topic Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide? in CISSP Study Group

Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

cissplease — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 17:28:58 GMT

Read chapter 1, lots of acronyms. Do any type quiz or of flash cards exist, by chapter, for the book online?

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

dcontesti — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 18:50:39 GMT

Unfortunately this industry has many many acronyms and a number of folks only talk in those acronyms. I am not sure if it is still done or not, but on exams, acronyms were always spelled out (such as: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) or Business Continuity Planning (BCP), etc.)

@tldutton Can you tell us if this is still the case?

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

tldutton — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:17:38 GMT

ALL acronyms show the expansion first, followed by the acronym in parentheses, just like @dcontesti shared in her reply.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

tldutton — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:23:59 GMT

Also, not all acronyms used in the cybersecurity profession are on our exams; we do a quarterly internal review/update of our “authorized” acronyms then publish a new list every December for the next year. We get inputs from our workshop volunteer members throughout the year.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

cissplease — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 04:07:00 GMT

Thanks all, it dawned on me I have too niche of a want. I'm making an acronyms-by-chapter of the official study guide on quizlet.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

BrittneyWidmer — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 14:33:55 GMT

@tldutton is this the case for every question/every instance of an acronym being used? Or is the expansion only used on the first question where it appears and every subsequent question uses just the acronym? Thank you!

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

tldutton — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 11:16:32 GMT

@BrittneyWidmer The first time an acronym is used in the question part of the item, it is ALWAYS accompanied by its expansion; after that, you'll just see the acronym, even in the options (possible answers)

If the first place the acronym appears is in an option (possible answer), the acronym will ALWAYS be accompanied by an expansion and in every other option it appears in.

Absolutely no need to memorize acronyms.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

wmheid — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 12:27:15 GMT

I agree that the first time the acronym is used that it is spelled out.

I'm not so sure that I agree that memorizing acronyms is unnecessary.

For example: In question one it might state: Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDOS) which would fit what you are saying. Then in question 125 might be a question about "DDOS."

If you don't know the acronym, then question 125 would be a challenge. Also in the real world, acronyms are widely used in conversation.

Just my thoughts.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

tldutton — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 18:36:27 GMT

@wmheid

Every question is handled individually, which means that if an acronym occurs in 10 exam items, its expanded in all 10 items.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

wmheid — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 19:22:13 GMT

@tldutton

Excellent point!

What if a question were posed such as:

What does the acronym CISSP designate?

a. Certified Information Systems Server Professional

b. Certified Information Systems Security Professional

c. Certified Information Systems Software Professional

I'm just thinking that it is not a bad idea to know and understand industry standard acronyms not only for the test, but for life beyond.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

tldutton — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 19:42:06 GMT

@wmheid

We would never have a question like that but I kind of get your point. Using your example below, our acronym would be formatted as: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). We would never test your knowledge of an acronym.

While the use of acronyms is common in the cybersecurity profession, for the purpose of preparing for ANY of our exam, you do NOT need to memorize what acronyms stand for. It's useful to know acronyms in the real world, but not for our exams.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

JoePete — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:49:14 GMT

@wmheid wrote:
I'm just thinking that it is not a bad idea to know and understand industry standard acronyms not only for the test, but for life beyond.

I think it is a good policy to have the first reference expanded (thank you, @tldutton, for explaining it). It does make me wonder about the pitfalls of adaptive testing since there are a number of homonyms (MAC, DOS, DRM, SDLC, etc.). Perhaps part of the fixation with language and acronyms comes from all the test prep entities. It is an easy way of building a question (even though it is one you might never see on an actual exam): What does DDOS stand for?

To your observation, acronyms are like programming to me. If I haven't used something in a while, I need to remember (i.e., Google) it. I think that goes for everyone whether they are willing to admit it or not. It's a good thing to have to refresh yourself because language does change and expand. At the same time, however, there are some people in the industry who can be sticklers. I've been in some awkward meetings that have devolved over securitrivia. At the same time, you have to be able to communicate plainly and directly at times. If a CEO turns to you and says "Is this a problem?" You need a 15-word answer that doesn't have an acronym (other than maybe SOL). Honestly, over the years, I've felt my primary job has been "universal translator." You have to adjust your language to the situation. I'd like to think that is what distinguishes a CISSP from some of the more narrow certs. Our role is to be able to work throughout an enterprise.

Re: Flashcards / quiz for acronyms by chapter of the official study guide?

tldutton — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:00:55 GMT

@JoePete

I started my career in the Air Force (23 years, 1985-2008), so acronyms have been part of my daily conversations for a very long time. Acronyms are a good shorthand for long terms; I'd rather use TCP/IP rather than spelling out the entire term every time. You're correct about being "translators" between multiple levels of stakeholders. I'm glad we're not evaluating exam candidates on their understanding of what a specific acronym stands for; definitely does not make for a fair question.