The Information System Security Engineering Professional (ISSEP) is a CISSP concentration that specializes in security engineering. In addition to the ISSEP, there are two other CISSP concentrations, the Information System Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) and the Information System Security Management Professional (ISSMP). The ISSAP overlaps with many of the technical concepts from the CISSP, the ISSMP overlaps with many of the management aspects. The ISSEP is an entirely different animal with a distinctive U.S. government flavor to it.
About the Exam
The ISSEP exam is made up of 150 questions and has a four hour time limit. Like other ISC2 test, 25 of these questions are used for research purposes only and are not counted when determining your grade. You need a 700/1000 to pass the exam. The domains and questions were developed by ISC2 in conjunction with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). Because of the NSA’s participation in question development, you may notice a different style and tone between ISSEP and CISSP questions.
The CISSP certification is automatically renewed after three years as long as you have stay on top of the minimum Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits and Annual Maintenance Fee (AMF). CPE’s are divided into two groups. Group A CPE’s cover “Direct Information Systems Security Activities” and align with one of the 10 Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) domains, while group B CPE’s cover “Professional Skills Activities.” ISC2 provides the following ideas for getting CPE’s.
I’ve taken ISC2 exams six times. This includes 
I don’t trust salary surveys because they don’t take into account all of the variables that go into a persons salary. These variables include location, experience, education, certifications, and the company. Most salary surveys only take into account one or two variables and completely ignore the others. While these other variables do get included within an “average” this average can be so much different than your salary range that it doesn’t do any good to know it.
It’s easy to get caught up on details, especially memorizing facts. While the CISSP does have detailed answers that depend on you knowing facts, it’s much more important to understand concepts. Don’t get me wrong, you have to put in the effort required to memorize terms and concepts, but you can’t rely on this to pass the exam.
The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model has seven layers that define network communication. For the CISSP exam, you need to understand the order of the layers, what layer number is assigned to each layer name, and the function of each layer. Each layer performs a defined function for the layer above it and communicates with its peer layer over an interface.
The Bell-LaPadula model is used to enforce access control within the government and military. It was developed by David Elliott Bell and Leonard J. LaPadula, hence the funny name. The Bell-LaPadula model focuses on confidentiality. While the formal model may not be applicable for most uses, the terminology and concepts are still important to passing the CISSP exam. As you review the model, think of the military uses of clearance levels, it will make understanding easier.
Doing this creates stress. In the post “
I paid a friend cash and he let me use his credit card to order a CCNA book and register or the exam. I studied for about a month, going through what I would describe as an “academic fight or flight” scenario. I was reading the book every chance I got, more than was probably healthy. I could do hexadecimal conversions in my sleep and subnet during breakfast.
Unless you live in a really big city it’s best to only select your Country/State, and then just scroll through the options for city and date. The examination locations are usually either an educational institution or a hotel. I’ve taken test in both and prefer hotels. For me, the examinations are usually a long drive and early in the morning. So I prefer to stay in the hotel, get a good nights sleep, and wake up to a nice breakfast.
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