You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
ISC2Information Systems Security Architecture Professional
The ISSAP certification validates your expertise in developing, designing, and analyzing security solutions across an organization. Ideal for chief security architects and analysts, it proves you can provide risk-based guidance to senior management and align security architecture with organizational goals. Earning the ISSAP demonstrates elite-level knowledge and opens doors to new career opportunities.
Exam formatMultiple choice and advanced item types
Duration180 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Passing score700 out of 1000
Free questions343
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What Information Systems Security Architecture Professional proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
4domains
11objectives
91concepts
US $199exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) certification is ISC2's advanced credential for security architects. It validates your ability to develop, design, and analyze security solutions that align with organizational vision, mission, and strategy. As a security architect, you play a key role between the C-suite and the implementation of your security program, providing risk-based guidance to senior management.
The ISSAP covers four domains: Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), Security Architecture Modeling, Infrastructure and System Security, and Identity and Access Management (IAM) Architecture. The credential is accredited to ISO/IEC 17024 and approved by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD 8140), demonstrating its rigor and global recognition. Earning the ISSAP proves you have elite-level knowledge and expertise, opening doors to new career paths and opportunities.
Who it’s for
The ISSAP is ideal for chief security architects, security analysts, and professionals with similar responsibilities who design and analyze security solutions. It is also suited for system architects, chief technology officers, system and network designers, business analysts, and chief security officers who need to provide risk-based guidance to senior management. You are a great fit for the ISSAP if you are a lifelong learner who craves new challenges, want to stand out from peers, and are looking ahead in your career. The certification is designed for experienced professionals who want to be recognized as subject matter experts in security architecture.
Recommended experience
Candidates should have a strong background in information security, with experience in security architecture, risk management, and designing security solutions. While not mandatory, ISC2 recommends relevant training and study resources to prepare for the exam. Experience in developing, designing, and analyzing security solutions; Knowledge of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) principles; Familiarity with security architecture frameworks and modeling; Understanding of infrastructure and system security, including cloud and network security; Experience with identity and access management (IAM) architecture
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective ISC2 measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official ISC2 exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)
- 1.1 Identify legal, regulatory, organizational, and industry requirements
- 1.2 Architecting for governance, risk, and compliance (GRC)
Security Architecture Modeling
- 2.1 Identify security architecture approach
- 2.2 Verify and validate design (e.g., functional acceptance testing, regression)
Infrastructure and System Security Architecture
- 3.1 Identify infrastructure and system security requirements
- 3.2 Architect infrastructure and system security
- 3.3 Architect infrastructure and system cryptographic solutions
Identity and Access Management (IAM) Architecture
- 4.1 Architect identity lifecycle
- 4.2 Architect identity authentication
- 4.3 Architect identity authorization
- 4.4 Architect identity accounting
On the day
The exam itself
Everything ISC2 publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Must hold the CISSP certification in good standing
CertificationInformation Systems Security Architecture Professional
Exam formatMultiple choice and advanced item types
Duration180 minutes
Questions125 questions
Passing score700 out of 1000
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
PricingUS $199
Certification levelProfessional
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path ISC2 lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Information Systems Security Architecture Professional
PrerequisiteMust hold the CISSP certification in good standing
Credential earnedInformation Systems Security Architecture Professional Professional level certification Renewal and maintenance
ISC2 certifications are time-limited and must be renewed on a regular three-year cycle. Certification holders maintain their credentials by earning continuing professional education (CPE) credits and complying with ISC2 policies and ethical standards. ISC2 members are also responsible for an annual maintenance fee (AMF). Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. ISC2 maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by ISC2
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, ISC2’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official ISC2 certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does the ISSAP relate to the CISSP certification?
The ISSAP is an advanced concentration certification that requires the CISSP as a prerequisite. It focuses specifically on security architecture, while the CISSP covers a broad range of security topics. Earning the ISSAP demonstrates specialized expertise in designing and analyzing security solutions.
Do I need to earn the CISSP before taking the ISSAP exam?
Yes, you must be a CISSP in good standing to take the ISSAP exam. Alternatively, you can qualify with seven years of cumulative, full-time experience in two or more of the ISSAP domains, but the CISSP is the standard prerequisite path.
Is the ISSAP exam available online or only at testing centers?
The ISSAP exam is administered at Pearson VUE testing centers. ISC2 does not currently offer online proctoring for this exam.
What is the retake policy for the ISSAP exam?
If you fail the ISSAP exam, you must wait 30 days before retaking it. There is no limit on the number of attempts, but each attempt requires a new exam registration and fee.
Are there any hands-on or lab components in the ISSAP exam?
No, the ISSAP exam consists of multiple-choice and advanced item types only. There are no hands-on or lab-based components.
What job roles does the ISSAP credential map to?
The ISSAP is ideal for chief security architects, security analysts, system architects, chief technology officers, system and network designers, business analysts, and chief security officers who design and analyze security solutions.
Can I recertify the ISSAP by passing a different ISC2 exam?
No, the ISSAP must be renewed by earning CPE credits and paying the annual maintenance fee. Passing another ISC2 exam does not automatically renew the ISSAP.
Is the ISSAP exam available in languages other than English?
Currently, the ISSAP exam is only available in English. ISC2 may offer additional language options in the future, but none are announced at this time.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 343 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept ISC2 measures — each one written out.
4domains
11objectives
91concepts
73free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official ISC2 exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)77 questions
2Security Architecture Modeling56 questions
3Infrastructure and System Security Architecture92 questions
4Identity and Access Management (IAM) Architecture118 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
1.1 Identify legal, regulatory, organizational, and industry requirements8 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
40 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
343 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
343questions
73pages
11objectives
Freealways
Start anywhere1.1 Identify legal, regulatory, organizational, and industry requirements 40 questions · 8 pages
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)77 questions
2Security Architecture Modeling56 questions
3Infrastructure and System Security Architecture92 questions
4Identity and Access Management (IAM) Architecture118 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
91concepts
343free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from ISC2
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
3official links
91concepts mapped
The source
ISC2’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official ISC2 outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 11 objectives, 91 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When ISC2 changes the outline, this page changes with it.
11objectives on the outline→91concepts written→343free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.