How do I Maintain my CISSP Certification

Crimes are increasing in the virtual world! Villains wait to steal personal information and identities whenever possible. Hackers strive to obtain vital, secret data from various business establishments. Naturally, businesses are always on the lookout to employ an intelligent, knowledgeable, and experienced individual to handle the cybersecurity department. That person could be you! What you have to do is to display your certified information systems security professional certification wherever you go.

The validity of CISSP Certification

It is splendid that you have managed to add CISSP certification to your portfolio of achievements. However, the certification cannot be yours forever. You will have to recertify after three years.

Now, there are three conditions to follow in the three years that you remain a certificate-holder. We have outlined them below.

The Code

The (ISC)2 designs and recognizes the Code of Ethics for IT professionals linked to the arena of information security. (ISC)Two refers to the International Information System Security Certification Consortium. This Code does not apply only to CISSP-certified individuals. It applies to all other IT certifications too.
According to this Code, you must always be honest, responsible, and just in your actions. You must act with honor in whatever task you undertake. You must ensure that you stay within the legal limits always.

Both worlds, virtual and real, have trusted you to protect them. Towards this end, you must maintain a healthy infrastructure. You must work towards the common good, thereby gaining the confidence and trust of the public.

Your services must be in alignment with set principles. Work diligently and competently always.

Finally, you may take the opportunity to advance in knowledge and skills. You are the protector of your chosen profession and the people who depend upon you.

Annual Maintenance Fee

The CISSP community refers to it as AME. You must renew your CISSP certification every year. The fee amount differs from country to country, since you have to pay it in local currency. Therefore, conversion rates come into play.

In case you have other concentrations too, you will have to pay extra. Concentrations refer to additional qualifications included in the suite of CISSP certification. They include ISSMP, ISSAP, and ISSEP. ISSMP is Information Security System Management Professional. ISSAP stands for Information Security Systems Architect Professional. ISSEP is the acronym for Information Security Systems Engineering professionals.

Common Platform Enumeration Credits

The (ISC)2 takes up the responsibility of keeping the competitive spirit eternally alive within you. Therefore, it is imperative that you gain a specific number of credits each year. Otherwise, you will not qualify for the re-certification of CISSP. These credits go into Group A or Group B. The former considers domain-related activities. The latter takes charge of outside-the-domain operations. Note that these outside-the-domain activities must help in your professional growth.

You must have 40 credits in your kitty every year. Thus, at the end of three years, you must be able to display 120 credits. Do you hold one or more concentrations too? If yes, every level must earn 20 credits each year. These credits must relate to it only and not towards CISSP in general. You may apply these credits to the total at the end of each year. All the credits must come into play prior to the expiration date mentioned on your certificate. However, you are welcome to submit them within 90 days after the expiry date. However, ensure that you have earned all of them before the expiry date.

What are the activities categorized as Group A and Group B?

Group A includes asset security, security engineering, security operations, communication and network security, and security and risk management.

Group B includes accounting courses, programming languages, team development skills, management courses, and interpersonal communication skills.
Please note that those as mentioned earlier are common examples. You are welcome to find other activities that are relevant to the field of CISSP too.

Calculation of CPE Credits

A popular activity is attending conferences. It helps that meetings related to cybersecurity are frequent. Sometimes, they occur in a series. As an attendee, you send credit to Group A for every hour that you are there. Other educational conferences fetch credit per hour for Group B.

Similarly, some institutions offer educational courses or conduct seminars at regular intervals. This applies to both Groups. If it relates to your domain, a credit per hour will go into your Group A bag. Otherwise, it will move to Group B.

Are you a voracious reader? If so, the Group A category will benefit. Every cybersecurity-related book will fetch you five credits. The snag is that you may include only one book each year. Once you finish reading your book, you must provide a summary of its contents on the specific website.

Sometimes, there are vendor presentations related to the domains suggested in Group A. You will receive one credit for every 30 minutes of attendance.
Something else will fetch rewards for both Group A and Group B categories. You must maintain good attendance at self-study classes, podcasts, and computer-based training courses. Keep your records in order. Every hour will grant you one credit.

Finally, you may volunteer your services at charitable/government establishments. Every hour will fetch a credit for Group A. However, your services must relate to your CISSP credentials only.

It would be good to pay keen attention to the earning of the requisite credits. Otherwise, you will destroy all your hard work! In case you lose your certification. You may send a formal appeal to the (ISC)2 Board. Do it within 90 days. They will discuss and decide. You will receive a formal response. If the Board agrees, you may retake the CISSP examination. If you get through, request the Member Services Department (You are a member of the CISSP community) to re-activate your CISSP certification