SSCP
(ISC)2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner
The SSCP is ISC2's entry-level certification below the CISSP and targets technically active security professionals with initial work experience. Since October 2025, the exam uses Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), which customizes the exam experience individually and increases integrity. The SSCP covers seven technical domains, from access control through cryptography to network security, and positions itself as practical proof of operational security competence. It is less well-known than Security+ or GSEC, but benefits from ISC2's strong brand and serves well as an intermediate step toward the CISSP. The effort for annual certification maintenance (AMF + CPEs) is moderate.
› Quality score
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.
› Market signals
public, citable inputs to the recognition score› Exam format
CAT-based, 100–150 questions, 3 hours, proctored via Pearson VUE. Passing score: 700/1000.
30/60/90 day waits for retakes 1/2/3 in a rolling 12-month window.
› Recertification
Valid for 3 years. 20 CPE credits/year + annual AMF (125 USD, shared with all ISC2 certs).
› 3-year cost of ownership
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.
› Core domains covered
The 4 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.
Firewalls, IDS/IPS, network segmentation, DNS security, SD-WAN, VPN, traffic analysis, wireless security.
AuthN/AuthZ, SSO, MFA, PAM, RBAC/ABAC, identity governance, FIDO2/passkeys, plus non-human identity: service accounts, workload identity, agent / plugin identities.
SOC operations, SIEM tuning, SOAR playbooks, alert triage, log analysis, runbook development.
Symmetric/asymmetric, PKI, TLS/SSL, hashing, post-quantum cryptography, key management.
› Prerequisites
1 year experience in at least 1 of the 7 SSCP domains. Without experience: Associate of ISC2.
› Study materials
Curated starting points. Not exhaustive — vet each against your learning style and the current exam version.
- Official (ISC)² SSCP Study Guide, 6th Ed. — Sybex
- Boson ExSim-Max for SSCP
› Version & lifecycle
› Salary signal
SOC analyst / hands-on security operator, US, 1-3 years experience required for cert.
Robert Half Salary Guide · 2024 · US base only · p25–p75 range
› How it compares
SSCP is more hands-on operations (firewall, IDS, IAM admin); Security+ is broader knowledge baseline.
↔ Compare side-by-sideBoth target SOC/operations roles; SSCP carries ISC2 brand vs CompTIA, with experience gate.
↔ Compare side-by-sideSee this cert’s domains highlighted on the interactive map, or compare it against the rest of the catalog.