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CompTIA Security+

Security+ Exam Facts

Exam CodeSY0-701
Number of QuestionsMaximum of 90 (multiple-choice and performance-based)
Exam Duration90 minutes
Passing Score750 (scale of 100–900)
Cert Valid For3 years from date of certification
Recommended ExperienceCompTIA Network+ and 2 years IT/security experience
LanguagesEnglish, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai

Exam Domains

1.0 General Security Concepts 12%
2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities & Mitigations 22%
3.0 Security Architecture 18%
4.0 Security Operations 28%
5.0 Program Management & Oversight 20%

What Does Security+ Cover?

12%

1.0 General Security Concepts

Covers security controls including technical, preventive, detective, corrective, compensating, and directive types. Reviews CIA, non‑repudiation, AAA, zero trust, and deception technologies. Addresses change‑management processes, business impacts, and version control. Also examines cryptographic solutions such as PKI, encryption, hashing, obfuscation, digital signatures, and blockchain.

22%

2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities & Mitigations

Covers threat actors and motivations, major attack vectors, and common vulnerabilities across software, hardware, cloud, mobile, and supply chains. Includes malware, password, network, physical, and cryptographic attacks. Also focuses on mitigation techniques such as segmentation, access control, hardening, configuration enforcement, isolation, and patching to reduce risk

18%

3.0 Security Architecture

Covers secure architecture models across on‑premises, cloud, virtualization, IoT, ICS, and IaC. Applies security principles to enterprise infrastructure, communication, and access. Reviews data types, protection methods, and classification. Also addresses resilience and recovery through high availability, site planning, testing, backups, power considerations, and continuity of operations.

28%

4.0 Security Operations

Covers securing computing resources through baselines, hardening, mobile and application security, and continuous monitoring. Includes asset management, vulnerability identification and remediation, and enterprise controls like firewalls, IDS/IPS, DLP, NAC, and EDR/XDR. Reviews IAM, automation, and orchestration, along with full incident response, threat hunting, forensics, and log‑based investigations.

20%

5.0 Program Management & Oversight

Covers security governance through policies, standards, procedures, roles, and monitoring. Addresses risk identification, assessment, reporting, and BIA. Includes third‑party risk management, compliance requirements, and privacy obligations. Reviews audits, assessments, and penetration testing. Also emphasizes security awareness training, phishing recognition, user reporting, and behavioral monitoring.

Why You Need Security+ Now More Than Ever

Security+ is the most widely requested entry-level cybersecurity certification across private sector job postings. Security+ validates the baseline skills necessary to perform core security functions and is the first certification cybersecurity professionals should earn. SY0-701 reflects the current security landscape, zero trust, cloud-native environments, automated threat response, and hybrid infrastructure. If you earn Security+ now, you are certified on the skills employers are actively looking for today.

The U.S. Department of Defense requires Security+ certification under Directive 8140 for all personnel performing information assurance functions. Beyond government, Security+ is the most widely requested entry-level cybersecurity certification across private sector job postings.

CompTIA Certification Pathway

CompTIA Tech+
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Security+ ← You are here
CompTIA CySA+
CompTIA PenTest+
Mike Meyers

Pass Security+ with Mike Meyers

Mike Meyers — the Alpha Geek and the most recognized name in CompTIA certification training — has helped over 1 million IT professionals pass their exams. Total Seminars provides everything you need to prepare, understand, and pass the Security+ SY0-701 exam.

The TotalVideo series, TotalTester practice exams, and TotalSims performance-based simulations work together to give you complete coverage of every exam objective — the same way Mike has been training IT professionals for over 25 years.

What Jobs Does Security+ Qualify You For?

CompTIA Security+ meets U.S. Department of Defense Directive requirements and is recognized by employers worldwide. Roles that commonly require or prefer Security+ include:

Security Administrator
Systems Administrator
Network Administrator
Security Analyst
IT Auditor
Incident Responder
Vulnerability Analyst
Cyber Defense Analyst
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