CompTIAAssociate Level2026 Updated

CompTIA Security+

Updated May 1, 202612 min readWritten by Certsqill experts

Quick facts — SY0-701

Exam cost

$392 USD

Questions

Maximum 90 (including PBQs)

Time limit

90 minutes

Passing score

750/900

Valid for

3 years (CE)

Testing

Pearson VUE

Who this exam is for

The CompTIA Security+ certification is designed for professionals who work with or want to work with CompTIA technologies in a professional capacity. It is taken by cloud engineers, DevOps practitioners, IT administrators, and technical professionals looking to validate their expertise.

You do not need extensive prior experience to attempt it, but you will benefit from hands-on familiarity with the subject matter. The exam tests applied knowledge and architectural judgment, not just memorization. If you can reason about trade-offs and real-world scenarios, structured practice will handle the rest.

Domain breakdown

The SY0-701 exam is built around official domains, each with a fixed percentage of the question pool. This distribution should directly inform how you allocate your study time.

Domain

Weight

Focus areas

General Security Concepts

12%

Fundamental security terminology, cryptographic concepts, authentication types, and security control categories (technical, managerial, operational, physical).

Threats, Vulnerabilities & Mitigations

22%

Threat actors, attack techniques (phishing, ransomware, supply chain), vulnerability scanning, and appropriate mitigation strategies for common threat types.

Security Architecture

18%

Enterprise security architecture concepts including zero trust, cloud security models, network segmentation, secure network topologies, and infrastructure hardening.

Security Operations

28%

Identity and access management, endpoint security, network monitoring, incident response procedures, digital forensics, and log analysis for security operations.

Security Program Management & Oversight

20%

Data privacy regulations, risk management processes, third-party risk assessment, security awareness training, and compliance frameworks.

Note the domain with the highest weight — many candidates under-invest here because it feels conceptual. In practice, this is where the exam is most precise, with scenario-based questions that test specifics.

What the exam actually tests

This is not a memorization exam. Questions require applied judgment under constraints. Almost every question includes a scenario with explicit requirements and asks you to select the most appropriate solution.

Here are examples of the question types you will encounter:

Performance-Based Question (PBQ)

Drag-and-drop firewall rules to block unauthorized outbound traffic while permitting required services for a given network diagram.

PBQs appear first in the exam and can take 10-15 minutes each. If stuck, flag and move to MCQ questions — come back with remaining time. Practice with CompTIA CertMaster Labs.

Scenario-Based Multiple Choice

A user receives an email appearing to come from their bank's domain asking to verify their account. Which attack type is BEST described and what is the MOST effective mitigation?

Security+ loves spear phishing, vishing, smishing, and whaling distinctions. Know the right mitigation for each: DMARC/DKIM for email spoofing, user training for social engineering.

Zero Trust Architecture

A company wants to ensure that no user or device is automatically trusted, even within the corporate network. Which architectural model BEST supports this requirement?

Zero trust is new and heavily tested in SY0-701. Know its pillars: verify explicitly, use least privilege access, assume breach. Contrast with perimeter-based (castle-and-moat) security.

How to prepare — 4-week study plan

This plan assumes one hour per weekday and roughly 30 minutes of lighter review on weekends. It is calibrated for someone with some relevant experience. If you are starting from zero, add an extra week before Week 1 to familiarise yourself with the basics.

Week 1: Threats, Vulnerabilities & Security Concepts

Study Domain 1 fundamentals: CIA triad, cryptographic algorithm types, PKI concepts, and security control categories
Cover Domain 2 attack types: social engineering, malware categories, application attacks, and network attacks
Learn vulnerability scanning tools (Nessus, OpenVAS) and CVE/CVSS scoring system
Complete 100 practice questions on Domains 1 & 2; aim for 80%+ before moving on

Week 2: Security Architecture & Zero Trust

Master Domain 3: zero trust principles, cloud security models, VPC/subnet segmentation, and SD-WAN security
Study network security components: next-gen firewalls, IDS/IPS, SIEM, SOAR, proxies, and honeypots
Review secure network protocols: TLS 1.3, SSH, SFTP, DNSSEC, and protocol selection scenarios
Practice 80 architecture scenario questions — focus on when to use which control

Week 3: Security Operations & Program Management

Study Domain 4: IAM concepts (MFA, PAM, SSO, federation), endpoint detection, EDR vs antivirus
Cover incident response phases, digital forensics order of volatility, and log analysis techniques
Study Domain 5: GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS requirements and how they drive security controls
Practice 2 full timed mock exams and review all PBQ-type questions

Week 4: PBQ Practice & Final Review

Spend 3+ hours exclusively on PBQ practice: firewall rule ordering, network diagram analysis, log analysis
Review weak domains identified from mock exams; drill any area below 75%
Study DoD 8570/8140 mapping — Security+ is IAT Level II baseline, relevant for government exam justification
Focus on SY0-701 new content: zero trust, SOAR, supply chain security, and IoT security controls

Common mistakes candidates make

These patterns appear repeatedly among candidates who resit this exam. Knowing them in advance is worth several percentage points.

Not practicing Performance-Based Questions

MCQ-only study leaves candidates unprepared for PBQs. These scenario-based interactive questions appear at the start of the exam and test practical skills like configuring ACLs, reading logs, or ordering firewall rules. Use CompTIA's practice labs.

Ignoring cryptographic algorithm selection questions

Security+ tests when to use AES vs RSA vs ECC vs ECDSA. Know that AES is symmetric (fast, bulk data), RSA is asymmetric (slow, key exchange/signing), and ECC provides equivalent security with smaller keys.

Weak on zero trust architecture concepts

SY0-701 added significant zero trust content. Candidates who studied older material miss these questions. Zero trust pillars: verify explicitly, use least privileged access, assume breach. Know microsegmentation and software-defined perimeter.

Running out of time due to PBQs

PBQs appear first and can consume disproportionate exam time. The recommended strategy: flag difficult PBQs after 5 minutes, complete all MCQs (which are faster), then return to PBQs with remaining time.

Is Certsqill right for you?

Honestly: Certsqill is built for candidates who have already done some studying and want to convert knowledge into exam performance. If you have never touched the subject, start with a foundational course first — then come to Certsqill when you are ready to practice.

Where Certsqill is strong: question depth, AI-powered explanations, and domain analytics. Every question is mapped to the exam blueprint. When you get something wrong, the AI tutor explains why the right answer is right and why each wrong answer fails under the specific constraints in the question.

Where Certsqill is not a replacement: video courses and hands-on labs. Use Certsqill to test and sharpen — not as your first exposure to a topic you have never encountered.

Ready to start practicing?

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