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Certified in Cybersecurity Certification Exam Outline

View and download the latest PDF version of the Certified in Cybersecurity Exam Outline in the following languages:

CC - English  |  CC - Chinese  |  CC - Japanese  |  CC - German  |  CC - Spanish

About Certified in Cybersecurity

ISC2 developed the Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) credential for newcomers to the field, to recognize the growing trend of people entering the cybersecurity workforce without direct IT experience. Getting Certified in Cybersecurity provides employers with the confidence that you have a solid grasp of the right technical concepts, and a demonstrated aptitude to learn on the job. As an ISC2 certification, those who hold the CC are backed by the world’s largest network of certified cybersecurity professionals helping them continue their professional development and earn new achievements and qualifications throughout their career.

The topics on the CC exam include:

  • Security Principles
  • Incident Response, Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) Concepts
  • Access Controls Concepts
  • Network Security
  • Security Operations

Certified in Cybersecurity Examination Information

Notice: Beginning October 1, 2025, the CC exam will be administered as a variable-length Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) exam only. Candidates will answer 100-125 multiple-choice items. For more information, please refer to www.isc2.org/certifications/computerized-adaptive-testing.

Length of exam 2 hours
Number of items 100
Item format Multiple choice
Passing grade 700 out of 1000 points
Exam language availability English, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish
Testing center Pearson VUE Testing Center


Certified in Cybersecurity Examination Weights

Domains Average Weight
1. Security Principles 26%
2. Business Continuity (BC), Disaster Recovery (DR) & Incident Response Concepts 10%
3. Access Controls Concepts 22%
4. Network Security 24%
5. Security Operations 18%
Total 100%

Domains

1.1 - Understand the security concepts of information assurance

  • Confidentiality
  • Integrity
  • Availability
  • Authentication (e.g., methods of authentication, multi-factor authentication (MFA))
  • Non-repudiation
  • Privacy

1.2 - Understand the risk management process

  • Risk management (e.g., risk priorities, risk tolerance)
  • Risk identification, assessment and treatment

1.3 - Understand security controls

  • Technical controls
  • Administrative controls
  • Physical controls

1.4 - Understand ISC2 Code of Ethics

  • Professional code of conduct

1.5 - Understand governance processes

  • Policies
  • Procedures
  • Standards
  • Regulations and laws

2.1 - Understand business continuity (BC)

  • Purpose
  • Importance
  • Components

2.2 - Understand disaster recovery (DR)

  • Purpose
  • Importance
  • Components

2.3 - Understand incident response

  • Purpose
  • Importance
  • Components

3.1 - Understand physical access controls

  • Physical security controls (e.g., badge systems, gate entry, environmental design)
  • Monitoring (e.g., security guards, closed-circuit television (CCTV), alarm systems, logs)
  • Authorized versus unauthorized personnel

3.2 - Understand logical access controls

  • Principle of least privilege
  • Segregation of duties
  • Discretionary access control (DAC)
  • Mandatory access control (MAC)
  • Role-based access control (RBAC)

4.1 - Understand computer networking

  • Networks (e.g., Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) model, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), WiFi)
  • Ports
  • Applications

4.2 - Understand network threats and attacks

  • Types of threats (e.g., distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), virus, worm, Trojan, man-in-the-middle (MITM), side-channel)
  • Identification (e.g., intrusion detection system (IDS), host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS), network intrusion detection system (NIDS))
  • Prevention (e.g., antivirus, scans, firewalls, intrusion prevention system (IPS))

4.3 - Understand network security infrastructure

  • On-premises (e.g., power, data center/closets, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), environmental, fire suppression, redundancy, memorandum of understanding (MOU)/memorandum of agreement (MOA))
  • Design (e.g., network segmentation (demilitarized zone (DMZ), virtual local area network (VLAN), virtual private network (VPN), micro-segmentation), defense in depth, Network Access Control (NAC) (segmentation for embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT))
  • Cloud (e.g., service-level agreement (SLA), managed service provider (MSP), Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), hybrid)

5.1 - Understand data security

  • Encryption (e.g., symmetric, asymmetric, hashing)
  • Data handling (e.g., destruction, retention, classification, labeling)
  • Logging and monitoring security events

5.2 - Understand system hardening

  • Configuration management (e.g., baselines, updates, patches)

5.3 - Understand best practice security policies

  • Data handling policy
  • Password policy
  • Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
  • Bring your own device (BYOD) policy
  • Change management policy (e.g., documentation, approval, rollback)
  • Privacy policy

5.4 - Understand security awareness training

  • Purpose/concepts (e.g., social engineering, password protection)
  • Importance