As a CISSP who studied for and passed the CCSP exam, how did you prepare? What did you find valuable? Did you learn through self-study, if so, what books did you buy? Did you attend an official training course, if so, which one? What was your study plan? What's your secret for success? We want to hear from you!
For me, I obtained my CISSP back in 2008 and the CBOK's have changed a little bit.
I used Mike Myers Passport to CISSP (about 200 pages) to educate myself on the concepts of the various CBOKs. When I couldn't understand a concept, I refered to the LARGE CISSP book by Shon Harris to learn additional materials and to use as reference.
Additionally I had the reference materials from (ISC)2 and the training company I used for the bootcamp. I also discovered that I could teach the material to friends / family / colleagues, it helped enforce the material and allowed me to pass.
Have a least 2 CISSP books and take regular assessments to see how well you're understanding the material.
Review, assess, and review again.
Thanks for asking your question. My journey to the CCSP was different than most. I had been working hands-on in/with the Public Cloud space for a number of years prior to the CCSP. My primary reference for preparing for the exam was the ISC2 CCSP CBK. I had a very consistent study program following the SQ3R method framed within 20 minute study sprints (pomodoros, for those who are familiar with them,) and boiled the CBK down into mnemonic-friendly chunks, then memorized it over 3 months. This is not as difficult as it may seem but rather a matter of consistent formal habit.
I'm using the official CCSP study guide. I earned my CCSK many years ago and teach CISSP material to IT professionals at the U of Washington (Seattle). I've worked in the cloud security space for 12 years and I am planning to do a light review of the book and give the exam a shot. Time will tell if I'm overconfident.
Peter
I took a short course, and joined a free study group through the Austin OWASP chapter. Each person in the study group took turns presenting one of the domains, that was the most effective part of my preparation.
In addition the practice exams helped.
I found that online practice tests helped the most after going through all the material and taking notes. I used my notes to study and practice tests to gain confidence.
Well, I bought the CBK, read it carefully, motivated a number of collegues to join me and we establised a study group at my company. We hired a consultant who briefed us and gave us a good generic overview of all materials in a 3 day course. I then re-read the CBK, made extracts, recapped the materials and sat the exam. Passed on first try.
How I prepared & Passed CCSP
I passed CCSP (Certified Cloud Security Professional) on 18 March 2017. I live in India. In India only 3 person are certified for CCSP as on 18 March 2017.
Earlier Mile stones :
Background :
My CCSP exam preparation :
Note : I am bound by NDA with ISC-2. So i will not talk about actual exam pattern or topics. I will talk about difficulty level.
They cover almost same topics. AIO has skipped some topics of CBK. AIO is written in all paragraph style with less no of bullet points. I found very few figures in AIO. I think Mr.
Carter will include more diagrams in his next edition. Some topics are better explained in AIO. I will give equal weight to both.
Since parent body ISC-2 is same for both , CISSP will have some advantage of prior exam
Experience.
Exam room Experience : ( Note : some cricket terms are being used to understand better)
Regards
Naresh Gupta
CCSP,CISSP,CISA,CISM,CRISC
Email : ngupta@mission-2020.com
I believe prior work experience matters as helps in material comprehension but is not a must.
I've used official ISC2 manual as well electronic version. I've downloaded from web any additional material I found (ex. The International CISSP Summary, CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 7th Edition...etc) as well I've try handwriting my own summaries.
The most help was from online quizzes, I personally used Skillset.com (paid version) as it has progressive learning with target score to be achieved. After I achieve 100% on Skillset I've paid couple of months on CCCure.org. CCCure helps as you can increase tests difficulty and you can chose failed questions to be repeated as reinforcement. As well I've watched videos from cybrary.it.
Some objectives are more difficult then others, as mentioned experience helps. Do not discount any objective, anything can be on test.
At exam time, take your time read questions couple of times to ensure comprehension.
Good luck!