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CISSP Practice Test

13 YRS EXP · NETWORK SECURITY
6
WEEKS TOTAL
8
DOMAINS
3000+
PRACTICE Q's
1st
ATTEMPT TARGET
📍 6-Week AI-Powered Roadmap
⚡ How to Use This Roadmap with Claude:
Each day → Ask Claude the exact prompt shown. Claude = your personal CISSP tutor. No PDF needed. Click any week to see the daily plan + what to ask Claude that day.
WEEK 1 — PHASE 1: FOUNDATION ▼ Click to expand
D1: Security & Risk Management (16% — Most Important)
Risk formulas · BCP/DRP · Legal frameworks · Ethics · Governance
HARDEST MINDSET 16% WEIGHT MANAGER THINKING
DAY 1
Risk Management Fundamentals — ALE, SLE, ARO formulas. Threat vs Vulnerability vs Risk
Ask: "Teach me CISSP D1 risk formulas with solved examples"
DAY 2
Governance & Frameworks — NIST RMF, ISO 27001, COBIT. Policy vs Standard vs Guideline
Ask: "Quiz me on CISSP governance frameworks D1"
DAY 3
Legal & Regulations — GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, PCI-DSS, CCPA differences
Ask: "Comparison table GDPR vs HIPAA vs SOX for CISSP"
DAY 4
BCP / DRP — RTO, RPO, MTD, BIA process, recovery strategies
Ask: "Teach CISSP BCP vs DRP with scenario questions"
DAY 5
Ethics + Personnel Security — (ISC)² Code of Ethics, NDA, separation of duties
Ask: "CISSP ethics scenario drill — 10 questions"
DAY 6-7
D1 Full Review + 50 Practice Questions — Focus on manager mindset answers
Ask: "Give me 20 CISSP D1 scenario-based exam questions"
WEEK 2 — PHASE 1: ASSETS ▼ Click to expand
D2: Asset Security (10%) + D8: Software Development Security (10%)
Data classification · Ownership roles · SDLC · STRIDE · Threat modeling
QUICK WINS 20% COMBINED
DAY 1-2
D2 Asset Security — Data classification (Gov/Corporate), Owner vs Custodian vs User roles, NIST 800-88 destruction
Ask: "Teach D2 asset security roles and data classification for CISSP"
DAY 3-4
D8 Software Security — SDLC phases, STRIDE threat model, Static vs Dynamic analysis, OWASP Top 10
Ask: "CISSP D8 SDLC and threat modeling — teach and quiz me"
DAY 5-7
Review + 60 Questions — Mixed D2+D8 practice, review wrong answers with Claude
Ask: "30 mixed CISSP D2 and D8 exam questions with explanations"
WEEK 3 — PHASE 2: HARDEST DOMAIN ▼ Click to expand
D3: Security Architecture & Engineering (13%) — GIVE THIS EXTRA TIME
Security models · Cryptography · Cloud security · Common Criteria
HARDEST DOMAIN CRYPTO HEAVY 13% WEIGHT
DAY 1
Security Models — Bell-LaPadula (confidentiality), Biba (integrity), Clark-Wilson, Brewer-Nash. Know which model = which property
Ask: "Teach CISSP D3 security models with comparison table and quiz"
DAY 2
Cryptography Part 1 — Symmetric (AES, DES, 3DES), Asymmetric (RSA, ECC), Key lengths, use cases
Ask: "CISSP crypto symmetric vs asymmetric — teach then 15 questions"
DAY 3
Cryptography Part 2 — PKI, digital signatures, hashing (MD5/SHA), certificates, CA hierarchy
Ask: "CISSP PKI and digital signatures deep dive with scenarios"
DAY 4
Common Criteria + Evaluation — EAL levels 1–7, TOE, PP, ST, TCSEC, ITSEC
Ask: "Explain CISSP Common Criteria EAL levels simply with examples"
DAY 5-7
Full D3 Review + 70 Questions — Focus on crypto questions (most tricky)
Ask: "40 CISSP D3 exam questions, heavy on cryptography"
WEEK 4 — PHASE 2: YOUR STRENGTHS ▼ Click to expand
D4: Network Security (13%) + D5: IAM (13%) — Use your 13yr advantage
OSI attacks · Firewall types · VPN · SSO · SAML · Kerberos · Zero Trust
YOUR STRENGTH 26% COMBINED BEWARE TRAPS
DAY 1-2
D4 Network Security — Focus on CISSP-style questions (not config). OSI attack mapping, VPN types, wireless EAP variants, firewall placement
Ask: "CISSP D4 tricky scenario questions on network security — I'm a network engineer so test my conceptual gaps"
DAY 3-5
D5 IAM Deep Dive — Authentication factors, SSO, SAML 2.0 flow, OAuth 2.0 vs OIDC, Kerberos (AS→TGS→TGT), PAM, provisioning lifecycle
Ask: "Teach CISSP D5 IAM — federation protocols SAML vs OAuth vs OIDC with diagrams and 20 questions"
DAY 6-7
D4+D5 Mixed Questions — 80 questions total, flag all wrong, review with Claude
Ask: "Explain why my answer was wrong: [paste wrong question + your answer]"
WEEK 5 — PHASE 3: OPERATIONS ▼ Click to expand
D6: Security Assessment (12%) + D7: Security Operations (13%)
Pen test phases · IR lifecycle · Forensics · Change management · BCP/DRP operations
VAPT ADVANTAGE 25% COMBINED
DAY 1-2
D6 Assessment & Testing — Pen test phases CISSP-style, VA vs PT vs Red Team, audit types, CVSS scoring
Ask: "CISSP D6 — test me on assessment types, my background is VAPT so challenge me conceptually"
DAY 3-5
D7 Security Operations — IR lifecycle (6 phases), forensics chain of custody, change management, patch management, DR operations
Ask: "CISSP D7 incident response and forensics — 25 scenario questions"
DAY 6-7
Full ops review — 80 mixed questions D6+D7. Focus on: what to do FIRST in incident scenarios
Ask: "Give me 30 CISSP D7 'what do you do FIRST' scenario questions"
WEEK 6 — PHASE 4: FINAL SPRINT 🚀 ▼ Click to expand
Full Mock Exams + Weak Domain Blitz + Exam Day Strategy
3 full mock exams · Wrong answer review · Mental preparation · Exam day checklist
FINAL SPRINT EXAM READY
DAY 1-2
Full Mock Exam 1 — 150 questions, timed (3 hours). Score yourself. List all wrong answers by domain
Ask: "Give me 50 CISSP mixed-domain exam questions with manager mindset"
DAY 3
Weak Domain Blitz — Revisit your 2 lowest scoring domains with Claude deep-dive
Ask: "I'm weak on [domain] — give me a 30-min crash review and 20 questions"
DAY 4-5
Full Mock Exam 2+3 — Focus on question elimination strategy. Must score 75%+ to be ready
Ask: "CISSP exam strategy — teach me elimination technique for tricky questions"
DAY 6
Light Review Only — Key formulas, ethics, models. NO new topics. Mental rest
Ask: "Give me a 1-page CISSP cheat sheet — formulas, models, acronyms only"
DAY 7
EXAM DAY — Sleep well, eat, arrive 30min early. Think MANAGER not engineer. Trust first instinct
You've got this. 13 years prepared you. 🎯
🧠 All 8 Domains — Quick Reference
DOMAIN 01
Security & Risk Management
EXAM WEIGHT: 16%
Key Topics: Risk formulas (ALE/SLE/ARO), BCP/DRP, GDPR/HIPAA/SOX, (ISC)² Ethics, Governance frameworks, Threat modeling
⚠ MINDSET SHIFT REQUIRED
DOMAIN 02
Asset Security
EXAM WEIGHT: 10%
Key Topics: Data classification, Owner/Custodian/User roles, NIST 800-88, Data lifecycle, Scoping & tailoring
✓ QUICK WIN
DOMAIN 03
Security Architecture & Engineering
EXAM WEIGHT: 13%
Key Topics: Bell-LaPadula, Biba, Clark-Wilson, Cryptography (PKI/AES/RSA), Common Criteria EAL, Cloud security models
🔴 HARDEST — EXTRA TIME
DOMAIN 04
Communication & Network Security
EXAM WEIGHT: 13%
Key Topics: OSI attack mapping, Firewall types, IPSec/VPN, Wireless EAP variants, Network segmentation, Protocols
✓ YOUR STRENGTH
DOMAIN 05
Identity & Access Management
EXAM WEIGHT: 13%
Key Topics: MFA, SAML/OAuth/OIDC, Kerberos flow, Provisioning lifecycle, PAM, Zero Trust, SSO
✓ CISSP FOCUS: FEDERATION
DOMAIN 06
Security Assessment & Testing
EXAM WEIGHT: 12%
Key Topics: Pen test phases, VA vs PT vs Red Team, Audit types, CVSS, Code review, Security metrics
✓ VAPT BACKGROUND HELPS
DOMAIN 07
Security Operations
EXAM WEIGHT: 13%
Key Topics: IR lifecycle (6 phases), Forensics & chain of custody, Change management, Patch mgmt, BCP/DRP operations, SIEM
⚠ BEWARE: PROCESS QUESTIONS
DOMAIN 08
Software Development Security
EXAM WEIGHT: 10%
Key Topics: SDLC phases, STRIDE/DREAD/PASTA, Static vs Dynamic analysis, OWASP Top 10, DevSecOps, Secure coding
⚠ FOCUS: SDLC CONCEPTS
🤖 This is your AI Learning System: Copy any prompt below and paste it to Claude. These are optimized prompts that replace 1800+ pages of PDF study. Click any prompt to copy it.
🎓 Core Learning Prompts
PURPOSE COPY THIS PROMPT
Teach any domain
Teach me CISSP Domain [X] like I'm a 13-year network security engineer. Skip basics. Use tables, give real-world analogies, highlight what the exam specifically tests. End with 10 scenario questions.📋 copy
Concept clarification
I'm confused about [concept] in CISSP. Explain it simply with an analogy, show me where it appears in the exam, and give me 3 example questions where this concept is tested.📋 copy
Practice drill
Give me 20 CISSP Domain [X] scenario questions. After I answer each, tell me if I'm right/wrong and explain WHY the correct answer is correct and why the others are wrong. Manager mindset questions only.📋 copy
Wrong answer analysis
I answered this CISSP question wrong: [PASTE QUESTION]. I chose [X] but correct was [Y]. Explain why my engineer thinking led me wrong and how a CISO would think about this.📋 copy
Quick comparison
Create a comparison table for CISSP: [Topic A] vs [Topic B] vs [Topic C]. Columns: Definition, Key property, When used, Exam trick. Keep it concise.📋 copy
Daily revision
I have 30 minutes. Quiz me on CISSP weak areas: [domain]. Give 15 rapid-fire questions. After each answer, give instant feedback. Track my score at the end.📋 copy
⚡ Domain-Specific Power Prompts
DOMAIN POWER PROMPT
D1 — Risk
Teach CISSP risk quantitative formulas: ALE, SLE, ARO, AV, EF. Give me 5 solved math problems like the real exam. Then give 10 scenario questions where I choose the best risk response (Accept/Mitigate/Transfer/Avoid).📋 copy
D3 — Crypto
I struggle with CISSP cryptography. Teach me: symmetric vs asymmetric, PKI chain of trust, digital signatures vs encryption, hashing algorithms. Use the 'post office' analogy. Then 15 questions.📋 copy
D3 — Models
Create a cheat sheet for CISSP security models: Bell-LaPadula, Biba, Clark-Wilson, Brewer-Nash, Graham-Denning. Table format: Model name | Property protected | Simple rule | Exam trick📋 copy
D5 — IAM
Teach me CISSP IAM federation: SAML 2.0 flow, OAuth 2.0 vs OIDC, Kerberos TGT/TGS process. Draw text-based flow diagrams. Then give 15 questions that test understanding not memorization.📋 copy
D7 — IR
Give me 20 CISSP incident response scenario questions. Each one should ask 'What do you do FIRST?' I'm prone to jumping to technical action — challenge me to think process-first.📋 copy
Full Mock
Generate a 50-question CISSP mock exam. Mix all 8 domains proportionally by weight. All scenario-based. After I finish, give me domain-wise score analysis and top 3 weak areas to focus on.📋 copy
⚠️ Critical Mistakes — Before & During Exam
🔴 BEFORE EXAM — Fatal Mistakes
❌
Studying only from PDF/textbook — missing conceptual understanding. With AI, you can get instant clarification instead of re-reading 50 pages.
❌
Skipping D1 because "it seems theory." It's 16% — single biggest domain. Most exam failures happen here.
❌
Doing fewer than 2,000 practice questions. Knowledge without question practice = guaranteed failure on CAT exam.
❌
Thinking your technical background is enough. CISSP rewards management thinking, not engineering depth.
❌
Not reviewing WRONG answers. Most people skip this. Your mistakes are where the real learning happens.
❌
Studying D3 crypto too lightly. It's the hardest domain and needs 2x the time of other domains.
✅ FIXES — What First-Timers Do Right
✅
Use AI for every concept gap — 30-second clarification instead of searching PDF for 20 minutes.
✅
Practice "what do you do FIRST?" questions daily. Train your brain to think process before action.
✅
Do domain-specific sessions then cross-domain mixed. Builds both depth and exam stamina.
✅
Bookmark every wrong answer — paste into Claude: "Why was my answer wrong?" Do this after every session.
✅
Score 75%+ on 3 consecutive mock exams before booking the real exam. Non-negotiable threshold.
✅
The night before: STOP studying. Light review only. Rest is more valuable than last-minute cramming.
🔴 DURING EXAM — Thinking Traps
⚠️
"I'd actually do X in real life" — The exam doesn't care what you'd do. It asks what you SHOULD do per best practice.
⚠️
Jumping to technical action — 70% of the time, the answer involves assessing, reporting, or following a process BEFORE technical action.
⚠️
Ignoring answer options — CISSP has 2 "close" answers per question. Read all 4 before deciding. The difference is subtle.
⚠️
Panicking at question count (CAT) — CAT stops when it's confident. If you get 100 questions, that's good. If you get 150, stay calm.
⚠️
Over-flagging — Max flag 10 questions. Flagging 50+ eats your time and confidence on review.
✅ EXAM DAY STRATEGY
🎯
The CISO Test: Before answering, ask "What would a CISO recommend to the board?" Not "what would I configure?"
🎯
Eliminate 2 first: Usually 2 options are clearly wrong. Focus on the 2 remaining. Look for "most comprehensive" or "first step."
🎯
Time: 1.7 min/question: With 150 questions = 255 min (4hr 15min). Keep a mental pace check every 30 questions.
🎯
First instinct is usually right: Studies show changing answers reduces scores. Only change if you find a clear logical error in your reasoning.
🎯
At 50 questions, take a 2-min mental break. Breathe. Reset. The exam is a marathon not a sprint.
🎯 Mindset Drill — Manager vs Engineer Thinking
⚡ The #1 reason experienced engineers fail CISSP: They answer as engineers. You must answer as a CISO recommending to the board. Practice this mental switch below. Click the options to see if you're thinking right.
SCENARIO QUESTION 01
A developer reports that a critical vulnerability exists in production code. The system handles customer PII. What should you do FIRST?
A
Immediately patch the vulnerability and push to production
B
Disable the system until the vulnerability is fixed
C
Assess the risk, determine impact, and follow change management process
✅ CISSP answer: Always assess first. Change management protects against unintended consequences. Manager thinks risk and process.
D
Notify affected customers about the vulnerability
SCENARIO QUESTION 02
Your organization needs to implement access control for a new financial system. Which access control model is MOST appropriate?
A
DAC — Users control access to resources they own
B
MAC — Access determined by classification labels, not user discretion
✅ Financial systems need strict control. MAC removes user discretion, preventing unauthorized data access. Labels enforce separation of duties.
C
RBAC — Access based on job function
D
ABAC — Access based on user and resource attributes
SCENARIO QUESTION 03
During a security audit, you discover employees are sharing passwords. Management is aware but says changing this would disrupt operations. What do you do?
A
Immediately enforce password policy and lock shared accounts
B
Accept the risk since management is aware and approved it
C
Report the issue to regulatory authorities
D
Document the risk formally, present business impact to management, and get formal risk acceptance in writing
✅ CISSP answer: Document and escalate properly. Risk acceptance must be formal and in writing. The security professional advises — management decides. CYA principle.
SCENARIO QUESTION 04
You receive an alert that a server may be compromised. What is the FIRST action?
A
Immediately shut down the server to prevent data loss
B
Run antivirus to remove the malware
C
Contain the system (isolate from network) while preserving evidence for forensics
✅ Containment first — stop the spread. But don't shut down (destroys volatile evidence). Forensics preservation is key. This is IR Phase 3: Containment.
D
Notify all affected users and customers immediately
📊 Study Progress Tracker
OVERALL PROGRESS
0%
Click each domain to cycle status: Not Started → In Progress → Completed ✓
D1
Risk Mgmt
16%
Not Started
D2
Asset Sec
10%
Not Started
D3
Architecture
13%
Not Started
D4
Network
13%
Not Started
D5
IAM
13%
Not Started
D6
Assessment
12%
Not Started
D7
Operations
13%
Not Started
D8
Software
10%
Not Started
📝 Daily Study Log
TECHCLICK INFOSEC
Prompt copied! Paste to Claude ✓

CISSP practice test: what's covered

Questions in this Techclick bank50
Timer75 min
Techclick practice target70%
Official exam codeCISSP

Free CISSP sample questions

  1. A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is evaluating the risk of integrating a third-party Generative AI service into the corporate workflow. What is the MOST critical initial step before approving data processing?

    • A. Conduct a formal vendor risk assessment and data privacy impact analysis
    • B. Immediately deploy web application firewall rules to restrict outbound API calls
    • C. Require all software developers to sign individual non-disclosure agreements
    • D. Disable all network logging to protect user query privacy from internal auditors
    Show answer

    Correct: A. Option A is correct because conducting a formal vendor risk assessment and privacy impact analysis ensures executive management understands how data is stored, trained, and protected by the vendor before data processing begins. Option B is incorrect because firewall rules do not address legal compliance or vendor data security posture. Option C is wrong because individual developer NDAs do not mitigate third-party vendor risk. Option D is incorrect because disabling logging violates auditing requirements and security governance principles.

  2. As a lead risk manager preparing a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for a critical AI inference API, which metrics MUST be defined to establish acceptable downtime and data loss thresholds?

    • A. Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
    • B. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
    • C. Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD) and Service Level Agreement (SLA)
    • D. Annualized Rate of Occurrence (ARO) and Single Loss Expectancy (SLE)
    Show answer

    Correct: A. Option A is correct because RTO defines the maximum acceptable duration of system downtime, while RPO defines the maximum tolerable data loss measured in time. Option B is incorrect because MTBF and MTTR are reliability metrics rather than business continuity threshold planning metrics. Option C is wrong because SLA is a contractual agreement and MTD represents overall maximum outage tolerable, whereas RTO/RPO specifically drive recovery targets. Option D is incorrect because ARO and SLE are quantitative risk assessment calculations, not operational recovery targets.

  3. An enterprise is deploying an internal Large Language Model (LLM) for automated document summarization. Which governance framework action BEST ensures alignment with corporate risk tolerance?

    • A. Establish an AI steering committee and formal acceptable use policy for AI assets
    • B. Allow individual business units to select their own unverified open-source models
    • C. Delegate all AI risk acceptance decisions exclusively to the database administrator
    • D. Encrypt all local model weights with symmetric keys and bypass security review
    Show answer

    Correct: A. Option A is correct because establishing an AI steering committee and governance policy provides cross-functional oversight, regulatory compliance, and consistent risk management across the enterprise. Option B is incorrect because unmonitored model usage creates shadow IT and unpredictable security exposure. Option C is wrong because risk acceptance is an executive leadership function, not an operational technical role. Option D is incorrect because encryption alone does not address governance, policy compliance, or risk tolerance.

  4. A senior risk analyst is performing a quantitative risk assessment for a proposed cloud migration project. Which TWO metrics are required to calculate the Annualized Loss Expectancy (ALE)?

    • A. Single Loss Expectancy (SLE)
    • B. Annualized Rate of Occurrence (ARO)
    • C. Return on Security Investment (ROSI)
    • D. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
    Show answer

    Correct: A and B. Options A and B are correct because quantitative risk analysis explicitly defines ALE = Single Loss Expectancy (SLE) multiplied by Annualized Rate of Occurrence (ARO). Option C is incorrect because ROSI measures financial return on security investments rather than intrinsic threat loss. Option D is wrong because TCO calculates total operational expenditure rather than risk loss expectations.

  5. A CISSP candidate discovers a zero-day vulnerability in a widely used commercial firewall appliance. According to the ISC2 Code of Ethics, what is the practitioner's FIRST priority?

    • A. Protect society, the common good, necessary public trust, and the infrastructure
    • B. Notify corporate shareholders to minimize financial market fallout immediately
    • C. Publish the exploit proof-of-concept code on public technical forums without delay
    • D. Sell the vulnerability details to private security brokers for maximum compensation
    Show answer

    Correct: A. Option A is correct because the top priority canon of the ISC2 Code of Ethics requires certified professionals to protect society, public trust, and critical infrastructure above all personal or business interests. Option B is incorrect because shareholder notification is an executive corporate task, not the primary ethical canon. Option C is wrong because premature public disclosure puts infrastructure at immediate risk without giving the vendor time to patch. Option D is incorrect because monetizing zero-days for private gain violates ethical principles.

Last updated:

CISSP practice test FAQ

Is this CISSP practice test free?

Yes. You can start, finish and score it for free, and download the Techclick practice certificate.

How many questions are in the Techclick CISSP practice test?

This bank has 50 original scenario-based questions with a 75-minute timer and a 70% Techclick practice target.

What is the official exam code and format?

The credential is ISC2 CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional).

Are these real CISSP exam questions or dumps?

No. They are original practice questions written by Techclick. This is not the vendor's official exam and not leaked dumps.

Do I get a certificate?

Score 70% or higher to get a Techclick practice certificate and LinkedIn badge. It is not an official ISC2 certification.

What should I take after CISSP?

Related practice tests: CISSP, ISC2 CC, ISC2 CCSP, ISC2 CGRC, ISC2 SSCP (linked below).