CCSP vs CCSK: An Even Handed Comparison
The number of professionals seeking Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) and Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) credentials is increasing consistently. We all know the reason behind it is that these are the two best certification to validate a persons knowledge and skills in the domain of Cloud security. Since both CCSP and CCSK are getting a lot of attention, and are offering highly paid jobs, it is not easy for the aspirants to choose one of them which suits their requirement. This blog is offering an even handed comparison between CCSP and CCSK which, I hope will help you to choose one of the certification to promote your career.
CCSP and CCSK have been introduced with two different purposes. Let’s have a closer look on each of them individually and understand the benefits of CCSP and CCSK certifications.
Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK)
What is CCSK?
CIO Magazine has termed CCSK as the “mother of all cloud computing security certifications.” It is popular among the professionals for upgrading them with entry-level to midrange cloud security skills and thus, accelerate their career. This web based examination validates an individual’s skillset in key cloud security issues. This certification tests the knowledge aspect of the aspirant. No wonder CCSK has been chosen as the best
IT certification in terms of average salary by Certification Magazine.
What is CCSP?
Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) was jointly launched by Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and ISC2 in 2015. This certification challenges the knowledge and the practical experience of the aspirants. Thus, CCSP offers in depth professional concept in the domain of Cloud Security. It has a global acceptance and like CCSK, professionals with CCSP are in great demand.
Because of the similar domain of Cloud Security, we sometimes consider CCSP and CCSK as competitive certifications but the fact is they are complementing each other.
Main differences between the two certifications are:
- Knowledge required : To obtain CCSK one must be well acquainted with CSA Guidance,
- CSA Cloud Control Matrix and
- ENISA document
CCSP certification needs vast knowledge in addition to the above mentioned documents. Exam also has syllabus on practical experience.
Experience required:
There is no experience requirement for CCSK. All one needs to get through this certification is to pass an objective type exam with good knowledge in the already mentioned two key documents.
CCSP only allows professionals with 5 years of experience in the domain. In the exact words of CCSP, the experience required is “minimum of 5 years of full-time, paid, cumulative information technology, including at least 3 years of information security and 1 year of cloud computing.”
Exam Format:
CCSK is centred on testing knowledge and follows the format of objective type exam which has multiple choice answers.
CCSP centres its focus on both theoretical and practical knowledge based on the experience. Therefore, exam has both objective as well as problem solving questions.
Cost of Exam:
CCSP is $699 USD as compared to CCSK exam is $395
Maintenance of Certification:
CCSK has no hard and fast rule or annual charges to maintain the certification.
But CCSP like other ISC2 certifications has annual maintenance charges for this certification.
Thus, we observe that all those who are new to Cloud Security may choose CCSK and for all those IT professionals already working in this domain, CCSP is a golden opportunity. If you are interested in more details about these certifications, please visit the official website of InfosecTrain. They offer Online as well as onsite training for CCSP/CCSK. Check out their latest schedule for training and get enrolled now.
Contact Us
1800-843-7890 (India) 
