CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide

As someone on the journey to become a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, finding the right study material can be daunting. However, the "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition" by Shon Harris is an indispensable resource that stands out for its depth and breadth. This edition not only covers all the domains of the CISSP exam but also delves deep into complex topics with clarity and precision. Harris has a knack for breaking down intricate cybersecurity and information security concepts into digestible parts, making the learning process less intimidating and more accessible. One of the strengths of this book lies in its comprehensive coverage of the eight domains of the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK). From Security and Risk Management to Software Development Security, each chapter is meticulously detailed and accompanied by real-world examples and case studies. These illustrations help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, which is crucial for anyone preparing to tackle the diverse scenarios presented in the CISSP exam. The technical depth of the book is impressive. It discusses advanced topics such as cryptographic systems, which are explained in a way that is understandable even to those new to the field. The sections on security architecture are particularly enlightening, offering insights into the design principles and frameworks that underpin secure systems. Furthermore, the book includes a variety of learning tools and resources to enhance study sessions. The practice questions at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and mimic the complexity of the questions on the actual exam. The explanations provided for each answer not only justify the correct choices but also explain why the other options are incorrect, which reinforces learning. Another invaluable feature is the set of online resources linked to the book. The practice exams available online are robust and simulate the actual testing environment, providing an excellent gauge for one's preparedness. Although newer versions of this book now exist, I recommend it as a must-have as you progress through your professional IT journey.

I read her book in 2006 almost every night after work for 6 straight months, passed the CISSP exam on my first try. Lost my CISSP credential 3 years later cuz I was too lazy to report my CPEs. I changed my mind and started reading the this version of book every night for the straight two months from mid February thru mid April in 2015, passed the exam and got recertified. A lot has changed for the last several years...! This is an excellent book. Her book has proven to work for anyone including those whose mother toungue is not English (I'm Japanese). I'm a slow reader as I cannot read English as fast as I read Japanese. Since I needed more time than normal people, I made an announcement to my wife about a temporary suspension of my husband role. I received a lot of what-the-hell-are-you-thinking-we-just-got-married-a-couple-of-years-ago types of questions and accusations. I somehow managed to win her understandings, and started living with this book for two months which seem to me like a year. I took the book to my lunch, starbucks after work, bedroom, car, and restroom (which turned out to be the best place to concentrate). Underlined too many sentences to the point I really could not tell what was really important. So I ended up writing summaries in the margin of each page, which was extremely time consuming, but seemed to have helped solidify my understandings. The exam was a lot harder than the paper-based exam I passed in 2006. And way harder than those practice questions in the book. I automatically and unconsciously hugged an old-gentleman receptionist at the test center when he handed me my test score. Although the book has many seemingly unnecessary jokes I couldn't even understand, the author wrote this book very well with difficult topics broken down into digestible pieces with lots of examples and analogies, which was very helpful and easy for me to understand. I am very shocked and disappointed to hear about Shon's recent dealth. Computer books are short-lived, and get old a lot quicker than dogs, but I would still recommend this book to anyone pursuing CISSP to at least build the foundation of info security. If a slow-learning foreigner with an ADD like myself can do it, then you know this book is good, and anyone can do the same (but you might want to do so before you get married ;-)

Where to begin? -CISSP exam- it's a 6 hour 250 question exam with a free colonoscopy. -CISSP book- very down in the weeds type of book. I did not use the CD but pounded the heck on the practice exam. Not as "reference book" as the CBK but it will help you understand the course material. There are some typos but every tech book has typos. I was getting 70 to 80% on the practice test before I was even comfortable with taking the exam. Coming from a very technical background I had difficulty in the "management" domains. The book helped me in understanding those parts. -Qualitative Value- It's a good book for studying but you have to complement it with some other material. You CANNOT pass the exam on the book alone. ISC2 changed the exam (January of 2014) with a bunch of drag and drops and more scenario based questions. You have to know the material and how it applies to the situation. Unfortunately, this book does not prepare you for that. I don't think there is anything out there that can help explain the situations. You just have to know the material and how it applies. -Quantitative Value- For less than $50 it's a great deal to include to your library. The exam costs $600 and the job salary automatically jumps you a good 20K (depending on your locality and previous education and job experience). It's a good deal -Professional Impact Analysis - Buy the book, buy other books, go to CCCure for more info, buy another book, question your existence, reason out why you need this, buy the same book but different edition, curse out loud and register for the exam, fail the exam and repeat the process/pass the exam and feel a euphoria you never felt before then realize the responsibility you have in protecting the world from all the bad stuff it generates. If you get the CISSP you will be the IT superhero. Good luck. -BTW- I passed the exam in under 4 hours and my colonsocopy came back as CLEAR. Wooohooo!

Well ... it's as fun to read as a CISSP study guide can be, but Shon Harris deserves a lot of credit for injecting humor wherever possible to help you forget that you're slogging through something like 1400 pages of "broad knowledge" study material. The chapters align with the specific subject domains of the CISSP, making it easy to focus more or less on the areas that you need (or don't need) most. Key points are clearly called out and often repeated, making them 'stick'. At the end of each chapter there is a summary that provides a bullet-list overview of the most important concepts from the chapter. Once you've read a chapter end-to-end, these lists provide an excellent review. Each chapter also ends with sample questions, followed immediately by the answers (with explanations!). The CISSP (like most certification tests) is about known the *expected* answer as much as it is knowing the *right* answer, so understanding the logic behind why one answer is better than the others is very helpful. Finally, at the very end - more sample questions! When you consider how expensive it is to buy sample test questions from (ISC)2, this is a welcome conclusion to a looooong but very useful book.

This has got to be the ultimate or most common reference guide that you will see in any IS security expert's office. It has a lot of information but if you want to cover every possible test question that there is, you may need to pair it up with another book such as the CISSP passport. But honestly, if you can read this whole book and retain a lot of that knowledge and have experience in most of these domains, then you should be able to pass the CISSP with just this book. Some chapters have a lot more information than others and it gets a little dry sometimes but there's some humor in it to keep you awake.

I've been teaching CISSP classes for more than 10 years and this is the book I recommend and tell all my students to use. Shon's use of storytelling and humor are key characteristics of this book that make what would normally be a tough read easier to digest. Her in-depth technical treatment of the "Telecommunications and Network Security" (240+ pages) and "Cryptography" domains are some of the best for students who do not come from a technical background. If you want to pass the CISSP exam, this is a great addition to your study program! This is a must have resource!

I'm using this book as my primary study guide for the CISSP exam in addition to a couple others. So far it appears to cover most of the material the other books cover -- and then some. And, it's much easier to read than others such as the IC2 Official Guide to the CISSP. Having purchased more than one edition of this book (I've been side-tracked studying for the CISSP exam several times), I've noticed that with each new revision not much is added and nothing seems to be removed so that the book just keeps getting thicker. For example, do we REALLY need to know about token ring technology on the CISSP exam other than a brief mention from a historical perspective? If you have a previous edition of the book, I doubt you will find much new material in this one to justify the expense -- unless your book is really, really old. I'm using some of the outline type books such as Exam Cram and Conrad's CISSP Study Guide for drills and using the Harris and IC2 books as general references for more detailed info as needed. I'm shooting for mid-Dec 2013 for my exam and will update this post with comments pertaining to which books helped me the most. Minor Comment: One thing I find both annoying and distracting is Harris' obsession with gender. For example, rather than writing, "Once individuals have been identified through the user ID or similar value, they must be authenticated, which means they must prove who they say they are.", Harris insists on writing it using gender this way, "Once a person has been identified through the user ID or similar value, she must be authenticated, which means she must prove she is who she says she is." If this style were used occasionally I wouldn't have thought much about it but Harris seems to go out of her way to insert "she" wherever possible (she does sprinkle a few token "he's in there too). Point is, it's a whole lot easier not to use gender in most instances of sentence structure and most authors do. In fact if you word count the two sentences above, you'll see genderless sentence structure usually uses fewer words to say the same thing. In a 1300 page book using gender 400+ times, that could be significant.

The latest edition of the Shon Harris CISSP All In One book has once again being revamped to include all of the new changes that were introduced on the 2012 CBK. It is definitively one of the top two books for anyone who is serious about becoming a CISSP and passing the exam on the first trial. ISC2 has not updated their own book yet. They have only 4 chapters available in IBook format. They sell each of the chapter for almost $13 each which is totally crazy for a digital edition. It means you will pay almost $130 for the full book. For 1/4 of this price you can get the new All In One Sixth edition. ISC2 needs to rethink their strategy. Clement

Chaque chapitre est bien détaillé. Ce qui peut être un inconvénient lorsqu'on est pressé de passer la certification (ce qui était mon cas). Après 4 mois de lecture (environ 1h chaque soir de la semaine) je suis arrivé au chapitre 6/10. La date fatidique approchant (2 semaines), j'ai donc changé de stratégie et je n'ai lu que les encadrés et résumés. Seulement lorsque je voulais plus de détail, j'approfondissait en lisant le chapitre... Certains chapitres sont de bonnes révisions, d'autres sont de complètes découvertes (regulations and laws !) L'objectif est atteint puisque j'ai passé la certif avec succès.

Covers the subject and all important topics in depth and gives a very practical insight on the subject. The best part of this book is that for all the chapters or security domains it starts with its history to create interest and focuses on its practicality

Passaggio fondamentale nel percorso di certificazione CiSSP è lo studio di questo manuale che ti accompagna nei dieci moduli con chiarezza ed efficacia.

The book came just on time for my test, it has hard covers. I receipt the product in good conditions. was very help ful for may test.

Eu recomendo a leitura, para todos que buscam a certificação CISSP. É difícil escrever mais... todo mundo já sabe que é bom.