Today, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve passed the ISSAP (Information Systems Security Architecture Professional) exam! Having already tackled the CISSP, CCSP, and CSSLP certifications, I found this experience to be entirely different, more challenging.
Exam Experience
The ISSAP exam is notoriously tough. It’s heavily scenario-based, requiring deep understanding and practical application of concepts rather than simple recall. Many questions had two similar-looking answers, making it critical to carefully analyze each.
Most of the questions were grounded on the ISSAP CBK Guide, but they often delved into advanced and nuanced applications of the concepts. This isn’t just an exam about theory, it’s about knowing how to apply security architecture principles in complex, real-world situations.
My Preparation
I dedicated three months of self-study to prepare, combining various resources for both theory and practice. Here’s what I used:
Study Materials:
- ISSAP CBK Study Guide
- CISSP Official Study Guide (10th Edition) by Mick Chappell
- CISSP CBK (6th Edition)
- Prabh Nair’s YouTube Playlist: Link to Playlist
- CCSP CBK (4th Edition): I skimmed through this, but it’s worth a full read. I noticed several concepts from this book appeared in the exam.
Practice Materials:
- ISSAP CBK Q&A
- Learnzapp for CISSP/CCSP practice questions
- CASP+ practice tests on Udemy
