Introduction to the CISSP-ISSEP Exam

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.

CISSP-ISSEP

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.

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ISC2 Sends Erroneous Exam Notifications

I took the CISSP-ISSEP, failed. Took it again, failed again. Just got an email saying “woops” you actually passed, there was a grading mistake. My mind went through the following phases

  1. Disbelief that this could actually happen, when I first got the email I almost ignored it
  2. Anger and frustration (I wanted to sue them on Judge Judy for the 1 million dollars worth of mental anguish they caused me)
  3. Happiness and a feeling that weight had been lifted off my shoulders

My ISSEP score was exactly the same both times I took it. Depending on the weight of the questions I failed by either one or two questions. I’m still not exactly sure if I passed both times or just the first time. They did reimburse me for the second exam because I didn’t need to take it.

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