ProfessionalVendor-neutralISC2· issued from US

CC

ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity

The CC is ISC2's entry-level certification without experience requirements and explicitly targets career starters, career changers, and students. Notably, ISC2 periodically offers CC training and the exam for free (as part of the 'One Million Certified' initiative), which has significantly increased market penetration. Content covers five domains: Security Principles, Incident Response, Access Control, Network Security, and Security Operations – at a solid but intentionally broad entry level. As a stepping stone to SSCP or CISSP it is well-suited; as a standalone credential it carries less weight than Security+. From September 2026, a new Exam Outline applies.

Exam fee
$0
Ongoing
$125/yr AMF · 40 CPE/yr
Study time
30–80 hrs
Delivery
Test center
Validity
3 yrs (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

25.5 / 40

Four-axis SecProve rubric, each 0–10. SecProve editorial assessment — each axis carries a written justification so you can push back on any single call without dismissing the whole score.

Blueprint rigor
How well-defined and rigorous the exam blueprint is.
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) — entry-level ECO.
7.0/10
Practical evidence
Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.
Largely MCQ recognition.
3.0/10
Currency & upkeep
How aggressively content is kept current with the field.
Newer credential (2022); content current.
8.0/10
Market recognition
How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.
Growing as an early-career / career-changer credential; HR-screen signal. [Holders: 80k, 2024-12]
7.5/10

› Market signals

public, citable inputs to the recognition score
Holders worldwide
80,000
as of 2024-12 · source

Fastest-growing ISC2 cert since 2022 launch via the One Million Certified initiative.

› Exam format

100 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours, proctored via Pearson VUE.

Passing score
700/1000 (scaled)
Retake policy
Fee: $50 per attempt
Wait: 30d between attempts

30 / 60 / 90 day waits between retakes 1/2/3.

› Recertification

Valid for 3 years. 15 CPE credits/year + annual AMF (50 USD). Free exam for first-time candidates.

› 3-year cost of ownership

Exam (1×)
$0
AMF (3×)
$375@$125/yr
Total
$375

Excludes study materials, training, retake risk, and lost-wage opportunity. Use as a floor estimate.

› NICE Framework work roles

The NIST NICE work-role IDs this cert maps to. NICCS lookup.

OG-WRL-014OG-WRL-012DD-WRL-003DD-WRL-004DD-WRL-005IN-WRL-002IO-WRL-001IO-WRL-002IO-WRL-003IO-WRL-004
Recognition
Global
Exam languages
endefresjakozhpt

› Core domains covered

The 2 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

› Prerequisites

Experience

None. Entry-level certification without professional experience.

› Progression

requiredrecommended

Where this cert fits in the typical learning path. Required edges are vendor-gated; recommended edges reflect de facto industry progression.

Required prereqs (0)

No vendor-gated prereqs.

Recommended priors (0)

No de facto priors typically expected.

CC
ISC2
Required by (0)

No certs require this one.

Recommended next (1)

› Study materials

Curated starting points. Not exhaustive — vet each against your learning style and the current exam version.

› Version & lifecycle

Current version
2022 launch
Released
2022-09

Entry-level vendor-neutral cert from ISC2. Free training under the One Million Certified initiative.

› Salary signal

Entry security analyst / IT generalist, US, 0–2 years.

$55K$80K
median $65K

Glassdoor + Salary.com 'Junior IT/Security' aggregations · 2024 · US base only · p25–p75 range

› How it compares

vs
Security+

ISC2 brand + free training vs CompTIA's longer-established hiring-manager recognition.

↔ Compare side-by-side

› Careers that commonly pursue this cert

SOC Analyst

Monitor, detect, and respond to security threats in a Security Operations Center. The front line of cyber defense.

Security Engineer

Design, build, and maintain security infrastructure. The architects of an organization's defensive posture.

Threat Intelligence Analyst

Analyze adversary behavior, track threat actors, and produce actionable intelligence that drives defensive decisions.

Incident Responder / DFIR

Investigate breaches, contain threats, and perform digital forensics. The first call when an attack is discovered.

Cloud Security Engineer

Secure cloud infrastructure across AWS, Azure, and GCP. Specialize in the shared responsibility model and cloud-native controls.

CISO / Security Leader

Lead security strategy, communicate risk to the board, and build security programs. Executive-level cybersecurity leadership.

Detection Engineer

Build detection rules, tune SIEM systems, and hunt for threats that evade automated defenses.

Quantum Security Specialist

Prepare for the post-quantum era. Understand quantum threats and lead cryptographic migration efforts.

Security Architect

Senior design role — defines how pillar A components fit together across identity, crypto, network, cloud, and data — and, increasingly, how pillar C bolts into it.

Vulnerability Management Lead

Owns the end-to-end find → prioritize → fix → verify loop at scale, now increasingly AI-driven.

ML Platform Security Engineer

Secures the platform that trains, stores, and serves ML models — multi-tenant GPU isolation, pipeline integrity, feature-store hygiene, secrets management in ML workflows.

Threat Exposure Management / Attack Surface Analyst

External-first role: inventories what an attacker can see, tracks what's new, and drives closure through the org. The outside-in counterpart to vuln management.

See this cert’s domains highlighted on the interactive map, or compare it against the rest of the catalog.