Insights on ISC2 CC: Entry-Level Free Cybersecurity Certification
First impression:
The CC exam was pretty easy to me as I have a quite good basic and I have been on the cyber security industry for a while, it took me around 3 days to cover the official study material. I wouldn’t say I have learned much from the certification itself but I would say it helped me to revise the things I already know to get a better grasp overall. CC covers most of the basic fundamentals like CIA triad, Business continuity, Disaster recovery, Network security and more which is a must to have if you’re just starting out in the field of cyber security.
Why ISC2 CC?
ISC2 is well renowned in the industry for their CISSP cert and some other certifications. So the certification might be an entry level cert but a certificate from ISC2 would definitely add some weight to your resume and would show your potential skills set. Via obtaining the CC you get to be a ISC2 member which leads to more opportunities like attending ISC2’s community, conferences, CPE, seminars and more…
Price Range:
The course material and the exam is free. But upon passing the exam you would need to pay 50$/year AMF to obtain the certificate. If you are already a member of ISC2 you wouldn’t need to pay the AMF fee to obtain the certificate upon passing the exam. If you’re wondering what is AMF, Annual Maintenance Fee which is due upon certification and annually upon your certification anniversary. I don’t thing there are any cyber security certification in this range(50$). The certification brings a lot of value alongside the certificate itself so I would say the price is pretty cheap compared to the value it provides.
Additional Information:
- You can only attempt the exam for free for once if you fail at the first time you would need to pay the price.
- The exam is free for a limited time until they reach their goal(1 million CC’ians).
- You at least need to be 16 years in order to attempt the exam.
- After registering, you would have access for only 6 months(180 days) over the official course material.
- There are no options to attain the exam online so you would need to attain the exam from a nearby Pearson VUE on site test center.
- You would need to pay 50$ with in 9 months upon passing the exam.
- You wouldn’t receive any marks upon passing the exam.
- You don’t need any referrer to complete the endorsement form after passing the exam. The endorsement form is a form to verify you have read, understand and attest to fully support the ISC2 Code of Ethics. You will receive this online form after passing the exam.
Tips:
- Don’t follow the official course: If you’re a beginner, then the ISC2’s official 1M course is not enough to pass the examination, if you’re already experienced you can pass the exam with an ease. Though the official course is easily explained and contains the key information.
- Alternative option: Beside the official course an alternative option could be the book “CC Certified in Cybersecurity All-In-One Exam Guide”. The book covers all of the domains in depth and enough to pass the exam. I would recommend taking both of the official course and the book, you can get the book for free in other ways too(if you know what I mean).
3. Glossary: Before attempting the exam make sure that you have covered glossary section from both of the sources specifically from the book’s section.
Conclusion:
If you’re a beginner and just starting out I would definitely recommend this certification. Not taking the certification is like missing an opportunity. And you will get a test of official cyber security exams for free. The key point is that you would be able to demonstrate your skills to a potential employer which might open some doors to land your first job.
Signing out,
- Toothless
