Is It Worth Studying CISSP & CCSP At The Same Time?

As someone who teaches both CISSP and CCSP, one of my favorite techniques is showing how two seemingly unrelated concepts from different exams can work together to create a lasting understanding of core security principles.  This is exactly how I passed the CISSP on my first try back in 2015 and how I continue to build new content today.

Let me show you why studying both CISSP and CCSP content, not necessarily preparing for both exams at the same time, can dramatically reinforce your understanding and memory. You’re not trying to remember facts anymore. You just know them.

Let’s start with a CCSP-style scenario.

CCSP Practice Question: Picking the Right Cloud Model

A regular business is considering migrating its on-premise infrastructure to the cloud.

It spends $172,000 annually on maintaining its data center. It expects to reduce its annual cost to $60,000.

What cloud deployment model is the company likely to adopt?

A. Hybrid Cloud

B. Private Cloud

C. Community Cloud

D. Public Cloud

Correct Answer: D. Public Cloud

Here’s the reasoning. A hybrid cloud blends on-prem and cloud, but that comes with integration complexity and extra management costs. That’s not the right fit for a company trying to cut costs drastically.

Private clouds are expensive. If you've ever managed a private cloud migration, you know it’s not the technology that slows it down. It’s the endless meetings, approvals, and budgeting.

Community cloud does not apply here. The scenario talks about a single business, not a shared industry solution.

That leaves us with public cloud. Multi-tenant, flexible, and affordable. Think AWS or Azure. The company wants cost savings, and public cloud delivers that.

CISSP Practice Question: Securing That Decision

Hesperus just got hired to harden a public web server hosted in the cloud. Here’s the current flow. Traffic hits a stateful firewall in active and standby mode, then a router, then a load balancer, and finally the server.

He discovers input validation issues in the web server code but is told by management that availability is top priority. He asks developers to improve future projects, but no rewrites for the current site.

What type of attack is the website vulnerable to? What is the best perimeter mitigation?

A. Injection and risk analysis

B. XSS and WAF

C. HTTP Request Smuggling and Fuzzing

D. CSRF and SDLC

Correct Answer: B. XSS and WAF

The vulnerability is due to poor input validation. That opens the door to injection attacks, especially XSS. But the question is about mitigation at the perimeter. That narrows it down.

A stateful firewall operates at Layer 3. It cannot inspect HTTP payloads. It cannot detect something like a malicious script injected into a form. A WAF can. A Web Application Firewall reads HTTP traffic at Layer 7 and blocks malicious input based on signatures or behavior.

So while “risk analysis” sounds like a high-level CISSP answer, the better fit here is the technical solution. The question asked about the perimeter. That means WAF.

How These Two Questions Work Together

Let’s step back and look at what just happened.

In the CCSP question, you were a strategist. You chose a cloud model that fits the business goals. That is what a cloud security professional does. Evaluate risks, costs, and compliance concerns.

In the CISSP question, you were the architect. You made a decision to mitigate a specific vulnerability. You looked at technical constraints, business priorities, and picked the best tool.

One question gets you to the cloud. The other shows you how to secure it.

Together, they show how knowledge from both certifications not only overlaps, but strengthens each other. Studying CCSP and CISSP content together builds insight that lasts.

If you are serious about mastering security, this is your opportunity.

For a limited time click here to get 90-day access to both of our CISSP & CCSP courses for $149.99.

These are not ordinary courses. They are a premium offering because they work.

See you inside. Good luck on your exam.

Luke Ahmed

Instructor, Study Notes and Theory