CCSP Exam - passed January 31, 2020

Djblevins · ‎01-31-2020

Passed the CCSP exam this morning. (January 31, 2020). Finished with about 10 minutes left in the 3 hours allotted. Test was harder than I anticipated. More emphasis on forensics and auditing than I had planned for. I had flagged about 25 questions for review but on review only changed about 2 answers from the first pass. Lots of questions with ‘which of the following is the BEST’, ‘which of the following is the first’. I had no idea if I had passed until I picked up the report. I felt this was as hard as the CISSP that I passed two years ago. I used the ISC(2) CBK and the All-In-One Study Guide to prepare plus all the practice tests in Percipio. I looked up a lot of stuff on the internet to supplement the books. Looked through the Jericho paper but did not read. Read 800-145 and 800-146. Started spending a few hours a week last summer but took December 2019 off from studying and then hit it hard all of January. I am now going to re-introduce myself to my wife and spend some quality time with her.

AlecTrevelyan · ‎01-31-2020

Many congratulations, and welcome to the club!

Djblevins · ‎01-31-2020

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone

dcontesti · ‎01-31-2020

Congrats .

Djblevins · ‎01-31-2020

Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone

Didar · ‎02-03-2020

thanks for sharing the insight of the exam experience. I am preparing for February and I will use your suggestions

BrianF · ‎02-03-2020

Congratulations! I took the CCSP exam on February 1st, 2020 and passed. Now I am looking to go for the CISSP certification exam soon.

I feel almost ready to do it now but at such a high cost, I am trying to learn of any gaps I might have but probably more of a confidence gap more than anything.

Djblevins · ‎02-04-2020

Congratulations. From your other post it sounds like you’re ready for the CISSP. You have prepared well. I felt that the CCSP and CISSP were comparable in difficulty. There is some overlap, as you would expect. You might want to take the CISSP sooner rather than later while material from CCSP is still fresh. If you’re getting over 90 percent on various practice tests you’re probably in good shape. Good luck.

I look forward to offering congratulations to you again after you take the CISSP exam.

Kp1512 · ‎02-05-2020

Congrats. Any tips? What was your study path?

BrianF · ‎02-05-2020

My greatest advice for any exam is to think backwards from the moment you sit down from the exam including going to the exam center early, clearing your mind, getting a good (healthy) breakfast or lunch, and good night sleep the night before. By the day of your exam, you are ready so have confidence. Don't tamper with the above as it is more meaningful than cramming an extra hour or two in of study. I have done a LOT of exams over the past 1.5 years and took me that long to realize how to do this.

As far as studying, I will have to say that my experience with implementing the ISO 27001 framework and 27002 controls for cloud organizations brought me the most foundational information needed for this. As an ISO auditor, we need to know the standards well enough to be able to reference it as we evaluate any business process. Hence, a lot of this was top of mind for me. However, I did use some study materials too to make sure I was able to cover the BOK. I reviewed more than what is listed below and only listing what I found helpful for me.

Books:

-CCSP (ISC)2 Certified Cloud Security Professional Official Study Guide 2nd Edition, by Ben Malisow

-CCSP Official (ISC)2 Practice Tests, by Ben Malisow (Note: you can actually sign up on the publisher's website and use an online version of the tests using a simulator including 750 practice questions)

- The Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CCSP CBK 2nd Edition, Adam Gordon (note: get the 3rd edition to be released in April of 2020 if you can wait)

Online self-learning (video based):

-Linkedin Learning - CCSP Cert Prep, by Mike Chapple

-cybrary.it - Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), by Kelly Handerhan