CISSP vs CCSP

CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional

CISSP is the credential most often named in senior security job adverts, and the one whose difficulty is usually misunderstood: it is adaptive, so the exam adjusts to your answers and ends anywhere between 100 and 150 items within a three-hour window. The pass mark is 700 out of 1000 on a scaled score, and registration is $749 in the Americas. ISC2 requires five years of paid work across at least two of the eight domains — one year waivable with a relevant degree or approved credential — and you can sit the exam first, becoming an Associate of ISC2 with six years to earn the experience. Security and Risk Management is the largest domain at 16%. Candidates consistently report the hard part is not technical depth but answering as a manager rather than an engineer.

CCSP: Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) is one of the ISC2 tests covered here. Passing the exam is only half of an ISC2 certification. Except for the entry-level Certified in Cybersecurity, you must also have your professional experience endorsed by someone who already holds an ISC2 credential — and until that endorsement clears you hold Associate of ISC2, a real named status rather than nothing. Exams run through Pearson VUE and are scored on a scale to 1000 with 700 to pass. Everything is then maintained the same way, every year, for as long as you hold it: continuing professional education credits plus an annual maintenance fee.