The Systems Security Certified Practitioner or SSCP exam from the house of (ISC)2 is valid proof of your acumen relating to the implementation and administration of the needed IT infrastructure by taking advantage of policies, best practices, and operations of this vendor. Once you clear such a test, you will be granted the SSCP certificate that will open for you new career horizons and increase your annual salary package.

Best Audience

You are an ideal candidate for the SSCP designation exam if you are currently working in the job roles of a system administrator, IT manager, and network security specialist and are also apt with practical security for operating assets within an organization. Besides, if you’re a current network security engineer, database admin, security architect, and the like, you are also entitled to pursuing such a qualification.

Required Experience

To be able to follow this SSCP pathway, you need to comply with the certification eligibility requirements that the vendor has set. In particular, this means that you are to have one year of work experience in at best one domain of the SSCP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK). However, if you don’t have this experience, don’t worry as the (ISC)2 will grant you the necessary exposure once you receive a Bachelor's or Master’s degree in the cybersecurity field.

What Does SSCP Evaluation Represent?

Like many other (ISC)2 certification exams, the SSCP also features 125 questions of the multiple-choice type, and the candidates need to tackle all those queries in 3 hours. Besides, the exam in question is delivered via Pearson VUE in several language options namely, English, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese. Finally, if you want to be sure you’ll 100% garner the desired certificate, gain at least 700 points as a passing rate.

What are Exam objective Weights?

To cut a long story short, you have to develop proficiency in the following topics, where the percentage in brackets shows which weight each domain holds in the official SSCP test:

• Access Controls (16%);
• Administration & Security Operations (15%);
• Analysis, Monitoring, and Risk Identification (15%);
• Recovery alongside Incident Response (13%);
• Cryptography (10%);
• Security for Networks and Communications (16%);
• App and Systems Security (15%).

Breakdown of Testable Objectives

Now that you are aware of the domains of the SSCP CBK, let us dive deeper into the objectives and concepts measured within. Thus, the first domain talks about access controls and teaches you to execute as well as maintain the methods for authentication. More than this, candidates will also need to back up internetwork trust frameworks and take part in the lifecycle of identity management. Last of all, such a topic will put into the spotlight the implementation processes of access controls that are mandatory, role-based, object-based, discretionary, and more. Moving on forward, the next module details the process of compliance with the code of ethics. Plus, it explains how you can grasp the security concepts, support functional controls for security, and become an integral part of asset management. Finally, within a topic like this, applicants will have developed acumen in change management, security training & awareness, and physical operations necessary for the security field. The third measured chapter focuses on discerning the procedure of risk management and arms you with the needed skills to accomplish varied activities relating to security evaluation. In addition, it captures the processes of operating as well as maintaining systems for monitoring and dwells on the activity of analyzing the results of monitoring. Once you approach the fourth module, you need to show your prowess in supporting the lifecycle of incidents and understanding the forensic investigations, which all revolve around such concepts as detection, preparation, analysis, recovery, legal principles, and handling of evidence. More so, during the studying process, you will have to get the hang of activities that are pertinent to the Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) as well as Business Continuity Plan (BCP). When it comes to the fifth knowledge area, it equips you with the expertise of basic cryptography concepts and makes you understand the reasons for utilizing cryptography alongside its vital requirements. To add more, when exploring the topic further, you will get acquainted with support protective protocols, for example, DKIM, IPSec, or TLS, and will touch on the systems belonging to the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Subsequently, the sixth domain is all about learning to apply the basic networking concepts, grasping the network countermeasures including attacks, and managing access controls for networking. Last but not least, under such an exam category, you need to excel in the management of network security, operate with and configure devices for network-based security, and finally, deal with and be able to change wireless technologies like NFC or Bluetooth. Soon after, you will have to delve into the last chapter, app & systems security, which commences with malicious code and activity identification & analysis. Apart from this, you will also have to know the way to put into operation security for endpoint devices and carry out processes as well as configuration with cloud security. To finalize, within this topic, you will need to operate with and protect the virtual settings by making use of software-defined networking, hypervisor, shared storage, and attacks just to mention a few.

SSCP Career Opportunities

Passing the SSCP exam can be a push towards your career upgrade. Thus, if a designation like this refurbishes your CV, many recruiters will be attracted to it. As an outcome, they can offer you some high-profile jobs and a decent annual income as compared to those who aren't (ISC)2 accredited. In particular, the SSCP endorses your skills to work as a Security Engineer, Security Analyst, Information Security Engineer, Information Security Specialist, etc. And what concerns the pay that can be bestowed to certified candidates, it is around $76k per annum according to the data provided by Payscale.com.

What Certificate to Pursue Next?

Well, there are lots of certification options designed by (ISC)2 that you can add under your belt. So, once you’ve received the SSCP, take into account other designations from the same vendor like, for example, the CISSP alongside its three extensions, the CSSLP, or the HCISPP.