(ISC)2 CCSP Official Study Guide

I passed the exam couple of weeks ago, this book will help you with the basics but is not a one stop resource.Explanation is good but it assumes that you already know the topics. You need to investigate further with other resources to expand more deeply the topics. Also, there are topics that are missing in the book which are complemented by CSA resources + OWASP + CBKHere is how I put my study plan:I'm already CISSP since few years from now so I can confirm that many of the topics will be more easily readable if you have the certification.I used this book as first reading resource -> Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CCSP CBK -> CSA -> OWASP -> NIST 800-145.Overall I do recommend the book is a good resource.

Quality of item was superb. Ever so grand packaging. Speedy to send. Seller is fine and superlative.

All the info you need to pass the course however the font is in about a 7. Super hard to read even with my bifocals on.

I was able to easily skim the CBK after reading this book from cover to cover. I had one issue with one chapter on the Wiley site but i think it has since been corrected according to Ben. The update to Legal and Compliance along with tips on how to approach this exam is priceless. This book also brings in some of the additional content needed from other resources necessary to pass this test. Having read both edition, this is a much better resource.

It was helpful to be able to listen to the topics, rather than always being in front of a screen. The practice exam questions are more like actual exam questions. There are references to additional materials as well. This plus the printed version, plus the ISC2 study course will help you prepare to pass. Of course you have to learn & understand the material and how to apply it.

BOOK FORMAT:Small Font Style and Size: If you wear glasses, intend to highlight or annotate this book as you study or intend to read this book at night with a book night, then this book is not for you, STAY AWAY! The font size is about size 8 POINT FONT whereas most standard technical books are font size 11 or 12pnt. You wont be able to use a standard highlighter without bleed through to the top and bottom sentences. The author also chose a NARROW FONT. Between the small font size and word compression caused from choosing a narrow font, reading this book causes a lot of EYE STRAIN. When using a book light, Eye Strain is compounded. Its like the author is trying to compress 1,000 pages into 300 pages just to avoid higher printing costs.Inconsistent Use of Font Style and Size: This book appears to have been written by multiple authors, who used slightly different Font Styles or Sizes. Some SUB CHAPTER or SECTION TITLES are Large and Normal Style, others are Medium and Bold Style. Its almost like one person wrote the first part of a chapter, and someone else wrote the second part, paying no attention to what font size they were using on a big monitor. There are several different font types, besides the sizes and emphasis differences, used throughout this book. Just about every other technical book that I have uses a single Font Style, consistently throughout maybe two Font Styles when they have a designated section for showing executable code. Switching between font styles just creates more eye strain, especially switching between standard font (headers, titles, etc.) to narrow font (body text).Narrow Margins: The Inside Margin and Outside Margin is less than 1 inch wide (7/8ths to be exact. Every other technical book I have (CISSP, CISM, CRISC etc.) follows the industry publishing standards (e.g. Chicago Manual of Style) where the Outside Margin is 1 ½ inches or 1 ⅜ inches wide and the Inside Margin is 1 ¾ inches to 2 inches wide. This ensures there is an equal amount of space shown on the Inside and Outside margins after the book has been bounded (Gutter section of book) and MOST IMPORTANTLY there is adequate room to annotate notes in margins. The way this CCSP margins are shown, I can barely write a single technical word on one line because the Outside Margins are too narrow, and there is Zero Room to annotate anything on the Inside Margins because Binding takes up most of the Inside Margin space (Gutter). I will show photos comparing the CCSP vs CISM books to show with ruler measurements how my CCSP annotations are just barely enough to write a single word, while the CISM example not only allows writing multiple words but it still has additional space if necessary.Book Spine Flop (Gutter): Because there was inadequate space on the Inside Margin, this makes the CCSP book difficult to hold open on a table within having to use a paper weight or hold open with your hands. This also means when you try to highlight the left side of the book, the spine shifts and wobbles making it VERY CHALLENGING everything your highlighting. The reason Gutter Spacing alone the spine is important is so that a book can be held open on any chapter without having to use your hands or a weight to assist.CONTENT AND TEACHING:Not A Complete Source: I hold multiple Professional Certifications from multiple Certifying bodies, and have an extensive library of Official and All-in-One Study Guides for those and other certs. (CISSP, CISM, CCEP, CIPT, CIPP, CDPSE, CPP, CISA, CEH, CCISO, et. al.). In those study guides, the author assumes you are learning that subject for the first-time, and covers EVERYTHING from basics to expert level knowledge. So one can buy the CISSP All-in-One or CISSP Official Study Guide and upon finishing those books, they have acquired all the knowledge to successfully pass that exam. Same with the CISM, CIPP, et al. those study guides are a COMPLETE SOURCE of knowledge. That doesnt seem to be how this CCSP Official Study Guide was written. The author repeatedly says throughout the book that this CCSP study guide was meant to supplement knowledge that you would already know from completing the CISSP cert. Repeated emphasis on you already having learned or comprehend the CISSP study material. I get the impression that this CCSP study guide is basically being supplemental to what you would have already learned about Cloud or Information Security from the CISSP. The CCSP also refers you to dozens of other resources to further supplement your knowledge of Cloud Security (CSA, NIST, ISO, et. al.). The author has also mentioned a few times that they intend to not talk about those details that you would have already learned elsewhere.Always Waiting for the Big Reveal: Throughout the book, the author will mention a key concept or term, then state that they will discuss it later on in the book or wont be discussed at all because you would have learned that when taking your CISSP etc, then goes into a very basic and sometimes incomplete discussion of the topic in the mean time. Its kind of like standing in the line at a theme park, just when you think your about the get on the ride, you turn the corner to find another long line still ahead. In this case, they author will mention an important concept and then explain that they aren't going to spend much time discussing it in this section but want to cover some of the details. This routine happened enough times in the book for me to highlight its annoyance. Every time I keep waiting for the Big Reveal only to be told it is going to be discussed at a later time. Still waiting...Some URL Links dont work: Part of the problem with referring people to other sources of knowledge is that the URL Links change. Its happened a couple of times already. I type the long and sometimes complicated URL address that appears in the book, so I can learn a key concept that the author is directing me towards, and I get a Page Not Found error.Large portion of CCSP book is Basic: When studying for my CISSP or CISSP, I spent months trying to get through the reading material. Even with larger fonts, the content was overwhelming. Its was comprehensive, lots of graphs and technical diagrams, lots of examples and so much to learn. The CISM All-in-One study guide as an example was about 500 pages and covered 4 Domains of Knowledge. Each Domain had about 100 pages of study materials with one domain having almost 200 pages. It took me about 5 weeks to do a complete read through of the CISM materials. This CCSP Official Study guide is about 300 pages, and if you eliminate index and questions section, its less. I managed to read the first 7-chapters in 2 days days. Its about 25 pages per chapter. I was so surprised that I got through more than half of the book in just two days, that I reached out to a friend who recently passed her CCSP. I was worried that maybe I purchased the wrong study materials because I was expecting the CCSP to be as difficult as the CISSP or CISM with a lot of extremely technical cloud security architectural design concepts, network protocols, hardware capability issues, configuring security appliances, scripting and other technical operations stuff. I do realize that as I read Chapter 8, it does cram a lot of those deeper technical knowledge into Chapters 8 & 9. However, if you have a CISM or CISSP, then Chapters 1-7 + 10-11 are fundamentals on Information Security, Risk Management and IT Governance materials that you would already have learned at a much deeper level then covered in this CCSP. So FOCUS ON CHAPTERS 7-9.Book Organization: Many study guide divide the content by Domains of Knowledge. For example, my CISM study guide has 4 Chapters with each chapter covering all knowledge for that Domain. My CISSP study guide has 8 chapters, and surprise, each chapter covers all knowledge for that domain. The CCSP has 11 chapters and none of those chapters seem to correspond with the specific Domains you are expected to know. If I want to focus my preparation on a specific Domain area that I lack knowledge of or that I have scored poorly on during my testing, thats knowledge is going to be spread out throughout this book. That makes preparation and FOCUSED STUDY difficult with this book.

I am mostly disappointed from paper book quality, it's stinking and you cannot ignore it, since font size are small. Readers will hold it in close. I blame Sybex for robbing readers - expecting $40-60 for this poor job.

Wiley Education offered me the opportunity to review the "ISC2 CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional Official Study Guide" by Ben Malisow (ISBN-13: 978-1119603375, ISBN-10: 1119603374, 2th edition - 2019) as a possible candidate reference to be used by our internal students and as a guide to support corporate cloud and cybersecurity learning tracks.As a cyber security professional and trainer, I found the book to be very helpful to obtain an overview of the body of content related to the ISC2 CCSP in a short time. In between work, I was able to finish it in about 14 days.If you are new to cloud security essentials, the book provides a clear explanation of the most important topics, terminology and concepts that are vital for the exam.As an exam guide should be, it finds the right balance between required explanations, to the point topic summaries and lists of references – that you, as an exam candidate, know you should google on. It also pays attention to references to EU law, such as the GDPR.Added value: if you are new to CBTs, the book provides access to online example questions and flash cards, all easy to use through your web browser.Although Ben explicitly states that “you cannot expect to pass the exam using this book as your sole source” - if you already have a cyber security background and experience with cloud fundamentals – you have a fair chance 😊