This ISC2 CC cheat sheet boils the Certified in Cybersecurity exam down to the terms and concepts ISC2 tests most, weighted across all five official domains. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Pair it with the rest of your free ISC2 CC toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
ISC2 CC exam at a glance
- Certifying body: ISC2 (formerly (ISC)²) — the body behind the CISSP
- Questions: 100 multiple-choice (linear form)
- Time: 2 hours
- Passing score: 700 out of 1000 (scaled)
- Eligibility: No experience required — entry level
- Cost: About $50 to register; verify current ISC2 pricing
What’s on the ISC2 CC cheat sheet
- Security Principles (26%) — the CIA triad and DAD, risk treatments, control type vs. function, governance hierarchy, and the ISC2 Code of Ethics — the largest domain.
- Network Security (24%) — the OSI model, TCP vs. UDP, key ports, common threats (malware, DoS/DDoS), and firewalls, IDS/IPS, VLANs, and VPNs.
- Access Controls Concepts (22%) — physical controls, the AAA sequence, true multi-factor authentication, least privilege, and DAC vs. MAC vs. RBAC.
- Security Operations (18%) — symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption, hashing, data states, hardening and change management, logging, and security awareness.
- BC, DR & Incident Response (10%) — the BIA and MTD/RTO/RPO, recovery sites and backups, and the NIST incident-response lifecycle — smallest but high-value.
How to use it in your final week
- Lead with Security Principles (26%) — the CIA triad, risk treatments (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), and control type vs. function frame nearly every other question on the exam.
- Drill the pairs the exam loves to swap: RTO (time to recover) vs. RPO (data you can lose), event vs. incident, and control TYPE (technical/administrative/physical) vs. FUNCTION (preventive/detective/corrective).
- Memorize the three access control models cold — DAC (owner decides), MAC (labels and clearances), RBAC (by job role) — plus the AAA sequence and true multi-factor crossing categories.
- Read the whole sheet the morning of the test as a final pass, then take one short timed practice set so the 2-hour, 100-item pace feels routine.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your ISC2 CC practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
ISC2 CC cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the ISC2 CC cheat sheet downloads as a PDF at no cost and with no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free Certified in Cybersecurity toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
It condenses the highest-yield facts from all five ISC2 CC domains into a fast reference — the CIA triad and control types, business continuity and incident response, access control models, the OSI model and network defenses, and security operations — organized around the official exam weights.
It maps to the ISC2 CC exam outline effective October 1, 2025, and we review it against the published outline and ISC2 pricing regularly so the domain weights and fees stay accurate.
No — the sheet is a review and last-week cram layer, not a full course. You need a scaled score of 700 out of 1000 across all five domains, so use the sheet to lock in terminology and the practice test to confirm your readiness.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it back up the morning of your exam.
References
- 1.ISC2. “Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) Certification.” isc2.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.ISC2. “CC Certification Exam Outline (effective October 1, 2025).” isc2.org. ↑
- 3.ISC2. “ISC2 Code of Ethics.” isc2.org. ↑
- 4.ISC2. “Register for an ISC2 Exam — Pricing.” isc2.org. ↑
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