sandboxing
application, network)
» Honeypots/honeynets
» Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion
» Anti-malware
prevention systems (IPS)
» Machine learning and articial intelligence (AI)
» Whitelisting/blacklisting
based tools
» Third-party provided security services

7.8 Implement and support patch and vulnerability management

7.9 Understand and participate in change management processes

7.10 Implement recovery strategies

» Backup storage strategies » Multiple processing sites
(e.g., cloud storage, onsite, osite)
» System resilience, high availability (HA),
» Recovery site strategies (e.g., cold vs. hot, Quality o Service (QoS), and ault tolerance
resource capacity agreements)

7.11 Implement disaster recovery (DR) processes

» Response » Restoration
» Personnel » Training and awareness
» Communications (e.g., methods) » Lessons learned
» Assessment

7.12 Test disaster recovery plans (DRP)

» Read-through/tabletop » Full interruption
» Walkthrough » Communications (e.g., stakeholders,
test status, regulators)
» Simulation
» Parallel

7.13 Participate in Business Continuity (BC) planning and exercises

7.14 Implement and manage physical security

» Perimeter security controls
» Internal security controls

7.15 Address personnel safety and security concerns

» Travel » Emergency management
» Security training and awareness » Duress
(e.g., insider threat, social media impacts,
two-actor authentication (2FA) atigue)

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 13

 Domain 8:
Software Development Security

8.1 Understand and integrate security in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
» Development methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterall, DevOps, DevSecOps, Scaled Agile Framework)
» Maturity models (e.g., Capability Maturity Model (CMM), Sotware Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM))
» Operation and maintenance
» Change management
» Integrated Product Team

8.2 Identify and apply security controls in software development ecosystems

» Programming languages » Sotware conguration management (CM)

» Libraries » Code repositories
» Tool sets » Application security testing (e.g., static
application security testing (SAST),
» Integrated Development Environment
dynamic application security testing (DAST),
» Runtime sotware composition analysis, Interactive
» Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery Application Security Test (IAST))
(CI/CD)

8.3 Assess the effectiveness of software security

» Auditing and logging o changes
» Risk analysis and mitigation

8.4 Assess security impact of acquired software

» Commercial-o-the-shel (COTS) » Managed services (e.g., enterprise applications)
» Open source » Cloud services (e.g., Sotware as a Service (SaaS),
Inrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platorm as a
» Third-party
Service (PaaS))

8.5 Defne and apply secure coding guidelines and standards

» Security weaknesses and vulnerabilities at the source-code level
» Security o application programming interaces (API)
» Secure coding practices
» Sotware-dened security

CISSP Certifcation Exam Outline 14

 Additional Examination Information
Supplementary References
Candidates are encouraged to supplement their education and experience by reviewing
relevant resources that pertain to the CBK and identiying areas o study that may need
additional attention.

View the ull list o supplementary reerences at www.isc2.org/certications/Reerences.

Examination Policies and Procedures

ISC2 recommends that candidates review exam policies and procedures prior to
registering or the examination. Read the comprehensive breakdown o this important
inormation at isc2.org/register-or-exam.

Legal Info
For any questions related to ISC2’s legal policies, please contact the ISC2 Legal
Department at [email protected].

Any Questions?
Contact ISC2 Candidate Services in your region:

Americas
Tel: +1.866.331.ISC2 (4722), press 1
Email: [email protected]

Asia-Pacifc
Tel: +(852) 5803-5662
Email: [email protected]

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Tel: +44 (0)203-960-7800
Email: in[email protected]

CISSP Certication
v9/2024Exam Outline 15