Passed today at 100q with about 25 mins left. Thank you to everyone for the advice and resources you've shared. The exam was not exactly easy but also not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I felt I was doing okay through most of it. There were a handful of questions that I truly didn't know from the CBK. And a handful that were very difficult, but mostly it was applying analytical thinking to the scenarios. One approach that really helped me is to ask myself what the end game is. What is the true outcome the question is asking for. Framing it that way helped me answer a lot of questions correctly. Here are the resources I used and my study journey: I started about a year ago reading the OSG but found it too dense and boring. I then moved onto the Destination Cert guide, which I highly recommend. After completing the Dest Cert I started with the official Wiley test questions but those were too literal and technical. Then I started with QE. I also later bought the Boson exams (good but slightly too technical) and joined the CISSP Study Group on skool.com. I started doing learning sessions through that group which I found really helpful and motivating. A big shout out to everyone who participated. I also started using https://cissp.app which has an excellent question base. One more test bank I want to mention is really excellent, especially when prepping close to the exam are the questions at the end of Andrew Ramdayal's Udemy course: https://www.udemy.com/course/cisspcertification/?couponCode=MT260928G1A The first set, 50 hard questions, are free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbVY0Cg8Ntw Many of you will already know of them. But it was totally worth getting the additional 100 exam questions which accompany his course. In my opinion these were the closest to the actual exam. (I probably used too many test banks and know that others won't choose that path. But I found that each test bank seems to gravitate towards its own favourite topics so overall it was very helpful to train on a number of them. But everyone is different and some people have passed just using one or two test banks.)

Hi everyone, I am thrilled to share that I officially cleared the CISSP exam yesterday at the 100-question mark on my first attempt! To give a bit of background, I started my CISSP preparation right after passing my CCSP 6 weeks ago. Here is what my preparation looked like: - Core Study Material: Studied the Official Study Guide (OSG) 10th Edition cover-to-cover, using AI tools (Gemini and Claude) to deep-dive into areas where the OSG lacked a bit of depth and to effectively cover that delta. - Visual Learning: Utilized Destination Certification's mind map videos to solidify concepts. - Practice Assessments: Leveraged the Destination Certification app practice tests, alongside the Skool "CISSP, CCSP & CISM Practice Exams | Expert-Calibrated Questions — cissp.app" practice and full-length tests, to benchmark my readiness. - Final Refresher: Used The CISSP Field Manual by Clearance to Wealth as a fantastic quick refresher right before the exam. - Collaborative Learning: Participated actively in classes alongside a diverse group of talented professionals. The interactive sessions fostered a healthy and professional environment where we could analyze questions from multiple angles. Hearing different viewpoints on scenario-based reasoning provided valuable insights into why a choice is correct or incorrect, significantly sharpening my exam mindset. I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who made this journey a success: - Vincent: For initializing and running this amazing CISSP Skool community. - The Facilitators: For exposing us to a rich variety of challenging questions through the classes. - My Study Group: A heartfelt thank you to Ed, Ricardo, Enrico, Victor, Matthew, Pavithra, Emma, Aidah, Vishal, David and many more for your incredible support and camaraderie. Thank you all again. On to the next chapter!

A vendor proposes a new SaaS platform that processes regulated customer data. Procurement wants to sign by quarter-end, and the vendor's SOC 2 Type II report is six months old. As the security architect, what is the MOST appropriate next step? A. Accept the SOC 2 report and proceed with contract execution B. Require the vendor to complete your standard security questionnaire C. Perform a risk assessment mapped to your control requirements D. Demand a fresh penetration test before signing Come back for the answer tomorrow, or study more now!

A long-tenured engineer has accumulated access across six business units through internal transfers. A recent audit flagged the account as having excessive privileges, but managers insist the access is "needed for cross-functional projects." What should you do FIRST? A. Disable unused entitlements based on the last 90 days of activity logs B. Initiate a formal access recertification with each respective data owner C. Implement a role-based access control model to replace direct grants D. Escalate to HR to enforce a job description review Come back for the answer tomorrow, or study more now!

A business unit requests permanent retention of all customer transaction records "in case we ever need them." Legal has not issued a hold, and the current retention schedule requires deletion after seven years. As the data owner's advisor, what is the BEST response? A. Honor the request since longer retention reduces legal discovery risk B. Enforce the existing retention schedule and require a formal exception with risk acceptance C. Migrate the records to cold storage to balance cost and accessibility D. Defer to Legal before taking any action on the records Come back for the answer tomorrow, or study more now!