I passed.
About three weeks ago, I sat for the CISSP exam . Brutal does even begin to describe the ordeal. It covered all 250 questions in four of the six allotted hours, and emerged onto the empty streets near the Jacob Javits Convention Center wondering how I could be so stupid to blow $550 bucks for another professional designation.
Well...I passed. Here's the proof.
Dear Spartacus:
Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have passed the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®) examination - the first step in becoming certified as a CISSP.
The second step in the certification process requires submission of two additional items:
1. A COMPLETED ENDORSEMENT FORM. The endorsement form and instructions are available for download at https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/content.cgi?page=1278.
2. YOUR RESUME/CV. Please provide a copy of your resume/CV along with your Endorsement in one email (Note: your resume/CV should be the same as the copy you give to your endorser).
Jeez, as if taking the test wasn't enough! Now I've to find full-fledged CISSP and grovel for their endorsement. Next their going to want blood samples to make sure I didn't take any steroids. Man, I feel so dirty.
I'll say this for the CISSP designation -- from an employment perspective, this is a nice card to have in my hand because in Corporate America, IT Security is a huge, HUGE, deal.
I can't imagine why.
So, even if I sometimes loathe working in a cubicle for "the man," it's a J-O-B like any other that helps pay bills and the feed hungry mouths of these three mangansones.
Is there a better reason than this?
Before I leave you, give this sample question a try:
Which of the following is not an encryption algorithm?
Leave your answer in comments. Or if you care to peek.....
Answer: SHA-1. The SHA-1 is a hashing algorithm producing a 160-bit hash result from any data. It does not perform encryption.
