CompTIA Security Plus Exam Syllabus

Security+ PDF, SY0-701 Dumps, SY0-701 PDF, Security+ VCE, SY0-701 Questions PDF, CompTIA SY0-701 VCE, CompTIA Security Plus Dumps, CompTIA Security Plus PDF Use this quick start guide to collect all the information about CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Certification exam. This study guide provides a list of objectives and resources that will help you prepare for items on the SY0-701 CompTIA Security+ exam. The Sample Questions will help you identify the type and difficulty level of the questions and the Practice Exams will make you familiar with the format and environment of an exam. You should refer this guide carefully before attempting your actual CompTIA Security Plus certification exam.

The CompTIA Security+ certification is mainly targeted to those candidates who want to build their career in Core domain. The CompTIA Security+ exam verifies that the candidate possesses the fundamental knowledge and proven skills in the area of CompTIA Security Plus.

CompTIA Security+ Exam Summary:

Exam Name	CompTIA Security+
Exam Code	SY0-701
Exam Price	$404 (USD)
Duration	90 mins
Number of Questions	90
Passing Score	750 / 900
Books / Training	CompTIA Security+ Certification Training CertMaster Learn for Security+ Training
Schedule Exam	Pearson VUE
Sample Questions	CompTIA Security+ Sample Questions
Practice Exam	CompTIA SY0-701 Certification Practice Exam

CompTIA SY0-701 Exam Syllabus Topics:

Topic	Details
General Security Concepts - 12%
Compare and contrast various types of security controls.	- Categories Technical Managerial Operational Physical - Control types Preventive Deterrent Detective Corrective Compensating Directive
Summarize fundamental security concepts.	- Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) - Non-repudiation - Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) Authenticating people Authenticating systems Authorization models - Gap analysis - Zero Trust Control Plane 1. Adaptive identity 2. Threat scope reduction 3. Policy-driven access control 4. Policy Administrator 5. Policy Engine Data Plane 1. Implicit trust zones 2. Subject/System 3. Policy Enforcement Point - Physical security Bollards Access control vestibule Fencing Video surveillance Security guard Access badge Lighting Sensors 1. Infrared 2. Pressure 3. Microwave 4. Ultrasonic - Deception and disruption technology Honeypot Honeynet Honeyfile Honeytoken
Explain the importance of change management processes and the impact to security.	- Business processes impacting security operation Approval process Ownership Stakeholders Impact analysis Test results Backout plan Maintenance window Standard operating procedure - Technical implications Allow lists/deny lists Restricted activities Downtime Service restart Application restart Legacy applications Dependencies - Documentation Updating diagrams Updating policies/procedures - Version control
Explain the importance of using appropriate cryptographic solutions.	- Public key infrastructure (PKI) Public key Private key Key escrow - Encryption Level 1. Full-disk 2. Partition 3. File 4. Volume 5. Database 6. Record Transport/communication Asymmetric Symmetric Key exchange Algorithms Key length - Tools Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Hardware security module (HSM) Key management system Secure enclave - Obfuscation Steganography Tokenization Data masking - Hashing - Salting - Digital signatures - Key stretching - Blockchain - Open public ledger - Certificates Certificate authorities Certificate revocation lists (CRLs) Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) Self-signed Third-party Root of trust Certificate signing request (CSR) generation Wildcard
Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations - 22%
Compare and contrast common threat actors and motivations.	- Threat actors Nation-state Unskilled attacker Hacktivist Insider threat Organized crime Shadow IT - Attributes of actors Internal/external Resources/funding Level of sophistication/capability - Motivations Data exfiltration Espionage Service disruption Blackmail Financial gain Philosophical/political beliefs Ethical Revenge Disruption/chaos War
Explain common threat vectors and attack surfaces.	- Message-based Email Short Message Service (SMS) Instant messaging (IM) - Image-based - File-based - Voice call - Removable device - Vulnerable software Client-based vs. agentless - Unsupported systems and applications - Unsecure networks Wireless Wired Bluetooth - Open service ports - Default credentials - Supply chain Managed service providers (MSPs) Vendors Suppliers - Human vectors/social engineering Phishing Vishing Smishing Misinformation/disinformation Impersonation Business email compromise Pretexting Watering hole Brand impersonation Typosquatting
Explain various types of vulnerabilities.	- Application Memory injection Buffer overflow Race conditions 1. Time-of-check (TOC) 2. Time-of-use (TOU) Malicious update - Operating system (OS)-based - Web-based Structured Query Language injection (SQLi) Cross-site scripting (XSS) - Hardware Firmware End-of-life Legacy - Virtualization Virtual machine (VM) escape Resource reuse - Cloud-specific - Supply chain Service provider Hardware provider Software provider - Cryptographic - Misconfiguration - Mobile device Side loading Jailbreaking - Zero-day
Given a scenario, analyze indicators of malicious activity.	- Malware attacks Ransomware Trojan Worm Spyware Bloatware Virus Keylogger Logic bomb Rootkit - Physical attacks Brute force Radio frequency identification (RFID) cloning Environmental - Network attacks Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) 1. Amplified 2. Reflected Domain Name System (DNS) attacks Wireless On-path Credential replay Malicious code - Application attacks Injection Buffer overflow Replay Privilege escalation Forgery Directory traversal - Cryptographic attacks Downgrade Collision Birthday - Password attacks Spraying Brute force - Indicators Account lockout Concurrent session usage Blocked content Impossible travel Resource consumption Resource inaccessibility Out-of-cycle logging Published/documented Missing logs
Explain the purpose of mitigation techniques used to secure the enterprise.	- Segmentation - Access control Access control list (ACL) Permissions - Application allow list - Isolation - Patching - Encryption - Monitoring - Least privilege - Configuration enforcement - Decommissioning - Hardening techniques Encryption Installation of endpoint protection Host-based firewall Host-based intrusion prevention system (HIPS) Disabling ports/protocols Default password changes Removal of unnecessary software
Security Architecture - 18%
Compare and contrast security implications of different architecture models.	- Architecture and infrastructure concepts Cloud 1. Responsibility matrix 2. Hybrid considerations 3. Third-party vendors Infrastructure as code (IaC) Serverless Microservices Network infrastructure 1. Physical isolation - Air-gapped 2. Logical segmentation 3. Software-defined networking (SDN) On-premises Centralized vs. decentralized Containerization Virtualization IoT Industrial control systems (ICS)/supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) Real-time operating system (RTOS) Embedded systems High availability - Considerations Availability Resilience Cost Responsiveness Scalability Ease of deployment Risk transference Ease of recovery Patch availability Inability to patch Power Compute
Given a scenario, apply security principles to secure enterprise infrastructure.	- Infrastructure considerations Device placement Security zones Attack surface Connectivity Failure modes 1. Fail-open 2. Fail-closed Device attribute 1. Active vs. passive 2. Inline vs. tap/monitor Network appliances 1. Jump server 2. Proxy server 3. Intrusion prevention system (IPS)/intrusion detection system (IDS) 4. Load balancer 5. Sensors Port security 1. 802.1X 2. Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) Firewall types 1. Web application firewall (WAF) 2. Unified threat management (UTM) 3. Next-generation firewall (NGFW) 4. Layer 4/Layer 7 - Secure communication/access Virtual private network (VPN) Remote access Tunneling 1. Transport Layer Security (TLS) 2. Internet protocol security (IPSec) Software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) Secure access service edge (SASE) - Selection of effective controls
Compare and contrast concepts and strategies to protect data.	- Data types Regulated Trade secret Intellectual property Legal information Financial information Human- and non-human-readable - Data classifications Sensitive Confidential Public Restricted Private Critical - General data considerations Data states 1. Data at rest 2. Data in transit 3. Data in use Data sovereignty Geolocation - Methods to secure data Geographic restrictions Encryption Hashing Masking Tokenization Obfuscation Segmentation Permission restrictions
Explain the importance of resilience and recovery in security architecture.	- High availability Load balancing vs. clustering - Site considerations Hot Cold Warm Geographic dispersion - Platform diversity - Multi-cloud systems - Continuity of operations - Capacity planning People Technology Infrastructure - Testing Tabletop exercises Fail over Simulation Parallel processing - Backups Onsite/offsite Frequency Encryption Snapshots Recovery Replication Journaling - Power Generators Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
Security Operations - 28%
Given a scenario, apply common security techniques to computing resources.	- Secure baselines Establish Deploy Maintain - Hardening targets Mobile devices Workstations Switches Routers Cloud infrastructure Servers ICS/SCADA Embedded systems RTOS IoT devices - Wireless devices Installation considerations 1. Site surveys 2. Heat maps - Mobile solutions Mobile device management (MDM) Deployment models 1. Bring your own device (BYOD) 2. Corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) 3. Choose your own device (CYOD) Connection methods 1. Cellular 2. Wi-Fi 3. Bluetooth - Wireless security settings Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) AAA/Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) Cryptographic protocols Authentication protocols - Application security Input validation Secure cookies Static code analysis Code signing - Sandboxing - Monitoring
Explain the security implications of proper hardware, software, and data asset management.	- Acquisition/procurement process - Assignment/accounting Ownership Classification - Monitoring/asset tracking Inventory Enumeration - Disposal/decommissioning Sanitization Destruction Certification Data retention
Explain various activities associated with vulnerability management.	- Identification methods Vulnerability scan Application security 1. Static analysis 2. Dynamic analysis 3. Package monitoring Threat feed 1. Open-source intelligence (OSINT) 2. Proprietary/third-party 3. Information-sharing organization 4. Dark web Penetration testing Responsible disclosure program 1. Bug bounty program System/process audit - Analysis Confirmation 1. False positive 2. False negative Prioritize Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Common Vulnerability Enumeration (CVE) Vulnerability classification Exposure factor Environmental variables Industry/organizational impact Risk tolerance - Vulnerability response and remediation Patching Insurance Segmentation Compensating controls Exceptions and exemptions - Validation of remediation Rescanning Audit Verification - Reporting
Explain security alerting and monitoring concepts and tools.	- Monitoring computing resources Systems Applications Infrastructure - Activities Log aggregation Alerting Scanning Reporting Archiving Alert response and remediation/validation 1. Quarantine 2. Alert tuning - Tools Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) Benchmarks Agents/agentless Security information and event management (SIEM) Antivirus Data loss prevention (DLP) Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps NetFlow Vulnerability scanners
Given a scenario, modify enterprise capabilities to enhance security.	- Firewall Rules Access lists Ports/protocols Screened subnets - IDS/IPS Trends Signatures - Web filter Agent-based Centralized proxy Universal Resource Locator (URL) scanning Content categorization Block rules Reputation - Operating system security Group Policy SELinux - Implementation of secure protocols Protocol selection Port selection Transport method - DNS filtering - Email security Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Gateway - File integrity monitoring - DLP - Network access control (NAC) - Endpoint detection and response (EDR)/extended detection and response (XDR) - User behavior analytics
Given a scenario, implement and maintain identity and access management.	- Provisioning/de-provisioning user accounts - Permission assignments and implications - Identity proofing - Federation - Single sign-on (SSO) Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Open authorization (OAuth) Security Assertions Markup Language (SAML) - Interoperability - Attestation - Access controls Mandatory Discretionary Role-based Rule-based Attribute-based Time-of-day restrictions Least privilege - Multifactor authentication Implementations 1. Biometrics 2. Hard/soft authentication tokens 3. Security keys Factors 1. Something you know 2. Something you have 3. Something you are 4. Somewhere you are - Password concepts Password best practices 1. Length 2. Complexity 3. Reuse 4. Expiration 5. Age Password managers Passwordless - Privileged access management tools Just-in-time permissions Password vaulting Ephemeral credentials
Explain the importance of automation and orchestration related to secure operations.	- Use cases of automation and scripting User provisioning Resource provisioning Guard rails Security groups Ticket creation Escalation Enabling/disabling services and access Continuous integration and testing Integrations and Application programming interfaces (APIs) - Benefits Efficiency/time saving Enforcing baselines Standard infrastructure configurations Scaling in a secure manner Employee retention Reaction time Workforce multiplier - Other considerations Complexity Cost Single point of failure Technical debt Ongoing supportability
Explain appropriate incident response activities.	- Process Preparation Detection Analysis Containment Eradication Recovery Lessons learned - Training - Testing Tabletop exercise Simulation - Root cause analysis - Threat hunting - Digital forensics Legal hold Chain of custody Acquisition Reporting Preservation E-discovery
Given a scenario, use data sources to support an investigation.	- Log data Firewall logs Application logs Endpoint logs OS-specific security logs IPS/IDS logs Network logs Metadata - Data sources Vulnerability scans Automated reports Dashboards Packet captures
Security Program Management and Oversight - 20%
Summarize elements of effective security governance.	- Guidelines - Policies Acceptable use policy (AUP) Information security policies Business continuity Disaster recovery Incident response Software development lifecycle (SDLC) Change management - Standards Password Access control Physical security Encryption - Procedures Change management Onboarding/offboarding Playbooks - External considerations Regulatory Legal Industry Local/regional National Global - Monitoring and revision - Types of governance structures Boards Committees Government entities Centralized/decentralized - Roles and responsibilities for systems and data Owners Controllers Processors Custodians/stewards
Explain elements of the risk management process.	- Risk identification - Risk assessment Ad hoc Recurring One-time Continuous - Risk analysis Qualitative Quantitative Single loss expectancy (SLE) Annualized loss expectancy (ALE) Annualized rate of occurrence (ARO) Probability Likelihood Exposure factor Impact - Risk register Key risk indicators Risk owners Risk threshold - Risk tolerance - Risk appetite Expansionary Conservative Neutral - Risk management strategies Transfer Accept 1. Exemption 2. Exception Avoid Mitigate - Risk reporting - Business impact analysis Recovery time objective (RTO) Recovery point objective (RPO) Mean time to repair (MTTR) Mean time between failures (MTBF)
Explain the processes associated with third-party risk assessment and management.	- Vendor assessment Penetration testing Right-to-audit clause Evidence of internal audits Independent assessments Supply chain analysis - Vendor selection Due diligence Conflict of interest - Agreement types Service-level agreement (SLA) Memorandum of agreement (MOA) Memorandum of understanding (MOU) Master service agreement (MSA) Work order (WO)/statement of work (SOW) Non-disclosure agreement (NDA) Business partners agreement (BPA) - Vendor monitoring - Questionnaires - Rules of engagement
Summarize elements of effective security compliance.	- Compliance reporting Internal External - Consequences of non-compliance Fines Sanctions Reputational damage Loss of license Contractual impacts - Compliance monitoring Due diligence/care Attestation and acknowledgement Internal and external Automation - Privacy Legal implications 1. Local/regional 2. National 3. Global Data subject Controller vs. processor Ownership Data inventory and retention Right to be forgotten
Explain types and purposes of audits and assessments.	- Attestation - Internal Compliance Audit committee Self-assessments - External Regulatory Examinations Assessment Independent third-party audit - Penetration testing Physical Offensive Defensive Integrated Known environment Partially known environment Unknown environment Reconnaissance 1. Passive 2. Active
Given a scenario, implement security awareness practices.	- Phishing Campaigns Recognizing a phishing attempt Responding to reported suspicious messages - Anomalous behavior recognition Risky Unexpected Unintentional - User guidance and training Policy/handbooks Situational awareness Insider threat Password management Removable media and cables Social engineering Operational security Hybrid/remote work environments - Reporting and monitoring Initial Recurring - Development - Execution

To ensure success in CompTIA Security Plus certification exam, we recommend authorized training course, practice test and hands-on experience to prepare for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) exam.

CompTIA Security Plus Exam Syllabus

CompTIA Security+ Exam Summary:

CompTIA SY0-701 Exam Syllabus Topics:

General Security Concepts - 12%

Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations - 22%

Security Architecture - 18%

Security Operations - 28%

Security Program Management and Oversight - 20%

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