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CISSP 2024 Exam Topic Overview

The document outlines the CISSP exam topics, divided into eight domains, covering areas such as security and risk management, asset security, security architecture, and software development security. Each domain includes specific subtopics that detail essential concepts and practices relevant to information security. Additionally, it describes the question patterns and types used in official practice tests for the exam.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
13 views3 pages

CISSP 2024 Exam Topic Overview

The document outlines the CISSP exam topics, divided into eight domains, covering areas such as security and risk management, asset security, security architecture, and software development security. Each domain includes specific subtopics that detail essential concepts and practices relevant to information security. Additionally, it describes the question patterns and types used in official practice tests for the exam.

Uploaded by

dipcb07
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

1.

CISSP Topic Outline


Domain 1 – Security and Risk Management (16%)

1.​ Ethics & professional conduct (ISC2 Code of Ethics, who can file a complaint, canon IV
issues)
2.​ Security concepts – CIA, governance vs management, principles.
3.​ Security governance – policies/standards/procedures/guidelines; roles; due care vs due
diligence; mergers/acquisitions security.
4.​ Legal, regulatory, and privacy – GDPR (incl. right to erasure), DMCA, GLBA, FISMA,
export controls, IP.
5.​ Investigation types – admin vs civil vs criminal, evidentiary standards (preponderance vs
beyond reasonable doubt).
6.​ Policy stack – develop, document, implement.
7.​ BC/DR linkage – BIA, MTD, RTO, RPO, continuity strategy.
8.​ Personnel security – onboarding, offboarding, job rotation, mandatory vacations.
9.​ Risk management – qualitative vs quantitative, treatment (mitigate, transfer, avoid,
accept), residual vs inherent risk.
10.​Threat modeling – STRIDE, attack trees.
11.​Supply chain risk management – third-party, SLA, EOL/EOS, SBOM.
12.​Security awareness/training – content reviews, keeping material current

Domain 2 – Asset Security (10%)

1.​ Data classification & ownership


2.​ Privacy/data lifecycle
3.​ Labeling & handling, including backups inheriting labels
4.​ Retention & destruction
5.​ DLP (endpoint, email, removable media)
6.​ Cloud/SaaS data residency implications

Domain 3 – Security Architecture & Engineering (13%)

1.​ Security models (Bell-LaPadula, Biba, Clark-Wilson, Brewer-Nash


2.​ Security capabilities of systems (TPM, HSM, secure boot)
3.​ Evaluation & certification (Common Criteria, assurance)
4.​ Cryptography basics (modes, key management)
5.​ Architecture patterns added in 2024: SASE, OT, HPC, interconnects (CXL), IDF
6.​ Physical security basics
Domain 4 – Communication and Network Security (13%)

1.​ Network architecture & segmentation


2.​ Secure protocols (IPSec modes, TLS vs SSL)
3.​ Network attacks – L2 spoofing, DHCP, ARP, route hijack
4.​ DNS and email security
5.​ Wireless and remote access
6.​ SASE/SSE tie-in

Domain 5 – Identity and Access Management (13%)

1.​ Identification, authentication, authorization accounting


2.​ AuthN factors and MFA
3.​ Access models (DAC, MAC, RBAC, ABAC, JIT/JEA)
4.​ Federation and SSO
5.​ IAM lifecycle (provisioning, review, recertification)

Domain 6 – Security Assessment and Testing (12%)

1.​ Assessment strategies: audits, VA, pen test, code review


2.​ Testing types: functional, regression, misuse/abuse, interface testing
3.​ Reporting & remediation
4.​ Continuous monitoring & SOAR feed
5.​ Third-party attestations (SOC reports)

Domain 7 – Security Operations (13%)

1.​ Operational security & change control


2.​ Logging/monitoring – impact of disabled logs
3.​ Incident response (prep, detect, contain, eradicate, recover, lessons learned) –
“containment” appears repeatedly.
4.​ BCP/DR ops side – restore testing, media handling
5.​ Endpoint security (EDR, DLP, anti-malware, heuristics)
6.​ Investigations and e-discovery

Domain 8 – Software Development Security (10%)

1.​ SDLC and where to do threat modeling


2.​ Secure coding (input validation, XSS, SQLi).
3.​ SCA / SBOM / 3rd-party libs
4.​ DevOps/DevSecOps basics
5.​ Testing: regression, unit, integration, user acceptance
2. Question pattern

3. Question pattern type per topic


1) Official Practice Tests 2024 (Wiley)

●​ Pattern: “as if exam” – single best answer, short/mid scenario, also matching questions.
●​ Pattern: subtlety, things people overlook, and “which subtle risk” phrasing. Examples:
disabled logging → detection/compliance/forensics all at once; backups connected to
prod; overprivileged service accounts.
●​ Pattern: spaced-recall style – same question in many variations (policy vs standard, BIA
purpose, etc.). You can tell from the repeated “Which document defines management’s
intention…” lines.
●​ Pattern: “You are the security manager…” “C-level executive insists…” answer =

So, per domain:

●​ SRM – Quick recall → Balanced → Official → Difficult


●​ Ops / Network / IAM – Balanced → Official → Scenario-heavy → Difficult
●​ SDLC – Official → Difficult
●​ Assessment & Testing – Official → Difficult (scanner misconfig, SOC reports)​
ISC2 CISSP 2024

Common questions

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STRIDE, an acronym for Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of Privilege, provides a structured method for identifying potential security threats. Its advantage lies in systematically categorizing threats to ensure comprehensive analysis and mitigation. However, the challenge is that it may require deep technical understanding to effectively interpret results and design corresponding countermeasures. Moreover, STRIDE might focus too heavily on certain types of threats and neglect others, necessitating complementing with other models .

GDPR's right to erasure, often referred to as the "right to be forgotten," mandates that organizations must delete personal data upon request when it's no longer necessary for its original purposes or if there is no legal basis for retention. This requirement necessitates that data retention policies include clear guidelines on data lifecycle management and processes to handle erasure requests efficiently, ensuring compliance with GDPR obligations and protecting the individual's privacy rights .

Job rotation is vital in personnel security as it helps in minimizing risks associated with insider threats. By frequently changing roles among employees, organizations can prevent the development of opportunities for collusion, fraud, or abuse. This practice also ensures that critical tasks are not dependent on any single individual, reducing vulnerabilities and ensuring continuity despite turnover. Furthermore, job rotation enhances skill versatility among employees, contributing to a more resilient workforce .

Implementing DevSecOps in SDLC requires integrating security practices throughout the development process, emphasizing automation, collaboration, and monitoring. Essential considerations include embedding security tools in CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous security testing, fostering a security-focused culture among development and operations teams, and ensuring clear communication of security requirements from planning through deployment. DevSecOps prioritizes speed and security, necessitating a shift from traditional siloed approaches to a more holistic and cooperative methodology to address vulnerabilities early .

Security architecture patterns like Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) redefine network security by integrating wide area network (WAN) capabilities with comprehensive security services delivered from the cloud. This approach improves security posture by reducing latency, enhancing scalability, and simplifying management for decentralized and mobile workforces. Incorporating SASE in network security fundamentally shifts the focus from a traditional perimeter-based model to a user-centric model, enabling organizations to address the needs of modern, distributed IT environments .

Qualitative risk assessment focuses on subjective analysis, often using descriptive scales to evaluate risk severity and likelihood, which is beneficial for quick risk prioritization and decision-making. In contrast, quantitative risk assessment uses numerical data and statistical models to provide a more objective and detailed view of risk exposure and potential financial impact. While qualitative assessments can be easier to perform and understand, quantitative assessments provide precision, aiding in more informed and data-driven risk management decisions .

Adopting a Failover Time Objective (FTO) involves setting a specific timeframe for switching from downed primary systems to backup systems, which directly impacts the organization's resilience and service availability during disruptions. It requires thorough Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to ensure that continuity planning and resource allocation are aligned with the organizational tolerance for downtime. An accurate FTO can significantly mitigate operational losses and preserve business functions, whereas an inaccurate one might lead to unmet recovery expectations and potential financial and reputational harm .

Evidentiary standards dictate the level of proof required in investigations. 'Preponderance of evidence,' commonly used in civil investigations, requires proof that claims are more likely true than not, which is less stringent than 'beyond reasonable doubt,' used in criminal cases, where certainty about the evidence must be strong enough to remove any reasonable doubt of guilt. These standards impact how evidence is gathered and analyzed in security investigations, influencing procedural rigor, documentation needs, and the resources allocated to building a case .

The ISC2 Code of Ethics delineates professional conduct standards that guide certified professionals. It specifies who can file a complaint related to ethical breaches, allowing stakeholders to address misconduct. By enforcing a high standard of ethics, the Code ensures accountability and integrity in security management roles, which are essential for maintaining trust within the industry and adherence to professional responsibilities .

S/MIME enhances DNS and email security by providing cryptographic security services for email communications. It integrates with email applications to encrypt the content of emails, ensuring confidentiality, and allows for digital signatures, which verify the integrity and authenticity of the message and its sender. By using cryptographic keys and certificates, S/MIME helps protect against interception and tampering, and supports non-repudiation, thereby strengthening email security within the context of broader communication systems .

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