Security+ Exam Objectives: The Key Topics to Study

The cybersecurity industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, with over 750,000 unfilled positions in the U.S. alone. At the heart of this booming field lies the CompTIA Security+ certification—your gateway to a lucrative cybersecurity career.

If you're preparing for the Security+ exam objectives, you're taking the right step toward joining this high-demand profession. Security+ certified professionals earn competitive salaries and gain access to roles that form the backbone of organizational cybersecurity.

But here's what makes the difference between passing and failing: understanding exactly what you'll be tested on. The Security+ exam objectives aren't just a list of topics—they're your roadmap to cybersecurity expertise. This comprehensive guide breaks down every domain, concept, and skill area you need to master for exam success.

Understanding the CompTIA Security+ Certification

What is the Security+ certification?

The CompTIA Security+ certification is a vendor-neutral, globally recognized credential that validates foundational cybersecurity skills and knowledge. As one of the most respected entry-level certifications in cybersecurity, Security+ demonstrates your ability to assess security posture, recommend security solutions, and monitor network activity.

Unlike vendor-specific certifications that focus on particular products or platforms, Security+ covers universal cybersecurity principles that apply across all technology environments. This makes it incredibly valuable for professionals who want flexibility in their career paths and employers who need versatile security expertise.

The certification is DoD 8570 approved, meaning it meets Department of Defense requirements for information assurance positions. This government endorsement has created consistent demand across both public and private sectors, making Security+ one of the most sought-after credentials for cybersecurity professionals.

Why pursue the Security+ certification?

Security+ serves as the perfect entry point into cybersecurity careers, especially for professionals transitioning from other IT roles or those starting fresh in the field. The certification provides immediate credibility and demonstrates your commitment to cybersecurity excellence.

The financial benefits are compelling. Entry-level Security+ professionals typically see a 15-25% salary increase compared to non-certified colleagues, and the certification typically pays for itself within the first year. With over 700,000 professionals already certified globally, you'll join a community of respected cybersecurity experts.

Beyond immediate financial gains, Security+ opens doors to advanced certifications like CISSP, CCSP, and specialized security roles. Many professionals use Security+ as a stepping stone to senior positions that can reach the industry median of $124,910.

Who should take the Security+ exam?

Security+ is ideal for IT professionals with at least two years of experience in IT administration with a security focus, though motivated newcomers can succeed with dedicated preparation. The certification suits network administrators, system administrators, security administrators, and junior IT auditors looking to specialize in cybersecurity.

Career changers find Security+ particularly valuable because it provides comprehensive coverage of essential security concepts without requiring extensive prior cybersecurity experience. The certification also appeals to military personnel transitioning to civilian careers, thanks to its DoD 8570 compliance.

If you're currently in help desk, network support, or system administration roles and want to move into cybersecurity, Security+ provides the perfect bridge. The practical, hands-on knowledge you'll gain directly applies to real-world security challenges you'll face in your career.

Overview of Security+ Exam Objectives (SY0-701)

Exam structure and format

The current Security+ exam (SY0-701) consists of a maximum of 90 questions delivered in multiple formats, including multiple-choice and performance-based questions. You'll have 90 minutes to complete the exam, requiring efficient time management and solid preparation.

Performance-based questions (PBQs) are particularly important because they test your ability to apply security concepts in simulated real-world scenarios. These questions might ask you to configure firewalls, analyze network traffic, or implement security controls in a virtual environment. PBQs typically carry more weight than standard multiple-choice questions, so mastering practical skills is crucial.

The passing score is 750 on a scale of 100-900, meaning you need to demonstrate solid competency across all exam domains. The exam uses adaptive scoring, so more difficult questions carry greater weight. This scoring method rewards deep understanding over memorization.

Key changes from previous versions

The SY0-701 version, launched on November 7, 2023, updates the previous SY0-601 exam with fewer objectives (28 vs. 35) and a more focused approach to current cybersecurity practices. According to CompTIA, 20% of exam objectives were updated to reflect current industry needs. The updates emphasize the latest trends in threats, attacks, vulnerabilities, automation, zero trust, risk, IoT, OT, and cloud environments, as well as enhanced focus on communication, reporting, and teamwork skills.

The SY0-701 version addresses hybrid environments with techniques for cybersecurity professionals working in both cloud and on-premises environments, recognizing that modern security professionals must be familiar with both worlds. The exam covers core technical skills in risk assessment and management, incident response, forensics, enterprise networks, hybrid/cloud operations, and security controls.

CompTIA restructured the domains to better reflect real-world job requirements, with several exam domains and objectives re-ordered and re-named to address instructional design improvements. The changes ensure the certification addresses skills needed for professionals to be more proactive in preventing cyberattacks.

Domain weightings and percentages

The SY0-701 exam is organized into five domains with different weightings that reflect the importance of each area in real-world cybersecurity roles. Understanding these weightings helps you prioritize your study time effectively.

CompTIA provides domain weightings in the official exam objectives document, which you should review as part of your preparation. The domains are structured to emphasize practical, hands-on skills that entry-level security professionals need most.

The weighting system reflects current industry priorities, with operational security activities receiving significant emphasis since most entry-level positions focus on day-to-day security operations. Areas like incident response and architecture design also receive substantial coverage, reflecting the broad skill set modern cybersecurity professionals need.

Rather than memorizing exact percentages, focus on understanding that all five domains are important for both exam success and career preparation. The certification covers the full spectrum of foundational cybersecurity knowledge you'll need in your first security role.

Detailed Breakdown of Exam Domains

The Security+ SY0-701 exam is organized into five core domains with specific weightings that reflect their importance in real-world cybersecurity roles. Understanding each domain helps you focus your preparation and understand how these concepts apply in your future security career.

Domain 1: General Security Concepts (12%)

This foundational domain establishes the core principles that underpin all security practices. While it carries the smallest percentage weight, these concepts form the backbone of everything else you'll encounter in cybersecurity.

Key areas include various types of security controls, fundamental security concepts, the importance of change management processes, and cryptographic solutions. You'll need to understand preventive, detective, and corrective controls, as well as administrative, technical, and physical control categories.

This domain also covers essential security principles like confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA triad), along with authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) concepts. Understanding these fundamentals is crucial because they provide the common language and conceptual framework used throughout the cybersecurity industry.

Domain 2: Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations (22%)

As the second-largest domain, this area focuses on understanding the security threats organizations face and how to address them effectively. With over a fifth of the exam devoted to this area, you'll need thorough knowledge of both attacker methodologies and defense strategies.

Key topics include threat actors and motivations, threat vectors and attack surfaces, types of vulnerabilities, mitigation techniques, and indicators of malicious activity. You'll study various attack types from social engineering to advanced persistent threats, understanding both how they work and how to defend against them.

This domain teaches you to think like both attacker and defender—a critical skill for identifying security weaknesses before they can be exploited. You'll learn to recognize indicators of compromise, understand vulnerability assessment processes, and implement appropriate mitigation strategies for different threat scenarios.

Domain 3: Security Architecture (18%)

This domain addresses how to design and implement secure systems and networks, bridging the gap between security theory and practical implementation across various environments. It covers the fundamental principles of building security into systems from the ground up.

You'll master security implications of different architecture models, concepts and strategies to protect data, security principles to secure enterprise infrastructure, and the importance of resilience and recovery in security architecture. This includes understanding secure network design, cloud security considerations, and mobile device management.

Security Architecture tests your ability to build security into systems from the beginning rather than adding it as an afterthought—a key principle of modern security practice. You'll learn about zero-trust principles, network segmentation strategies, and how to evaluate the security implications of different architectural decisions.

Domain 4: Security Operations (28%)

As the heaviest-weighted domain, Security Operations covers the day-to-day activities that security professionals perform to protect and monitor environments. This practical focus aligns with CompTIA's emphasis on operational skills in the latest exam version.

Focus areas include security techniques, security alerting and monitoring concepts and tools, vulnerability management activities, security implications of proper hardware, software and data asset management, identity and access management, as well as the importance of automation and orchestration and incident response.

This domain tests whether you can translate security knowledge into effective daily practices that protect organizations from evolving threats. You'll learn about security information and event management (SIEM) systems, log analysis, vulnerability scanners, and automated response capabilities that form the core of modern security operations centers.

Domain 5: Security Program Management and Oversight (20%)

This domain examines how security functions at an organizational level through policies, governance, and compliance requirements. It represents the business side of security that practitioners increasingly need to understand in modern cybersecurity roles.

Key areas include elements of effective security governance, the risk management process (including third-party risk assessment and management), types and purposes of audits and assessments, security awareness practices, and elements of effective security compliance.

Domain 5 ensures you understand not just the "how" of security but also the "why"—connecting security practices to business objectives and regulatory requirements. You'll learn about risk assessment methodologies, compliance frameworks like NIST and ISO 27001, and how to develop effective security awareness programs that create organizational security culture.

Essential Skills and Knowledge Areas

Core security concepts

The Security+ exam tests your understanding of fundamental cybersecurity principles that form the foundation of all security practices. These concepts appear throughout multiple exam domains and provide the conceptual framework for more advanced security implementations.

The CIA triad—confidentiality, integrity, and availability—represents the three most important concepts in information security. Confidentiality preserves authorized restrictions on information access and disclosure, while integrity guards against improper information modification or destruction, and availability ensures timely and reliable access to and use of information. These principles work together to guide security policy development and implementation decisions.

Authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) concepts provide the framework for controlling network access. Authentication involves verifying the identity of a user, device, or system, while authorization determines what an authenticated entity is allowed to do within the network. Accounting keeps track of user activity while users are logged in to a network, providing audit trails and usage monitoring essential for security management.

Defense in depth strategies recognize that no single security control provides complete protection. This approach uses multiple layers of security controls throughout an information technology system to provide redundancy in the event a security control fails. According to NIST, defense in depth is an information security strategy integrating people, technology, and operations capabilities to establish variable barriers across multiple layers and missions of the organization.

Practical applications in real-world scenarios

The Security+ exam emphasizes applying security knowledge to solve actual problems rather than just theoretical understanding. Performance-based questions simulate environments where you must configure security tools, analyze threats, and implement appropriate controls based on specific scenarios.

You'll encounter situations requiring risk assessment decisions, where you must evaluate threats, identify vulnerabilities, and recommend appropriate security measures. These scenarios test your ability to balance security requirements with business needs, considering factors like cost, usability, and regulatory compliance.

The exam also presents incident response scenarios that require following established procedures while adapting to specific circumstances. You'll need to demonstrate understanding of proper evidence handling, communication protocols, and recovery procedures that minimize business impact while maintaining security effectiveness.

Critical thinking and problem-solving in cybersecurity

Success on the Security+ exam requires analytical skills that go beyond memorizing facts or procedures. The exam tests your ability to evaluate complex scenarios and apply appropriate security principles to novel situations.

Threat analysis capabilities help you understand attacker motivations and methods, enabling you to anticipate potential attack vectors and design appropriate defensive measures. This includes recognizing indicators of compromise and understanding how different attack techniques relate to each other within the broader context of cybersecurity threats.

Security assessment skills enable you to evaluate existing security postures and identify improvement opportunities. You'll need to understand systematic approaches to security evaluation, including both automated tools and manual assessment techniques that provide comprehensive understanding of organizational security status.

Solution design thinking helps you recommend security controls that fit specific organizational requirements. This requires understanding not just what security technologies can accomplish, but how they integrate with existing systems and support business objectives while maintaining appropriate risk management.

Preparing for the Security+ Exam

Study resources and materials

Effective Security+ preparation requires combining multiple study resources to address different learning styles and reinforce key concepts. Start with a comprehensive study guide that covers all exam objectives in detail. The Security+ Certification Guide provides current information aligned with the latest exam objectives.

Video training courses complement written materials by providing visual explanations of complex concepts. Look for courses that include hands-on demonstrations and practical examples rather than just theoretical discussions. Interactive labs give you the opportunity to practice implementing security controls in simulated environments.

For those seeking the most efficient path to certification, our Security+ BootCamp offers intensive, expert-led preparation that covers all exam objectives in just one week. This immersive training approach combines comprehensive content delivery with hands-on practice, allowing you to master Security+ concepts quickly while building practical skills you'll use in your cybersecurity career.

Practice exams help you assess your readiness and identify knowledge gaps. Quality practice questions mirror the exam format and difficulty level while providing detailed explanations for both correct and incorrect answers. Plan to take multiple practice exams as your preparation progresses, using results to guide your continued study.

Practice exams and question types

Understanding the different question types helps you prepare more effectively and manage exam time efficiently. Standard multiple-choice questions test your knowledge of security concepts, requiring you to select the best answer from four options. These questions often include scenario-based setups that require applying knowledge rather than simple recall.

Performance-based questions (PBQs) simulate real-world tasks using interactive simulations. You might configure firewall rules, analyze log files, or implement security controls in virtual environments. PBQs require practical understanding and typically take longer to complete than multiple-choice questions.

Drag-and-drop questions test your understanding of relationships between security concepts. You might match security controls to appropriate use cases or arrange incident response activities in proper sequence. These questions assess your comprehension of how different security elements work together.

Practice with realistic exam simulations that include proper question distribution and time constraints. This helps you develop pacing strategies and builds confidence for the actual exam experience.

Time management and exam strategies

The 90-minute time limit requires strategic time management throughout the exam. Begin by quickly reviewing all questions to identify PBQs, which typically appear at the beginning or end of the exam. Plan to spend more time on PBQs since they carry greater weight and require more detailed analysis.

Question analysis techniques help you identify key information and eliminate incorrect answers efficiently. Read questions carefully, noting specific requirements and constraints mentioned in scenarios. Look for keywords that indicate what type of answer is expected—technical controls, administrative controls, or business processes.

Answer elimination strategies improve your odds even when you're uncertain about the correct answer. Eliminate obviously incorrect options first, then evaluate remaining choices based on exam objectives and security best practices. When facing scenario-based questions, consider the business context and security requirements described.

Budget approximately one minute per question for multiple-choice items, reserving extra time for PBQs and difficult scenarios. Don't spend excessive time on any single question—mark challenging items for review and return to them after completing the entire exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Mastering the Security+ exam objectives requires systematic preparation across five comprehensive domains that encompass the breadth of entry-level cybersecurity knowledge. From security operations and incident response to architecture design and governance principles, each domain builds upon fundamental concepts while emphasizing practical application in real-world scenarios.

The path to Security+ certification success combines theoretical understanding with hands-on skills, requiring you to think critically about security challenges and apply appropriate solutions. With the cybersecurity job market showing 33% projected growth and Security+ professionals earning competitive salaries starting at $71,697 annually, your investment in thorough preparation pays immediate dividends.

The updated SY0-701 exam objectives reflect the evolving cybersecurity landscape, emphasizing cloud security, zero-trust principles, and automation technologies that define modern security operations. Performance-based questions ensure you can apply knowledge practically, not just recognize correct answers. This approach prepares you for the hands-on challenges you'll face in your cybersecurity career.

Remember that Security+ certification serves as a foundation for continued growth in cybersecurity. Many professionals use this credential as a stepping stone to advanced certifications like CISSP and specialized security roles. The comprehensive knowledge base you build through Security+ preparation provides the conceptual framework needed for lifelong learning in this rapidly evolving field.

Ready to begin your Security+ journey? Our comprehensive Security+ BootCamp provides intensive, expert-led preparation that covers all exam objectives through immersive instruction and hands-on practice. With payment plans available and a proven track record of first-attempt success, we're here to help you achieve your cybersecurity certification goals efficiently and effectively.