CISSP vs Security+: Which Certification is Right for You?

CISSP Domains 

 Weightage 

What it covers? 

      1               

Security and Risk Management 

15% 

• Risk-based management concepts  

• Personnel security policies and procedures  

• Understanding professional ethics  

• Security governance principles and concepts  

• Compliance and other requirements   

• Understanding regulatory and legal issues in the context of Information security    

 2

Asset Security 

10% 

• Information and Asset Retention  

• Data privacy & safeguarding  

• Data lifecycle management 

• Data security controls and compliance  

• Compliance requirements 

3

Security Architecture and Engineering 

13% 

• Understanding the fundamental concepts of security models  

• Understanding security capabilities and controls based on security requirements  

• Methods of Cryptanalytic attacks  

• Manage, Research, and Implement engineering processes using secure design principles 

• Facilitating and designing security controls  

• Assessing and reducing vulnerabilities in security systems  

4

Communications and Network Security 

13%

• Assessing and implementing secure design principles 

• Safeguarding network components 

• Secure communication channels implementation methods. 

• To build reliable communications and network security. 

5

Identity and Access Management 

13% 

• Centralised third-party identification services 

• Methods to control physical and logical access to assets  

• Implement authentication systems 

• Identity and access provisioning lifecycle  

• Authentication and Identification of people, devices, and services. 

6

Security Assessment and Testing 

12%

• Disaster recovery  

• Identify flaws and errors in code 

• Awareness training for clients 

• Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing  

• Methods and tools used to evaluate the security of processes  

• Business continuity plans 

7

Security Operations 

13% 

• Vulnerability management 

• Disaster recovery Tests 

• Logging and monitoring activities   

• Securing resources   

• Understand and abide by investigations 

• Configuration Management  

• Applying resource protection techniques   

• Conduct Incident management   

• Foundational security operations concepts application 

• Manage and Implement personnel safety and security    

• Planning Business continuity   

8

Software Development Security 

11% 

• Security integration in SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) 

• Detect and apply security controls 

• Assessing software's security impact 

• Apply secure coding guidelines and standards 

• Detailed study of software security systems 

Security+ Domains 

Weightage 

Functions 

                    1                 

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities 

24% 

​Most business leaders are concerned about privacy breaches with the boom in technology. The requirement for skilled IT professionals is high as the necessity to combat these emerging cybersecurity threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities is soaring.     

2

Architecture and Design 

21%  

The transition to hybrid networks and cloud technology rapidly expands to retain a robust security support system. The IT professionals are trained to understand secure application deployment, virtualisation, and automation concepts. 

3

Implementation 

25% 

This domain focuses on administering identity, basic cryptography, PKI, access management, end-to-end encryption, cryptography, and more to brace up organisational security. 

4

Operations and Incident Response 

16% 

IT professionals are empowered to support and undertake incident response in their early careers. It ensures teaching basic mitigation techniques and security management to protect the systems. 

5

Governance, Risk, and Compliance 

14% 

IT professionals need to attain knowledge of compliance security controls, measures to reduce the risks, and methods to implement them to improve cybersecurity standards. 

CompTIA Security+ 

CISSP 

CompTIA Security+ includes network security, asset security, data security and other related topics. 

On the other hand, CISSP is primarily concerned with information security. The exam covers subjects like cryptography, access control, and network security. 

Security+ certification is supposed to be renewed every three years. 

CISSP certification needs to be renewed every three years. 

You require 50 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) for every three-year cycle to maintain your CompTIA Security+ certification. 

The number of CPEs (Continuing Professional Education) required to maintain their CISSP certification is 120 every year.  

Annually, you must hold 20 credits in each concentration you possess. 

Security+ exam is targeted at entry-level and intermediate IT professionals. 

CISSP is meant for experienced security professionals as it requires five years of paid experience in two or more of eight domains. 

CompTIA Security+ 

CISSP 

Security+ is better suitable for entry-level positions. 

CISSP is targeted at managers and executives. 

Security+ focuses on technical abilities like network security, cryptography, and SSH. 

The CISSP test includes a wider range of subjects, such as law, risk management, and incident response. 

There are only 100 questions in the Security+ exam, which may be finished in three hours. 

There are only 100 questions in the Security+ exam, which may be finished in three hours. 

Security+ requires a score of 750 out of 900. 

CISSP requires a score of 700 out of 1000 to pass 

CompTIA Security+

CISSP

The Average Salary here is £33,000 in UK and $79,000 in US. 

The Average Salary here is £71,000 in UK and $122,000 in US. 

Male 

Female 

UK

US

UK

US

£20,000 - £58,000

$50,000 - $125,000

£22,000 - £55,000

$51,000 - $124,000

Male 

Female 

UK

US

UK

US

 £44,000 - £126,000

 $76,000 - $173,000 

 £22,000 - £55,000 

 $70,000 - $197,000

Job Role

UK 

US 

 Cyber Security Analyst 

 £21,000 - £52,000 

 $54,000 - $111,000 

 Information Security Analyst 

 £25,000 - £50,000

 $51,000 - $109,000

 Security Analyst 

 £23,000 - £45,000

 $50,000 - $99,000 

 Network Engineer

 £16,000 - £48,000

 $55,000 - $111,000

 Systems Administrator 

 £19,000 - £49,000

 $49,000 - $94,000

 Cyber Security Engineer 

 £20,000 - £81,000

 $68,000 - $134,000 

 IT Manager 

 £28,000 - £66,000

 $56,000 - $125,000

CISSP Related Job Roles 

Est. Annual Salary Location-wise

UK (in GBP)

US (in USD)

 Chief Information Security Officer 

 £98,847

 $172,912

 Information Security Manager 

 £51,817

 $120,251

 Cyber Security Manager

 £65,680

 $133,565

 Cyber Security Analyst 

 £31,856

 $77,311 

 Security Manager  

 £40,149

 $72,904 

 Information Security Officer

 £43,864

 $95,736

 Information Security Specialist

 £49,709

 $75,930