Cissp Study Strategy - My 2 Paisa

On 11th July 2016 , I “provisionally” passed my CISSP exam after almost 5-6 Months of preparation. I am still waiting for them to send me the confirmation post submission of my endorsement form.

ISC2 describes CISSP as “inch deep and mile wide”. Thats enough to confuse the hell out of you. Add to it the Big Fat books and the plethora of websites which help you prepare through simulation tests etc…

I scourged the internet for notes , tests , tutorials and so called “CISSP Dumps” , but in the end , nothing turned out useful.

Been there done that , my advise in very simple words will be to just read and re-read this book by Shon Harris , period. Nothing doing. For nearly 4 months out of 6 months preparation , i referred to this book and another book by Sybex , but nothing came close to what Shon Harris has written. Especially the 6th edition. I cannot comment on the new 7th edition as its not written by her.

The key thing that one needs to understand about the CISSP exam is that it will force you to think logically and common sensically in the context of information security. Your fundamentals must be crystal clear and thats where I strongly recommend reading the AIO Shon Harris book end-to-end without skipping anything.

So some pointers when you decide that you wish to appear for the CISSP examination , and the flow which i followed.

1. Start reading Shon Harris CISSP AIO 6th Edition , everyday. I started in February 2016 and completed the book in May 2016. Appeared for the exam in July 2016.
2. Underline the important points for revision.
3. Shon Harris in her book highlights key points in Bold and italics which you need to read and re-read and ensure to make a note of it by underlining the surrounding the lines for future reference and revision.
4. Understand each topic thoroughly as if you were to implement this in your bank or your company and relate to various risks. This will help you clear your basics and fundamentals which is the key to crack the CISSP exam !
5. Revisions ! Keep revising each and every point that you highlighted throughout the book and get yourself acquainted with every topic (atleast a high level overview ). I completed my 4th revision of the book on the day just before my exam. Every time i ran through the book , the topics would seep into my head with a much better understanding and clarity. For Ex : I always struggled with Kerberos and CCTV Cameras , i finally got a good hang over these two topics in my 4th revision.
6. Ensure you go through all the questions given in the book and the accompanying software.
7. Your ACTUAL preparation starts once you book your exam , period !

Hope you find my experience useful and All the very best for your Exam !