CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: 5 Key Domains

Preparing for the CompTIA Security+ exam? The CompTIA Security+ Study Guide for Exam SY0-701 by Mike Chapple and David Seidl, published by Wiley, is a comprehensive resource that covers all essential cybersecurity concepts and exam objectives.

But let’s face it, not everyone has time to go through all 439 pages. That’s why Easy Prep has done the work for you, condensing the key knowledge from the official guide into one clear, concise article.

CompTIA Security+ Study Guide

General Security Concepts

General Security Concepts

General Security Concepts refer to the foundational principles and practices used to protect information systems from unauthorized access, disruption, or destruction. These concepts form the basis of modern cybersecurity frameworks and are essential for understanding how to build and maintain secure digital environments.

Key elements of General Security Concepts:

• Goals of Information Security (CIA Triad): Confidentiality: Ensuring that only authorized individuals can access information. Integrity: Guaranteeing that data is accurate and has not been altered. Availability: Making sure systems and data are accessible when needed.
• Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA): Authentication verifies user identity. Authorization grants access to resources based on identity. Accounting tracks user actions for auditing and security analysis.
• Security controls categories: Preventive controls stop attacks before they happen (e.g., firewalls). Detective controls identify incidents (e.g., intrusion detection systems). Corrective controls respond and recover from attacks (e.g., backups).
• Gap analysis: A method to compare the existing security posture against industry standards to identify areas for improvement.
• Zero Trust architecture: A security model that assumes no device or user is trusted by default, even inside the network.
• Physical security measures: These include access control systems, security guards, and surveillance cameras to protect hardware and premises.
• Deception technologies: Tools like honeypots and honeytokens that mislead attackers and gather intelligence on their behavior.
• Change management: A structured approach to managing changes in IT systems to reduce security risks and operational disruptions.

Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations

Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations

Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations form the core of understanding how cyberattacks happen and, more importantly, how to prevent them. This domain helps cybersecurity professionals identify the different types of risks facing systems and data, and provides essential strategies to reduce or eliminate them.

Key elements of Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations:

• Types of vulnerabilities: Configuration issues, unpatched software, and default credentials are common gaps that attackers exploit. Vulnerabilities can be physical, human-based, or technical.
• Malware: Includes viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, and spyware. Each type of malware behaves differently, but all aim to disrupt or gain unauthorized access.
• Understanding attackers: Threat actors range from script kiddies to nation-state actors. Motivation can include financial gain, ideology, revenge, or espionage.
• Social engineering attacks: Manipulation techniques like phishing, pretexting, and tailgating. Often the easiest and most effective method for attackers to bypass technical defenses.
• Password attacks: Includes brute-force, dictionary attacks, and credential stuffing. Weak or reused passwords increase risk significantly.
• Application attacks: Exploits such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows target software vulnerabilities.
• Cryptanalytic attacks: Attacks that aim to break or bypass encryption (e.g., brute-force decryption, birthday attacks). Highlights the need for strong encryption standards and key management.
• Network attacks: Examples include Denial-of-Service (DoS), Man-in-the-Middle (MitM), and ARP spoofing. Typically target the availability or integrity of network communications.
• Attack indicators: Signs such as unusual network traffic, unauthorized access attempts, or system anomalies. Early detection enables quicker mitigation.

Security Architecture

Security Architecture

Security Architecture refers to the structured design and implementation of security controls within IT environments, both physical and virtual. This domain provides a deep understanding of how networks, cloud systems, and embedded devices are built securely, how they interact, and how data is protected and recovered during and after incidents.

Key elements of Security Architecture:

• Cloud computing: Delivers on-demand access to computing resources (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS). Introduces shared responsibility between cloud providers and customers.
• Virtualization: Allows multiple virtual machines (VMs) to run on a single physical system. Provides flexibility and cost efficiency, but also introduces new security concerns like VM escape.
• Cloud building blocks: Core services such as storage, compute, and networking. Each must be properly configured and monitored to prevent misconfigurations.
• Cloud activities: Includes provisioning, orchestration, deployment, scaling, and monitoring. Security must be integrated into each phase of the cloud lifecycle.
• Cloud security controls: Encompass identity and access management (IAM), encryption, logging, and network segmentation. Help maintain confidentiality, integrity, and availability in cloud environments.
• TCP/IP Networking: Understanding IP addressing, ports, protocols, and how attacks target these elements (e.g., spoofing, scanning). Essential for implementing secure communication.
• Secure network design: Includes segmentation (VLANs, DMZ), redundancy, and defense-in-depth. Reduces the attack surface and improves containment during breaches.
• Network security devices: Firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and unified threat management (UTM). Act as gatekeepers for network traffic.
• Network security techniques: Techniques like tunneling (VPN), port security, and network access control (NAC). Reinforce perimeter and internal network defenses.
• Embedded systems security: Focuses on securing IoT devices, industrial control systems (ICS), and firmware. Often overlooked, but critical in environments like healthcare and manufacturing.
• Data protection: Includes encryption, tokenization, masking, and access controls. Ensures data privacy in motion, at rest, and in use.
• Resilience and recovery: Disaster recovery plans (DRP), business continuity plans (BCP), and backup strategies. Ensure operations can continue during outages or attacks.

Security Operations

Security Operations

Security Operations involve the day-to-day tasks, processes, and tools used to maintain a secure IT environment. This domain equips cybersecurity professionals with the skills to implement security policies, detect and respond to threats, and manage user access and device security – all while maintaining system integrity and business continuity.

Key elements of Security Operations:

• Data security controls: Use of encryption, access control lists (ACLs), and data loss prevention (DLP) tools to protect sensitive information at rest, in transit, and in use.
• Host security: Ensuring that endpoints such as desktops, laptops, and servers are hardened through antivirus, patch management, and secure configurations.
• Configuration enforcement: Maintaining system integrity through configuration baselines, automation tools (e.g., Group Policy), and security templates.
• Mobile device security: Implementing mobile device management (MDM), remote wiping, screen locks, and application whitelisting to secure smartphones and tablets.
• Wireless networking: Securing wireless access points with WPA3, disabling SSID broadcast, and using RADIUS for authentication.
• Code security: Validating input, securing APIs, and following secure development lifecycle (SDLC) principles to prevent vulnerabilities in software.
• Threat intelligence: Using open-source and commercial feeds to stay informed on emerging threats, indicators of compromise (IoCs), and attacker tactics.
• Vulnerability management: Scanning for known vulnerabilities, prioritizing based on risk, and applying timely patches or mitigations.
• Penetration testing and exercises: Simulating attacks through ethical hacking and conducting red/blue team exercises to test response capabilities.
• Security alerting, monitoring, and automation: Utilizing SIEM systems, automated responses, and centralized logging to detect and respond to incidents in real-time.
• Secure protocols: Using protocols like HTTPS, SFTP, SSH, and IPsec to ensure data is transmitted securely over networks.
• Identification, authentication, and authorization: Ensuring that users are properly identified, verified, and granted the appropriate level of access using multifactor authentication (MFA) and role-based access control (RBAC).
• Account management: Managing user lifecycle processes such as provisioning, de-provisioning, auditing, and enforcing password policies.
• Incident response: Following an incident response plan (IRP) that includes detection, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.
• Digital forensics: Collecting, analyzing, and preserving digital evidence following legal and procedural standards after a breach or suspicious activity.

Security Program Management and Oversight

Security Program Management and Oversight

Security Program Management and Oversight focuses on the strategic and organizational side of cybersecurity. This domain helps professionals align security practices with business goals, manage risks, enforce governance, and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks. It’s where leadership, policy, and process intersect to maintain a mature, scalable security posture.

Key elements of Security Program Management and Oversight:

• Security policies: Formal documents that define acceptable use, password management, remote access, and data handling. Serve as the foundation for enforcing consistent security behavior across the organization.
• Security governance: Involves setting security direction through frameworks like ISO 27001, NIST, and COBIT. Defines roles, responsibilities, and accountability for security efforts.
• Risk analysis: Identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing risks based on likelihood and impact. Methods include qualitative, quantitative, and hybrid approaches.
• Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM): Assessing third-party vendors and partners for potential vulnerabilities. Includes contract requirements, vendor audits, and security assessments.
• Privacy and compliance: Ensuring that data collection and processing adhere to laws like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. Involves data classification, retention policies, and user consent management.
• Auditing: Conducting regular reviews and assessments to validate compliance with security standards and policies. Supports transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Final thoughts

This CompTIA Security+ study guide provides everything you need – from beginner-friendly introductions to in-depth insights into key exam objectives – along with valuable resources to support your certification journey. We hope this guide proves useful as you prepare for your CompTIA Security+ certification.