Re: Best Preparation Materials for the CISSP Exam?

[Guy Pace <gpace () SBCTC EDU>]

The Shon Harris book, fourth edition (Gold with Blue cover), is very highly recommended. Also, make sure you have the 
(ISC)2 CBK (November 2007 edition). The CBK is the text from which the exam questions are drawn. Shon mentions in 
several locations in her book that while the world has moved on in some areas, the CBK still is the standard from which 
the exam draws. It is important to know the grim reality, but you also must know and understand the CBK.

The cccure.org site is an excellent recommendation for resources, including free practice exams.

Check in your area for an ISSA chapter and see if they sponsor a CISSP study group. Ours does and we get a lot of 
interest in it. We use presenters for each of the domains from the membership-working professionals from business and 
government throughout the Puget Sound area. A study group is a good resource to use prior to the exam to provide you 
with a brush-up on the domains.

Practice tests are useful in practicing your critical analysis skills. When you can score 80 percent or better in each 
domain on practice tests, you are usually pretty well prepared for the exam.

Training programs are available, too. Some are hosted by commercial training companies and you hear the term "boot 
camp" associated with them. They are usually a week or ten days long. (ISC)2 also runs week-long CBK overviews using 
certified trainers and these are great for just before the exam. These training programs can run $2500 to $3500, so be 
prepared for the sticker shock.

The (ISC)2 web site (www.isc2.org) is also a good resource for information on the certification.

Guy L. Pace, CISSP
Security Administrator
Information Technology Division
WA State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC)
3101 Northup Way, Suite 100
Bellevue, WA 98004
425-803-9724
gpace () sbctc edu

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Sarazen, 
Daniel
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 3:36 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] Best Preparation Materials for the CISSP Exam?

Hi All,

Does anybody have suggested materials (Books, CDs, etc.) for preparing for the CISSP exam?

Thanks,

[cid:image001.gif@01CA0A1D.2AA18C00]

:: Daniel Sarazen, Senior Information Technology Auditor
:: University Internal Audit
:: University of Massachusetts President's Office

:: 774-455-7558
:: 781-724-3377 Cell
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:: Dsarazen () umassp edu<mailto:Dsarazen () umassp edu>

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