About (ISC)2 and the CISSP Certification

The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 (www.isc2.org ) was established in 1989 as a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation chartered for the explicit purpose of developing a standardized security curriculum and administering an information security certification process for security professionals worldwide. In 1994, the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) credential was launched.

The CISSP was the first information security credential to be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to the ISO/IEC 17024:2003 standard. This international standard helps to ensure that personnel certification processes define specific competencies and identify required knowledge, skills, and personal attributes. It also requires examinations to be independently administered and designed to properly test a candidate’s competence for the certification. This process helps a certification gain industry acceptance and credibility as more than just a marketing tool for certain vendor-specific certifications (a widespread criticism that has caused many vendor certifications to lose relevance over the years).

The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) are two organizations that work together to prepare and publish international standards for businesses, governments, and societies worldwide.

The CISSP certification is based on a Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) identified by the (ISC)2 and defined through ten distinct domains:

Access Control

Telecommunications and Network Security

Information Security Governance and Risk Management

Software Development Security

Cryptography

Security Architecture and Design

Security Operations

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning

Legal, Regulations, Investigations and Compliance

Physical (Environmental) Security