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What is ISSMP Exam? All you need to know

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If you are a working or aspiring information security management ISM expert, you may want to consider this credential to help you advance in your career. Use Takethiscourse.net quick feature to learn everything you need to know about the ISC2 CISSP-ISSMP Certification test.

This quick overview includes a list of information to assist you in preparing for the ISC2 Information Systems Security Management Professional (CISSP-ISSMP) test. We go over everything there is to know about the CISSP-ISSMP qualification. Who is qualified to take the test? And what knowledge domains it encompasses, as well as other essential details such as exam cost and study tools. Without further ado, lets get into it.

What is ISSMP Exam?

The ISSMP Exam is the International Systems Security Management Professional exam which is a certification offered by the International Systems Security Certification Consortium that is also known as (ISC)2. To be able to give the exam, the candidates must have experience in the field of security management. The minimum requirement is 2 two years. Furthermore, the candidates must also have one of these certifications:

  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
  • Certified Authorization Professional (CAP)
  • HealthCare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner (HCISPP)

Benefits of Obtaining an ISSMP Certification

Obtaining an ISSMP certification can prove to be advantageous for security professionals. Some of the benefits include:

  • Career advancement: Professionals with an ISSMP certification can easily advance in their careers as it is a valuable certification that has a lot of worth in the field of security management.
  • Industry recognition: The ISSMP certification is highly respected in the industry. It is also a globally recognized certification which proves its credibility.
  • Enhanced skills and knowledge: Taking the ISSMP exam is a way for security professionals to sharpen their skills and increase their knowledge regarding security management.
  • Higher salary: The (ISC)2 Global Information Security Workforce Study shows that professionals with an ISSMP certification are likely to earn 25% more than those without the certification.

Who can take the ISSMP Exam?

The CISSP-ISSMP is designed for managers. Here, they specialize in developing, presenting, and regulating information security programs, as well as demonstrating managerial and leadership abilities. Many preparing to or currently serving as chief technology officers (CTO), chief information officers (CIO), and every other administrative specialist in charge of an agency’s network security or IT protection. You might also be interested in 10 Best CCNA Training.

What is the Exam Format for ISSMP?

The format for ISSMP is similar to scrum and other certifications. A brief summary of the format includes:

Duration 180 mins
Exam type Multiple-choice questions
Language English
Questions 125
Passing 700 Out of 100
Cost $599
Site Pearson Testing Centre

 

If a test applicant fails the exam on their very first try, they must wait 30 days before taking the exam again. After failing the twice, the applicant must wait 90 days before retaking the exam, and each subsequent failed attempt would necessarily imply a 180-day wait before retaking the exam. You have also checkout Cisco CCENT Certification Classes.

What is the CBK for ISSMP?

The ISSMP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) covers a wide range of subjects, ensuring its applicability to all domains in the area of information security management. Top candidates are knowledgeable in the relevant six areas. These domains are included in your test with distributed percentages as follows:

  • Leadership and Business Management—–22%
  • System Lifecycle Management—–19%
  • Risk Management—–18%
  • Threat Intelligence and Incident Management—–17%
  • Contingency Management—–10%
  • Law, Ethics, and Security Compliance Management—–14%
  • Total:100%

What are the 6 Domains in General?

With 6 CISSP-ISSMP domain, there is a lot of content that is covered in each area. Let’s take a look at these domains/levels for clear understanding:

Level 1.0: Company Management and Leadership

It is defined as the widest of all domains. This domain comes with a high criteria that must be created in order for the overall organizational information security program to be effective. This section will put the following to the test:

1.1 Establish Security’s Role in Organizational Culture, Vision, and Mission

  • You’ll need to define the vision and purpose of the security program
  • You need to know how to sync security with the priorities, objectives, and principles of the company
  • Describe business processes and their interrelationships
  • Explain the link between organizational culture and protection

1.2 Align security program with Organizational governance

  • You must recognize and navigate the corporate governance process
  • You need to identify key stakeholders’ positions
  • You’ll have to recognize license sources and boundaries
  • Your knowledge leverage organizational support for management systems

1.3 Develop and implement information management policies.

  • You’ll have to identify security requirements from business initiatives
  • You must know how to manage security strategy implementation
  • You’ll have to assess capacity and capabilities to execute security strategies
  • You must be capable of reviewing and sustaining security strategies
  • You must define security engineering ideas, principles, and methods

1.4 Establish and maintain a security policy system

  • Determine which external requirements are applicable
  • Manage data classification
  • Establish internal policies
  • Obtain organizational policy support
  • Establish protocols, specifications, guidelines, and benchmarks
  • Ensure and review the security policies frequently.

1.5 Manage contract and arrangement security specifications

  • Know how to examine service management contracts (e.g., risk, financial)
  • And handle managed resources (e.g., infrastructure, cloud services)
  • Manage the consequences of organizational transition (e.g., mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing)
  • Keep track of and implement contractual arrangement enforcement

1.6 In charge of security knowledge and training programs.

  • Have the knowledge to promote security programs to Key stakeholders.
  • Determine training requirements based on target category.
  • Evaluate and report on the efficacy of security awareness and training programs.

1.7 Define, monitor, and report on security metrics.

  • Define Key Performance Indicators (KPI) (KPI)
  • Apply KPIs to the risk status of the organization
  • Use metrics to guide the development and operation of security programs.

1.8 Prepare, procure, and manage a defense budget.

  • Financial duties must be managed and reported
  • Create and secure an annual budget
  • Modify the budget in response to changing risks

1.9 Control security programs

  • Know how to create cross-functional collaborations
  • Determine communication impediments and obstacles
  • Establish roles and responsibilities
  • Resolve disputes between security or other stakeholders
  • Develop and maintain team accountability

1.10 Apply product development and project management principles

  • Explain the project lifecycle
  • Determine and implement the best project management approach
  • Examine the relationship between time, variety, and cost.

Throughout this first domain, you need to ensure that you know production and project management guideline.

Level 2.0: Systems lifecycle Management

This domain’s name has been changed to reflect the transition from protection to systems lifecycle management. Risk assessment is now a subcategory of systems lifecycle management, with security built in in the domain. It includes:

2.1 Manage integration of security into system development lifecycle (SDLC)

  • You must know to incorporate information security gates (decision points) and lifecycle benchmarks.
  • And integrate security measures across the system’s lifecycle.
  • You also need to monitor configuration management processes.

2.2 Integrate new business initiatives and emerging technologies into the security architecture

  • You’ll have to contribute to the advancement of business cases for new security initiatives
  • Have the audacity to examine the security implications of new business initiatives.

2.3 Define and oversee comprehensive vulnerability management programs

  • Organize assets, systems, and resources according to their importance to the company.
  • Prioritize risks and vulnerabilities
  • Supervise compliance monitoring
  • Reduce or eliminate limitations based on risk.

2.4 Manage security aspects of change control

  • Implement protection standards into the change management process.
  • Determine stakeholders
  • Monitor reporting and monitoring
  • Maintain policy adherence

‎Level 3.0 Risk Management

Risk management encompasses the following areas:

3.1 Develop and oversee a risk management programs

  • You must know how to share risk management goals with risk owners and other stakeholders
  • Recognize the criteria for determining risk tolerance
  • Determine the scope of the organizational risk management programs
  • Compile and validate an inventory of organizational assets
  • Examine the criteria for organizational risk management.
  • Assess the significance and probability of risks and hazards.
  • Identify countermeasures, compensating and enhancing controls.
  • Suggest risk treatment options and when to use them.

3.2 Conduct risk assessments (RA)

  • Determine risk factors
  • Manage risk associated with suppliers, vendors, and third-party suppliers.
  • Recognize supply chain compliance management
  • Perform a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
  • Handle exceptions to danger.
  • Risk monitoring and reporting
  • Conduct a cost–benefit study

Level 4.0: Threat intelligence and incident Management

This field is brand new, and it encompasses everything an organizational security professional wants to know about threat intelligence and crisis management. It addresses the following topics:

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4.1 Establish and maintain threat intelligence program

  • Combine specific data from various threat intelligence sources
  • Perform a baseline study – Examine anomalous activity trends for possible issues
  • Perform threat modeling – Identify ongoing attacks – Correlate related attacks
  • Generate actionable alerts to proper resources

4.2 Establish and maintain incident handling and investigation program

  • Create program documentation.
  • Develop a case management framework for incident response.
  • Form an Incident Response Team (IRT)
  • Be familiar with and apply incident management methodologies.
  • Establish and maintain an incident handling procedures
  • Establish and manage an inquiry process
  • Quantify and report to stakeholders the financial and organizational effects of accidents and investigations.
  • Perform Root cause analysis RCA

Level 5.0: Contingency Management

Tests for contingency management:

5.1 Lead the development of contingency plans (CP)

  • Examine difficulties associated with the Business Continuity (BC) operation (e.g., time, resources, verification)
  • Examine the difficulties associated with the Disaster Recovery (DR) process (e.g., time, resources, verification)
  • Examine the difficulties associated with the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
  • Work with key stakeholders
  • Establish arrangements for internal and external incident communications.
  • Define the duties and functions.
  • Identify organizational drivers and policies.
  • Consult the Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
  • Keep track of third-party dependencies
  • Establish a succession plan for security management.

5.2 Direct the implementation of recovery strategies.

  • Find and evaluate alternatives
  • Propose and organize recovery methods
  • Assign tasks and responsibilities for recovery

5.3 Keep a business continuity plan (BCP), a continuity of operations plan (COOP), and a disaster recovery plan (DRP) in place (DRP)

  • Here, you’ll need to make a plan for research, assessment, and modification.
  • Determine your longevity and adaptability.
  • Oversee the plan upgrade process.

5.4 Control the recovery process.

  • Issue a disaster declaration
  • Put strategy into action
  • Return to regular operations
  • Compile lessons learned
  • Revise the plan in light of the lessons learned.

Level 6.0: Law, Ethics and Security Compliance Management

This domain will ask your awareness in the following areas:

6.1 Understand the implications of information security legislation.

  • Be aware of global privacy rules.
  • Understand the legal jurisdictions in which the company works (e.g., trans-border data flow)
  • Be familiar with export regulations.
  • Be familiar with intellectual property laws.
  • Recognize business regulations that impact the company.
  • Provide advice on future liabilities

6.2 Learn about management topics as they apply to the (ISC)2 code of ethics.

This sub domain does not include further specifications.

6.3 Verify compliance with relevant rules, legislation, and industry best practices.

  • Obtain leadership support
  • Choose a compliance platform (s)
  • Carry out the validation procedures outlined in the framework (s)
  • Develop and apply protection compliance metrics to report control efficacy and possible areas for change.

6.4 Coordination with auditors and assistance with internal and external audits

  • Get ready
  • Timetable
  • Conduct an audit
  • Assess results
  • Create an answer
  • Validate prevention and remediation actions that have been taken.

6.5 Document and Manage Compliance Exceptions

This sub domain does not include further specifications.‎

Well, thats all for your content. We hope you found the details related to your tests. For these seem a bit overwhelming but once you began studying each of them, you’ll know the content is similar in each domain so you wont have to go deeper.

How does the CISSP-ISSMP compare to CISM?

The CISSP-ISSMP and CISM certifications are two of the most popular certifications in the security management industry. They are beneficial for information security professionals who want to increase their skills and advance in their careers. Although there are some similarities between the two, they also have some obvious differences.

One of the key differences is that the CISSP-ISSMP certification is a branch within the CISSP certification that is offered by (ISC)2  whereas the CISM certification is an independent certification offered by ISACA. The main focus of the CISSP-ISSMP is information security management while the CISM certification is centered around information security governance.

The exam length is also a major difference between the two certifications. Where the CISSP-ISSMP exam is four hours long consisting of 125 multiple-choice questions, the CISM exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions that are to be attempted in the same time duration.

Moving further to eligibility requirements, the CISSP-ISSMP exam requires an experience of a minimum of two years in the field of information security management along with a valid CISSP certification. Whereas for the CISM exam, candidates are required to have a professional experience of at least 5 years in the field of information security alone, along with at least three years of experience in the field of information security management.

Eventually, both certifications aim for the continuation of education and professional development. To maintain the CISSP-ISSMP certification, candidates need to earn and submit at least 2 continuing professional education (CPE) credits each year, whereas candidates who want to maintain a CISM certification need to earn and submit at least 12 CPE credits for three years.

In the end, it is up to the individual’s career goals, professional experience, and areas of interest within the information security field to suggest which certification to go for.

Tips for Passing the ISSMP Exam

To make sure that you are able to go through the exam efficiently and secure the possibility of passing, here are some tips that could prove to be helpful:

  • Understand the exam format: Before taking the exam make sure that you have a thorough understanding of the format of the exam. The ISSMP exam contains 125 multiple-choice questions that need to be completed in three hours.
  • Study the (ISC)2 Official Study Guide: The official study guide provides all the relevant information that will be needed and should be studied vigilantly.
  • Use additional study materials: Study from additional resources that can help increase your knowledge of this exam. Find practice exams and online training courses to reinforce and review the concepts required.
  • Join study groups: Joining study groups can provide candidates with a platform to discuss difficult concepts and gain more knowledge. It also allows them to find additional resources that can help them learn extra information.
  • Practice time management: Candidates should solve practice exams while timing themselves so they can manage the time during the actual exam.

Resources for ISSMP Preparation

We recommend an authorized training course, practise test, and hands-on experience to prepare for the Information Systems Security Management Professional (CISSP-ISSMP) exam.

Final Thoughts

The feature will assist you in determining the type and the difficulty level of the questions in your exam. We hope this feature made you familiar with the style and setting of ISSMP exam. Before taking your official ISC2 Information Systems Security Management Professional (CISSP-ISSMP) certification test, you should carefully read Takethiscourse.net’s feature to avoid any misconceptions.

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