About CompTIA SY0-501 Exam

The CompTIA SY0-501 exam is a globally accepted validation of your foundation-level security knowledge and skills that is used by the companies & security experts all over the world. This test will certify that the professionals have the expertise required to establish and design methods to defend applications, networks & devices, present threat reports and respond with the proper mitigation systems, engage in the risk mitigation activities, as well as work with an experience of applicable methods, laws, and controls. The SY0-501 exam leads to the CompTIA Security+ certification.

The CompTIA SY0-501 test is intended for the security professionals who have a minimum of two years of experience in IT administration with the main focus on security as well as day-to-day technical information security experience. It is also required that the candidates possess extensive knowledge of security interests and performance, including the topics of the exam content.

Exam Details

The CompTIA SY0-501 exam is available in different languages, such as English, Portuguese, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. Thus, you can choose the appropriate variant during the registration process. It is a 90-minute test, and within this allocated time, the students have to cover about 90 questions. They can be presented in the performance-based and multiple-choice formats. To achieve the passing score you are required to get 750 points on a scale of 100-900. With this result, you will be awarded the CompTIA Security+ certification. As for registration, you need to create an account on Pearson VUE. This platform enables you to select the delivery option and take the exam at any place, at any time or go to the testing center. Besides that, the applicants should pay $370.

It is expected that the potential candidates are able to cover all the questions of the exam content. That is why CompTIA provides them with a wide range of resources for this purpose. The test takers can choose between the following options:

• Exam Prep – This course validates the learners’ skills and knowledge of the exam topics. You can also examine your strong areas and accomplish the information gaps in your weak domain.
• eLearning – This training option incorporates an adaptable education program and performance-based questions that equip you with regular practice.
• Study Guides – It is the right option for those individuals who prefer textbooks instead of online training. These fully illustrated books provide the knowledge that is demanded gaining progress with the exam questions.
• Video Training – This option is presented in a talk-show format that grasps your interest and excitement to discover new information.
• Instructor-Led Training – This format is available both for individuals or groups and allows you to have in-classroom education.
• Interactive Labs – It helps the individuals gain the required hands-on skills and get a more deep-rooted understanding of the exam content as well as reinforce the practical features of the objectives of the test.

Exam Topics

To successfully pass the CompTIA SY0-501 exam, the applicants have to possess the necessary knowledge and skills that can help them cover the topics of the test. Thus, it is advisable to look through the exam blueprint to find out the objectives and pick up the right preparation resources. All in all, the domains are highlighted as follows:

Vulnerabilities, Attacks, and Threats

This topic covers 21% of the exam content and validates the individuals’ skills in demonstrating the following tasks:

• Examining indicators of compromise & determining the type of malware with the help of a given scenario;
• Analyzing and comparing the types of attacks;
• Describing the threat actor types & attributes;
• Defining the penetration testing concepts;
• Explaining the vulnerability scanning concepts;
• Describing the impact associated with the types of vulnerabilities.

Tools & Technologies

The questions of this subject area make up 22% of the entire content and are dedicated to evaluating the students’ competence:

• Installing and configuring the network elements, both hardware- and software-based, to support organizational security;
• Utilizing the appropriate software tools to estimate the security posture of an organization with a supplied scenario;
• Troubleshooting the basic security issues;
• Analyzing and interpreting output from security technologies with the help of a given scenario;
• Deploying mobile devices securely according to a given scenario;
• Implementing secure protocols within a presented situation.

Design and Architecture

In the framework of this domain, which makes up 15% of the exam content, the candidates are required to prove their expertise in the following areas:

• Defining the use cases and purpose for frameworks, best practices & secure configuration guides;
• Implementing the secure network architecture concepts with the help of a given scenario;
• Describing the importance of the secure staging deployment concepts;
• Explaining the security implications of embedded systems;
• Summarizing the secure application development & deployment concepts;
• Describing the importance of physical security controls;
• Implementing the design of the security system according to a given scenario;
• Explaining how the resiliency & automation strategies reduce risk;
• Summarizing the Cloud and virtualization concepts.

Access Management & Identity

This part makes up 16% of the exam questions and requires that the applicants perform their proficiency in the following processes:

• In a given scenario, installing and configuring identity and access services;
• Implementing identity & access management controls with an assigned situation;
• Comparing and contrasting the identity and access management concepts;
• Differentiating the common account management practices with the help of a supplied scenario.

Risk Management

About 14% of the whole content measures the professionals’ understanding of the following operations:

• Explaining the importance of policies, plans, and procedures related to organizational security;
• Summarizing the business impact analysis concepts;
• Explaining the risk management processes & concepts;
• Following the incident response procedures with the help of a given scenario;
• Summarizing the basic concepts of forensics;
• Explaining the disaster recovery & continuity of operations concepts;
• Comparing and contrasting various types of controls;
• Carrying out data security & privacy practices with a presented situation.

PKI and Cryptography

This topic makes up 12% of the exam content and evaluates your abilities to perform the following processes:

• Installing and configuring the wireless security settings with the help of a supplied scenario;
• Comparing and contrasting the basic concepts of cryptography;
• Explaining the cryptography algorithms & their basic characteristics;
• Implementing the public key infrastructure according to a given situation.

Career Bonuses

After passing the CompTIA SY0-501 exam and obtaining the Security+ certification, the individuals open the gates to prestigious job roles with respectable earnings. Thus, you can decide between several positions, such as a Security Administrator, a Network Engineer, a Cloud Engineer, a Security Engineer, a Security Analyst, an IT Auditor, a Systems Administrator, a Help Desk Manager, a DevOps Developer, a Help Desk Analyst, a Software Developer, an IT Project Manager, and many more. The average salary can be up to $120,000 per year, depending on your title, related tasks, working experience, and other criteria.

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