BKCISPPQ.RVW   20071119

"CISSP Practice Questions Exam Cram 2", Michael C. Gregg, 2005,
0-7897-3305-6, U$29.99/C$42.99
%A   Michael C. Gregg
%C   201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN   46290
%D   2005
%E   Ed Tittel
%G   0-7897-3305-6
%I   Que
%O   U$29.99/C$42.99 800-858-7674 317-581-3743 http://www.mcp.com
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789733056/robsladesinterne
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789733056/robsladesinte-21
%O   http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789733056/robsladesin03-20
%O   Audience i Tech 1 Writing 1 (see revfaq.htm for explanation)
%P   202 p. + CD-ROM
%T   "CISSP Practice Questions Exam Cram 2"

There are a number of book versions of practice questions for those
challenging the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security
Professional) exam.  This is yet another.

Most of the questions are far too simplistic to represent those on the
CISSP exam.  The vast majority of the queries in the book have simple
fact-based answers, only occasionally moving into the realm of
synthesis.  The analytical and critical thinking challenges, dealing
with conceptual issues, that make up the bulk of the CISSP exam are
almost completely absent from this text.  A great many questions in
the book have a significant amount of extraneous and irrelevant detail
added, apparently in an attempt to appear to be complex, but the
solution almost inevitably turns out to be based on a rudimentary
definition.

In most cases the answers given would probably match those accepted if
these questions were on the exam.  Many of the resolutions turn on
minor issues of wording, and the CISSP exam, while it does pay
attention to terminology, frequently requires that you accept
synonyms, in order to prove understanding rather than rote memory.

Again, even if the answer is correct, sometimes the explanation makes
no sense.  A question on the multilevel Biba model, for example,
properly identifies integrity as the major factor, but the explanation
states that Biba is a model "in which security may only flow down." 
(It makes no sense to talk about the flow of "security" since the Biba
model deals with information flow restrictions, and "down" needs to be
defined in terms of accuracy.)

Don't rely on this to pass the CISSP exam.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2007   BKCISPPQ.RVW   20071119