With the growing threat of computer viruses and Internet security breaches, companies are fiercely headhunting for CISSP certified security professionals. The industry standard test on IT security, the Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP) exam is administered 16 times per year throughout the U.S. and Europe. This book serves both as a prep guide for IT professionals seeking to advance their careers through CISSP certification and as a reference for readers who need a fundamental end-to-end security reference book. Co-authored by Ronald Krutz, this handy guide explains the ten security domains covered by the exam, from security management to cryptography to disaster recovery planning to legal and ethical issues. Sample questions and answers are also included.

Average Customer Review: ( 67 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

Since this is a study guide, the emphasis is on breadth, not depth of coverage, and that's the way it should be.

Several inaccuracies and typos should be corrected in the second edition (e.g. the description of lattice-based control on p. 34, or sample question 9 in Chapter 10 and its answer).

So is this now my favorite survey of computer and information security? Not quite. I still prefer "Secure Computing" by Rita C. Summers, even though it is already 4 years old. Unfortunately it is out of print, and it is a mystery why McGraw Hill wouldn't print a few thousand copies to satisfy the demand.

Another CISSP prep book is coming soon (Mandy Andress, "CISSP Exam Cram"). Let's hope it will be as good as the Prep Guide.

18 of 19 found the following review helpful:

Scholarly Presentation - Keeps Reader FocusedNov 22, 2001
By James W. S. Ludwig, CISSP
I studied this work 30-days before taking the CISSP November 2001 examination. You don't pass the CISSP exam from just reading; broad experience is mandatory. The 'Prep Guide' helped me pull my experience into focus for the exam; the book does not give you the answers on the test, it helps you understand the concepts, thus, it helps the reader understand the exam questions which in turn allows the exam taker to go quickly into deep memory and find the answer that most resembles those on the exam. Of all the thousands of dollars of "security" books that I have purchased, read, and studied, the 'Prep Guide' is the only one that extensively covers the broad spectrum of topics emphasized in the exam.

Main plusses of the book:
(1)It keeps you focused in your study,
(2) The scholarly writing is a good preparation for the way the examination questions are stated,
(3) It will continue to be a solid reference book in my security practioners library (the added HIPAA information may have been filler but I find it useful in the profession if not for the exam), and
(4) Best price of any prepration security book for the focused information that it provides.

Oh, yes, and it helped me receive my CISSP certification in November. Buy the book and study the book, you will not go wrong.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Introduction & Framework to StartDec 26, 2001
By Richard K. Min
I enjoy reading this book very much. I have adopted this as one of the textbooks for my undergraduate Computer Security course. I think this is one of the best introduction and survey to provide a solid framework for the field, and for those to prepare CISSP. It is very well written as a summary, with excellent references for the original and critical sources. I see some of the frustration by other reviewer (for example, on Chapter 3) but I think that the authors have done a superb work. The problem or frustration is, I think, due to the vast amount, depth and bredth of each field to be summerized (which can easily be expanded into several books). I use this book as a framework, along with (1) Incident Response (by Mandia & Prosise) and (2.1) Hacking Exposed (2nd ed, by Scambray, McClure, Kurtz) or (2.2) Maximum Security (3rd ed, Anonymous) to supplement the reading and case study.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Masterful Coverage, Well OrganizedSep 14, 2001
By Stephen Lee
I have had the CISSP certification squarely on my radar for about a year now, but the sheer amount of information to compile and read and remember is simply too much. This is because the compiled readings are mainly at best, guesswork. What's more, the weightages of the Ten Domains of Computer Security can be markedly different, and no one can really be sure of the importance of certain sections as compared to others. For example, both authors who are themselves CISSP certified, place Telecommunications and Network Security as more heavily covered in the exam than say, Security Management Practices, clearly a time saver for those who like me, am also pursuing the BS7799 Auditor certification.

Within each chapter, the authors also clearly prioritize the topics. In the Chapter entitled Access Systems, the topic Decntralized/Distributed Access Control takes up half of the chapter, again, demonstrating that more attention has to be paid by the reader.

Though the information to cover is vast, I never felt that I needed a map to navigate the contents. Each chapter's objectives are clearly stated, and the section lucidly explained. Best of all, the visual and textual aspects are just right for the eye. Of course, for a exam that covers 10 domains, the number of acronyms faced is numerous, but the nifty Glossary takes care of any confusion that may arise. Besides the coverage of the ten domains in 10 chapters, the Appendices are extremely helpful. Topics such as HIPAA Compliance through HIPAA-CMM are covered, so is the British Standard 7799.

If you feel that coverage is not deep enough (which is not really a factor in the exam), the authors provide useful References for Further Study, also found as Appendix H.

In summation, the book is extremely well organized, and the additional information provided in each Appendix make this not only a required study tool, but also a "must have" reference.

See all 67 customer reviews on Amazon.com