INTRODUCTION
The importance of information technology (IT) security increases every day. The news is filled with reports of data breaches where customer data is lost and companies are forced to scramble with crisis management. Rarely a day goes by when users don’t see phishing e-mails in their inbox, with each phishing e-mail trying to trick them into clicking an unsafe link or giving up valuable information. Individual botnets commonly control tens of thousands of computers, all ready at a moment’s notice to launch attacks.
All of these risks can cause substantial losses for an organization. Instead of waiting for an incident and then responding, organizations are realizing they must be more proactive with IT security. The alternative is to do nothing and then watch profits slip away.
More IT security jobs have become available to fill this void, but employers often find it difficult to locate professionals with the right mix of knowledge and skills, including security knowledge and skills. Hiring managers typically want to have some indication that the person they’re hiring for an IT job has at least some security knowledge, and that’s where certifications fit in. Individuals with a security certification such as the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) will often get the job interview, while individuals without a security certification may be overlooked.
This book can help you learn the material to prepare for the SSCP exam. Just as importantly, it can help you build your IT security knowledge so that you can provide real and lasting assistance to organizations that are seeking to improve their security posture.
Exam Objective Map
The SSCP exam is composed of questions from seven domains:
• Access Controls (16%)
• Security Operations and Administration (15%)
• Risk Identification, Monitoring, and Analysis (15%)
• Incident Response and Recovery (13%)
• Cryptography (10%)
• Network and Communications Security (16%)
• Systems and Application Security (15%)
The following table maps the domain topics for the SSCP exam to the chapter(s) and section(s) where each is covered.
