Chapter 1. The CISSP Certification Exam
Terms you’ll need to understand:
Common body of knowledge (CBK)
Exam strategy
Techniques you’ll need to master:
Assessing exam requirements
Determining whether you’re ready for the exam
Using practice questions
Using your time wisely
Introduction
Welcome to CISSP Exam Cram! The aim of this chapter is to help you become prepared for the CISSP exam and understand what to expect when you enter the testing area. For most people, exam taking is not something that they eagerly anticipate. The best way to reduce that anxiety is to be fully prepared before you attempt to pass the exam. Taking those extra steps will help you feel more relaxed and confident when you enter the testing area.
Before beginning your studies, take a few minutes to make sure you fully understand the CISSP exam process. This is something that you don’t want to wait until the day of the exam to figure out. Reviewing these details now will help you concentrate on the exam so that you aren’t worried about how much time you have to answer each question. Finally, mastering a few basic exam-taking skills should help you recognize—and perhaps even overcome—some of the tricks or unusual verbiage you’re bound to find on the exam.
In addition to reviewing the exam environment, this chapter describes some proven exam-taking strategies that you can use to your advantage.
Assessing Exam Readiness
Before you rush out and sign up for the CISSP exam, check out the www.ISC2.org website and review the CISSP certification requirements. To be eligible to become a CISSP, you must qualify for and meet two separate requirements:
Examination—This portion of the process requires that you submit the examination fee, and assert that you possess a minimum of five years of professional experience in the information security field or four years plus a college degree (this is subject to audit and verification). You must also review and sign the Candidate Agreement stating that you will legally commit to adhere to the CISSP Code of Ethics, and answer several questions regarding criminal history and background.
Certification—The second step of the process requires that the candidate pass the exam with a score of 700 points or greater, submit a completed and executed Endorsement Form, and, in some cases, pass a verification audit regarding professional experience.
When you are confident that you meet these requirements, you can continue with your studies. To be fully prepared for the exam, I recommend that you read the entire text, review the practice questions, and review the additional resources identified in each chapter. After you read the book and test yourself with the questions and practice exams, you will have a good idea of whether you are ready to take the real exam.
Be aware that the CISSP exam is difficult and challenging; therefore, this book shouldn’t be your only vehicle for CISSP study. Many companies, such as my own (Superior Solutions, Inc., www.thesolutionfirm.com), offer training classes to help you review the material and prepare for the exam. Because of the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to pass the CISSP exam, be sure to use plenty of study materials and use this book to help you gauge your strengths and weaknesses. The ISC2 website is a good place to find additional study material, and so are the “Need to Know More?” sections at the end of the chapters in this book.
Taking the Exam
When you arrive at the testing center, you need to sign in. You will be asked to show your exam confirmation and photo identification. You cannot take the exam without a photo ID and your exam confirmation number. After you’ve signed in, find a seat, get comfortable, and wait for the exam to begin.
The exam is completely closed book. In fact, you will not be permitted to take any study materials into the testing area; you will be given scratch paper to use that must be returned at the completion of the exam. The exam is electronic and is very similar to CompTIA exams or those given by Microsoft. ISC2 allows you to make comments regarding the training environment at the completion of the exam.
During the six-hour time limit, you will need to complete 250 questions. This provides plenty of time to complete the exam and even provides some time to go back and review your answers. The test screen will show a timer to keep you informed of how much time you have left to complete the exam.
All questions on the exam are multiple choice, and the exam contains 250 questions. Twenty-five of the questions are for research purposes, so only 225 questions are actually scored for certification. The research questions do not count against you regardless of your answer. You should attempt all the questions, even if you need to guess the answer. Don’t leave any answers blank. The exam questions are developed by an ISC2 committee and are always being updated and changed. I encourage you to make multiple passes on the test. On the first pass, answer all the questions where you are confident that you know the correct answer and mark the questions you are unsure of. On the second pass, work through the more difficult questions and make sure to underline key words such as “not”, “least”, and “most”. Missing one word on the exam can make a big difference. On the final pass, answer any remaining questions. Remember that it is better to guess at an answer than to leave a question blank.
In the next section, you learn more about how CISSP test questions look and how they must be answered.
Examples of CISSP Test Questions
Here are examples of the different CISSP test question formats. Following each example is a brief summary of each potential answer and why it is either right or wrong.
Multiple-Choice Question Format
These are exam questions that require you to select a single answer from the given choices. To answer this type of question, click the letter or text of one answer. In some cases, more than one answer might appear correct; you must determine which one is most correct.
1. What is the most widely used device to control physical access?
A. Chains
B. Locks
C. Alarms
D. Firewalls
Drag and Drop Question Format
These are exam questions that require you to move one or more correct answers from a pool of possible answers into the correct answers area. To answer this type of question, simply click, drag, and drop the correct answers from the “Possible Answers” section to the “Correct Answers” box.
1. Which of the following are examples of asymmetric encryption?
Hotspot Question Format
These are exam questions that require you to click on the correct area of a diagram—a hotspot—to answer a question.
1. When designing network controls, which would be the proper location for a firewall to protect the DMZ?
Answer to Multiple-Choice Question
1. Answer: B. Locks are the most commonly used device to control physical access. Locks have been used since the time of the Egyptians. Answer A is incorrect because chains are not the most commonly used devices for physical access control. Answer C is incorrect because alarms don’t prevent access; they only inform you that possible unauthorized access has occurred. Answer D is incorrect because a firewall is used to control logical access.
Answer to Drag and Drop Question
1. Answer: RSA. RSA is the only example of asymmetric encryption. DES, AES, and SAFER are all examples of symmetric encryption. In this case, you should drag and drop only “RSA” into the “Correct Answers” box.
Answer to Hotspot Question
1. Answer: C. To answer the question, hold the mouse cursor over the area on the diagram that you want to choose as your answer. While all available areas will light up (A, B, or C in this example), you must click on the one you believe is correct. In this case, we’d want to deploy a firewall where item C is located between the internal network and the Internet.
Exam Strategy
A well-known principle when taking fixed-length exams is to first read each question, and answer only those questions that you feel absolutely sure of. As you progress through the exam, you might find subsequent questions that clue you into the correct answer on a previous one. Any questions you might have passed you can return to, and at that point you will know exactly how many questions you have left.
As you read each question, if you answer only those you’re sure of and mark for review those that you’re not sure of, you can keep working through a decreasing list of questions as you answer the trickier ones in order.
ExamAlert
There’s at least one potential benefit to reading the exam completely before answering the trickier questions: Sometimes information supplied in later questions sheds more light on earlier questions. At other times, information you read in later questions might jog your memory about earlier questions. Either way, you’ll come out ahead if you defer answering those questions about which you’re not absolutely sure.
Here are some question-handling strategies that apply to fixed-length and short-form tests. Use these tips whenever you can:
When returning to a question after your initial read-through, read every word again, as if for the first time. Sometimes revisiting a question after turning your attention elsewhere lets you see something you missed, but the strong tendency is to see what you saw before.
If you return to a question more than twice, try to articulate to yourself what you don’t understand about the question, why answers don’t appear to make sense, or what appears to be missing. If you chew on the subject a while, your subconscious might provide the details you lack or you might notice a “trick” that points to the right answer. If there is more than one good answer, the more general answer that encompasses others will usually take precedence and be the correct answer.
As you work your way through the exam, it’s wise to budget your time.
If you’re not finished when only five minutes remain, use that time to guess your way through any remaining questions. Remember, guessing is potentially more valuable than not answering because blank answers are always wrong, but a guess might turn out to be right, and there is no penalty for wrong answers. If you don’t have a clue about any of the remaining questions, pick answers at random or choose all As, Bs, and so on. The important thing is to submit an exam for scoring that has an answer for every question.
Question-Handling Strategies
Because of the way that multiple choice CISSP exam questions are structured, many times one or two of the answers will be obviously incorrect and two of the answers will be plausible. Take the time to reread the question. Words such as “sometimes”, “not”, “always”, and “best” can make a big difference when choosing the correct answer. Unless the answer leaps out at you, begin the process of answering by eliminating those answers that are most obviously wrong.
Almost always, at least one answer out of the possible choices for a question can be eliminated immediately because it matches one of these conditions:
The answer does not apply to the situation.
The answer describes a nonexistent issue, an invalid option, or an imaginary state.
After you eliminate all answers that are obviously wrong, you can apply your retained knowledge to eliminate further answers. Look for items that sound correct but refer to actions, commands, or features that are not present or not available in the situation that the question describes.
If you’re still faced with a blind guess among two or more potentially correct answers, reread the question. Try to picture how each of the possible remaining answers would alter the situation.
Only when you’ve exhausted your ability to eliminate answers, but remain unclear about which of the remaining possibilities is correct, should you guess at an answer. An unanswered question offers you no points, but guessing gives you at least some chance of getting a question right—just don’t be too hasty when making a blind guess!
Mastering the Inner Game
In the final analysis, knowledge breeds confidence and confidence breeds success. If you study the materials in this book carefully and review all the practice questions at the end of each chapter, you should become aware of those areas where additional learning and study are required.
ExamAlert
You will be expected to understand CISSP terminology before attempting the exam. A big part of the exam is not only understanding the terms that might be used, but also applying them in the context provided in the test questions. As an example, the exam might talk about intrusion detection, but a specific question might address physical intrusion detection or logical intrusion detection.
After you’ve worked your way through this book, take the practice exams at the end of the book. Taking these practice exams will provide a reality check and help you identify areas to study further. Make sure you follow up and review materials related to the questions you missed on the practice exams before taking the real exam. Only when you’ve covered that ground and feel comfortable with the whole scope of the practice exams should you set an exam appointment. It’s advisable to score 90% or better before you attempt the real exam. Otherwise, obtain some additional practice tests and keep trying until you hit that magic number.
ExamAlert
Armed with the information in this book and with the determination to augment your knowledge, you should be able to pass the certification exam. However, you need to work at it or you’ll spend the exam fee more than once before you finally pass. If you prepare seriously, you should do well. We are confident that you can do it!
Need to Know More?
CISSP Exam Texting Techniques: searchsecurity.techtarget.com/feature/First-person-Editor-Andrew-Briney-on-how-to-pass-the-CISSP-exam
(ISC)2 CISSP Certification Outline: www.isc2.org/cissp/default.aspx