Certification Exam Outline
Effective Date: August 1, 2022
About CCSP
(ISC)² developed the Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) credential to ensure that cloud security
professionals have the required knowledge, skills, and abilities in cloud security design, implementation,
architecture, operations, controls, and compliance with regulatory frameworks. A CCSP applies information
security expertise to a cloud computing environment and demonstrates competence in cloud security
architecture, design, operations, and service orchestration. This professional competence is measured against
a globally recognized body of knowledge.
The topics included in the CCSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) ensure its relevancy across all disciplines
in the field of cloud security. Successful candidates are competent in the following six domains:
• Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design
• Cloud Data Security
• Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security
• Cloud Application Security
• Cloud Security Operations
• Legal, Risk and Compliance
Experience Requirements
Candidates must have a minimum of five years cumulative paid work experience in information technology,
of which three years must be in information security and one year in one or more of the six domains of the
CCSP CBK. Earning CSA’s CCSK certificate can be substituted for one year of experience in one or more of
the six domains of the CCSP CBK. Earning (ISC)²’s CISSP credential can be substituted for the entire CCSP
experience requirement.
A candidate that doesn’t have the required experience to become a CCSP may become an Associate of (ISC)²
by successfully passing the CCSP examination. The Associate of (ISC)² will then have six years to earn the five
years required experience. You can learn more about CCSP experience requirements and how to account for
part-time work and internships at www.isc2.org/Certifications/CCSP/experience-requirements.
Accreditation
CCSP is in compliance with the stringent requirements of ANSI/ISO/IEC Standard 17024.
Job Task Analysis (JTA)
(ISC)² has an obligation to its membership to maintain the relevancy of the CCSP. Conducted at regular
intervals, the Job Task Analysis (JTA) is a methodical and critical process of determining the tasks that are
performed by security professionals who are engaged in the profession defined by the CCSP. The results of
the JTA are used to update the examination. This process ensures that candidates are tested on the topic
areas relevant to the roles and responsibilities of today’s practicing information security professionals focusing
on cloud technologies.
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 2
CCSP Examination Information
Length of exam 4 hours
Number of items 150
Item format Multiple choice
Passing grade 700 out of 1000 points
Exam availability English, Japanese
Testing center Pearson VUE Testing Center
CCSP Examination Weights
Domains Weight
1. Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design 17%
2. Cloud Data Security 20%
3. Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security 17%
4. Cloud Application Security 17%
5. Cloud Security Operations 16%
6. Legal, Risk and Compliance 13%
Total: 100%
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 3
Domain 1:
Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design
1.1 Understand cloud computing concepts
» Cloud computing definitions
» Cloud computing roles and responsibilities (e.g., cloud service customer, cloud service provider, cloud service partner,
cloud service broker, regulator)
» Key cloud computing characteristics (e.g., on-demand self-service, broad network access, multi-tenancy, rapid elasticity
and scalability, resource pooling, measured service)
» Building block technologies (e.g., virtualization, storage, networking, databases, orchestration)
1.2 Describe cloud reference architecture
» Cloud computing activities » Cloud shared considerations (e.g., interoperability,
portability, reversibility, availability, security, privacy,
» Cloud service capabilities (e.g., application capability
resiliency, performance, governance, maintenance and
types, platform capability types, infrastructure
versioning, service levels and service-level agreements
capability types)
(SLA), auditability, regulatory, outsourcing)
» Cloud service categories (e.g., Software as a Service
» Impact of related technologies (e.g., data science,
(SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a
machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain,
Service (PaaS))
Internet of Things (IoT), containers, quantum
» Cloud deployment models (e.g., public, private, computing, edge computing, confidential computing,
hybrid, community, multi-cloud) DevSecOps)
1.3 Understand security concepts relevant to cloud computing
» Cryptography and key management » Virtualization security (e.g., hypervisor security,
container security, ephemeral computing, serverless
» Identity and access control (e.g., user access, privilege
technology)
access, service access)
» Common threats
» Data and media sanitization (e.g., overwriting,
cryptographic erase) » Security hygiene (e.g., patching, baselining)
» Network security (e.g., network security groups, traffic
inspection, geofencing, zero trust network)
1.4 Understand design principles of secure cloud computing
» Cloud secure data lifecycle
» Cloud-based business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) plan
» Business impact analysis (BIA) (e.g., cost-benefit analysis, return on investment (ROI))
» Functional security requirements (e.g., portability, interoperability, vendor lock-in)
» Security considerations and responsibilities for different cloud categories (e.g., Software as a Service (SaaS),
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS))
» Cloud design patterns (e.g., SANS security principles, Well-Architected Framework, Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)
Enterprise Architecture)
» DevOps security
1.5 Evaluate cloud service providers
» Verification against criteria (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical
Commission (ISO/IEC) 27017, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS))
» System/subsystem product certifications (e.g., Common Criteria (CC), Federal Information Processing
Standard (FIPS) 140-2)
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 4
Domain 2:
Cloud Data Security
2.1 Describe cloud data concepts
» Cloud data life cycle phases
» Data dispersion
» Data flows
2.2 Design and implement cloud data storage architectures
» Storage types (e.g., long-term, ephemeral, raw storage)
» Threats to storage types
2.3 Design and apply data security technologies and strategies
» Encryption and key management » Tokenization
» Hashing » Data loss prevention (DLP)
» Data obfuscation (e.g., masking, » Keys, secrets and certificates management
anonymization)
2.4 Implement data discovery
» Structured data
» Unstructured data
» Semi-structured data
» Data location
2.5 Plan and implement data classification
» Data classification policies
» Data mapping
» Data labeling
2.6 Design and implement Information Rights Management (IRM)
» Objectives (e.g., data rights, provisioning, access models)
» Appropriate tools (e.g., issuing and revocation of certificates)
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 5
2.7 Plan and implement data retention, deletion and archiving policies
» Data retention policies
» Data deletion procedures and mechanisms
» Data archiving procedures and mechanisms
» Legal hold
2.8 Design and implement auditability, traceability and accountability of data events
» Definition of event sources and requirement of event attributes (e.g., identity, Internet Protocol (IP)
address, geolocation)
» Logging, storage and analysis of data events
» Chain of custody and non-repudiation
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 6
Domain 3:
Cloud Platform and Infrastructure
Security
3.1 Comprehend cloud infrastructure and platform components
» Physical environment » Virtualization
» Network and communications » Storage
» Compute » Management plane
3.2 Design a secure data center
» Logical design (e.g., tenant partitioning, access control)
» Physical design (e.g., location, buy or build)
» Environmental design (e.g., Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC),
multi-vendor pathway connectivity)
» Design resilient
3.3 Analyze risks associated with cloud infrastructure and platforms
» Risk assessment (e.g., identification, analysis)
» Cloud vulnerabilities, threats and attacks
» Risk mitigation strategies
3.4 Plan and implementation of security controls
» Physical and environmental protection (e.g., » Identification, authentication and authorization
on-premises) in cloud environments
» System, storage and communication protection » Audit mechanisms (e.g., log collection,
correlation, packet capture)
3.5 Plan business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR)
» Business continuity (BC) / disaster recovery (DR) strategy
» Business requirements (e.g., Recovery Time Objective (RTO), Recovery Point Objective (RPO),
recovery service level)
» Creation, implementation and testing of plan
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 7
Domain 4:
Cloud Application Security
4.1 Advocate training and awareness for application security
» Cloud development basics
» Common pitfalls
» Common cloud vulnerabilities (e.g., Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Top-10, SANS Top-25)
4.2 Describe the Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process
» Business requirements
» Phases and methodologies (e.g., design, code, test, maintain, waterfall vs. agile)
4.3 Apply the Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
» Cloud-specific risks » Avoid common vulnerabilities during
development
» Threat modeling (e.g., Spoofing, Tampering,
Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of » Secure coding (e.g., Open Web Application
Service, and Elevation of Privilege (STRIDE), Security Project (OWASP) Application Security
Disaster, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected Verification Standard (ASVS), Software Assurance
Users, and Discoverability (DREAD), Architecture, Forum for Excellence in Code (SAFECode))
Threats, Attack Surfaces, and Mitigations » Software configuration management and
(ATASM), Process for Attack Simulation and versioning
Threat Analysis (PASTA))
4.4 Apply cloud software assurance and validation
» Functional and non-functional testing
» Security testing methodologies (e.g., blackbox, whitebox, static, dynamic, Software Composition Analysis
(SCA), interactive application security testing (IAST))
» Quality assurance (QA)
» Abuse case testing
4.5 Use verified secure software
» Securing application programming interfaces (API)
» Supply-chain management (e.g., vendor assessment)
» Third-party software management (e.g., licensing)
» Validated open-source software
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 8
4.6 Comprehend the specifics of cloud application architecture
» Supplemental security components (e.g., web application firewall (WAF), Database Activity Monitoring (DAM),
Extensible Markup Language (XML) firewalls, application programming interface (API) gateway)
» Cryptography
» Sandboxing
» Application virtualization and orchestration (e.g., microservices, containers)
4.7 Design appropriate identity and access management (IAM) solutions
» Federated identity
» Identity providers (IdP)
» Single sign-on (SSO)
» Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
» Cloud access security broker (CASB)
» Secrets management
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 9
Domain 5:
Cloud Security Operations
5.1 Build and implement physical and logical infrastructure for cloud environment
» Hardware specific security configuration requirements (e.g., hardware security module (HSM) and Trusted
Platform Module (TPM))
» Installation and configuration of management tools
» Virtual hardware specific security configuration requirements (e.g., network, storage, memory, central
processing unit (CPU), Hypervisor type 1 and 2)
» Installation of guest operating system (OS) virtualization toolsets
5.2 Operate and maintain physical and logical infrastructure for cloud environment
» Access controls for local and remote access (e.g., » Patch management
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), secure terminal » Infrastructure as Code (IaC) strategy
access, Secure Shell (SSH), console-based access
mechanisms, jumpboxes, virtual client) » Availability of clustered hosts (e.g., distributed
resource scheduling, dynamic optimization,
» Secure network configuration (e.g., virtual storage clusters, maintenance mode, high
local area networks (VLAN), Transport Layer availability (HA))
Security (TLS), Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System Security » Availability of guest operating system (OS)
Extensions (DNSSEC), virtual private network » Performance and capacity monitoring (e.g.,
(VPN)) network, compute, storage, response time)
» Network security controls (e.g., firewalls, » Hardware monitoring (e.g., disk, central
intrusion detection systems (IDS), intrusion processing unit (CPU), fan speed, temperature)
prevention systems (IPS), honeypots, vulnerability » Configuration of host and guest operating system
assessments, network security groups, bastion (OS) backup and restore functions
host)
» Management plane (e.g., scheduling,
» Operating system (OS) hardening through orchestration, maintenance)
the application of baselines, monitoring and
remediation (e.g., Windows, Linux, VMware)
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 10
5.3 Implement operational controls and standards (e.g., Information Technology Infrastructure
Library (ITIL), International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical
Commission (ISO/IEC) 20000-1)
» Change management » Release management
» Continuity management » Deployment management
» Information security management » Configuration management
» Continual service improvement management » Service level management
» Incident management » Availability management
» Problem management » Capacity management
5.4 Support digital forensics
» Forensic data collection methodologies
» Evidence management
» Collect, acquire, and preserve digital evidence
5.5 Manage communication with relevant parties
» Vendors
» Customers
» Partners
» Regulators
» Other stakeholders
5.6 Manage security operations
» Security operations center (SOC)
» Intelligent monitoring of security controls (e.g., firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), intrusion
prevention systems (IPS), honeypots, network security groups, artificial intelligence (AI))
» Log capture and analysis (e.g., security information and event management (SIEM), log management)
» Incident management
» Vulnerability assessments
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 11
Domain 6:
Legal, Risk and Compliance
6.1 Articulate legal requirements and unique risks within the cloud environment
» Conflicting international legislation » eDiscovery (e.g., International Organization
for Standardization/International
» Evaluation of legal risks specific to cloud
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27050,
computing
Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Guidance)
» Legal framework and guidelines
» Forensics requirements
6.2 Understand privacy issues
» Difference between contractual and regulated private data (e.g., protected health information (PHI),
personally identifiable information (PII))
» Country-specific legislation related to private data (e.g., protected health information (PHI), personally
identifiable information (PII))
» Jurisdictional differences in data privacy
» Standard privacy requirements (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27018, Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP), General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR))
» Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA)
6.3 Understand audit process, methodologies, and required adaptations for a
cloud environment
» Internal and external audit controls » Internal information security controls system
» Impact of audit requirements » Policies (e.g., organizational, functional, cloud
» Identify assurance challenges of virtualization computing)
and cloud » Identification and involvement of relevant
» Types of audit reports (e.g., Statement on stakeholders
Standards for Attestation Engagements » Specialized compliance requirements for
(SSAE), Service Organization Control highly-regulated industries (e.g., North
(SOC), International Standard on Assurance American Electric Reliability Corporation /
Engagements (ISAE)) Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC / CIP),
» Restrictions of audit scope statements (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Statement on Standards for Attestation Act (HIPAA), Health Information Technology for
Engagements (SSAE), International Standard on Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act,
Assurance Engagements (ISAE)) Payment Card Industry (PCI))
» Gap analysis (e.g., control analysis, baselines) » Impact of distributed information technology
(IT) model (e.g., diverse geographical locations
» Audit planning and crossing over legal jurisdictions)
» Internal information security management
system
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 12
6.4 Understand implications of cloud to enterprise risk management
» Assess providers risk management programs (e.g., controls, methodologies, policies, risk profile,
risk appetite)
» Difference between data owner/controller vs. data custodian/processor
» Regulatory transparency requirements (e.g., breach notification, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX),
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR))
» Risk treatment (i.e., avoid, mitigate, transfer, share, acceptance)
» Different risk frameworks
» Metrics for risk management
» Assessment of risk environment (e.g., service, vendor, infrastructure, business)
6.5 Understand outsourcing and cloud contract design
» Business requirements (e.g., service-level agreement (SLA), master service agreement (MSA),
statement of work (SOW))
» Vendor management (e.g., vendor assessments, vendor lock-in risks, vendor viability, escrow)
» Contract management (e.g., right to audit, metrics, definitions, termination, litigation, assurance,
compliance, access to cloud/data, cyber risk insurance)
» Supply-chain management (e.g., International Organization for Standardization/International
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27036)
CCSP Certification Exam Outline 13
Additional Examination Information
Supplementary References
Candidates are encouraged to supplement their education and experience by reviewing
relevant resources that pertain to the CBK and identifying areas of study that may need
additional attention.
View the full list of supplementary references at www.isc2.org/certifications/References.
Examination Policies and Procedures
(ISC)² recommends that CCSP candidates review exam policies and procedures prior to
registering for the examination. Read the comprehensive breakdown of this important
information at www.isc2.org/Register-for-Exam.
Legal Info
For any questions related to (ISC)²’s legal policies, please contact the (ISC)2 Legal
Department at [email protected].
Any Questions?
(ISC)² Candidate Services
311 Park Place Blvd, Suite 400
Clearwater, FL 33759
(ISC)² Americas
Tel: +1-727-785-0189
Email: [email protected]
(ISC)² Asia Pacific
Tel: +852-5803-5662
Email:
[email protected] (ISC)² EMEA
Tel: +44 (0)203-960-7800
Email: [email protected]
CCSP Certification
v0522 Exam Outline 14
