Certified: The CISM Prepcast

Welcome to The Bare Metal Cyber CISM Prepcast. This series helps you prepare for the exam with focused explanations and practical context.
In the world of cybersecurity, choosing the right certification is one of the most important decisions a professional can make. Certifications do more than just validate your skills—they shape how others see you, open new doors, and guide the direction of your career. Among the many options available, three certifications stand out for their high impact and global recognition: CISM, CISSP, and CRISC. Each of these credentials supports a different kind of career path, and understanding their differences will help you make a choice that reflects your goals and strengths. Before investing time and effort, it’s critical to understand not just the content of each exam but also the professional roles and responsibilities each one supports.
The Certified Information Security Manager, known as CISM, focuses entirely on leadership in information security. It does not test your ability to configure a firewall or deploy an antivirus solution—instead, it asks if you can lead a security program that supports business goals, manage risk, and respond effectively to security incidents. CISM is designed for professionals who make decisions, allocate resources, write policies, and report to senior leadership. Common job titles aligned with CISM include security manager, director of security, information security officer, and even chief information security officer. To earn the certification, you must have at least five years of information security experience, with at least three of those years in management roles across three or more of the four CISM domains.
CISM’s domains are governance, risk management, program development and management, and incident management. Together, they reflect the responsibilities of a security leader who balances technical oversight with business strategy. CISM certification is not meant for entry-level professionals or for those seeking highly technical validation. Instead, it prepares you for roles where you coordinate across departments, manage a team, oversee third-party vendors, and explain security needs in board meetings. To keep your CISM certification valid, you must earn one hundred and twenty continuing professional education credits every three years and report at least twenty credits per year. These credits ensure that you continue learning and adapting as the field evolves.
Now let’s look at the Certified Information Systems Security Professional, or CISSP. This certification is known for its wide coverage of cybersecurity topics and is often seen as the gold standard for broad-based cybersecurity knowledge. CISSP tests your understanding across eight domains, including topics like identity and access management, asset security, software development security, and security operations. Unlike CISM, which focuses on high-level leadership, CISSP includes detailed knowledge about encryption methods, network protocols, and secure system architecture. This makes it a strong fit for professionals who work in security engineering, architecture, administration, or high-level technical consulting roles.
The CISSP certification is governed by ISC squared, and to be eligible, you must have five years of full-time work experience across two or more of the eight domains. Like CISM, CISSP also has a continuing education requirement, which means you must earn credits each year to maintain your certification. CISSP is often pursued by professionals who lead technical teams or design secure systems for large organizations. It demonstrates that you understand both the theory and practice of information security at a deep technical level. While CISSP does include some managerial content, its emphasis is broader and includes more operational and architectural content than CISM.
Next, consider the Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control credential, or CRISC. This certification is provided by ISACA, just like CISM, but it is focused almost entirely on risk. CRISC tests your ability to identify, assess, and manage IT and enterprise risk across four specific domains. These include risk identification, risk assessment, risk response and mitigation, and risk and control monitoring. This makes CRISC a highly specialized certification for professionals working in audit, compliance, risk analysis, and internal controls.
CRISC is well-suited for professionals who help organizations understand their exposure to IT risks and implement appropriate safeguards. Common job titles for CRISC holders include risk manager, IT auditor, compliance officer, and control analyst. To be eligible for CRISC, you must have at least three years of experience in at least two of the CRISC domains. Unlike CISM or CISSP, CRISC does not require technical implementation knowledge—it is about evaluating controls, managing risk frameworks, and supporting risk-aware decision-making. As with other ISACA certifications, maintaining CRISC requires ongoing education through the accumulation of continuing professional education credits.
To make a meaningful comparison between these three certifications, it’s helpful to look at what each one prioritizes. CISM emphasizes aligning security with business strategy. The exam asks if you can develop policies, guide program implementation, communicate risk to executives, and ensure compliance with laws and regulations. CISSP has a broader scope, covering both technical and managerial areas, and its exam includes questions about cryptographic algorithms, access control models, and network defense. CRISC, in contrast, focuses deeply on how to manage IT risk, with scenario-based questions about how to measure risk exposure, design controls, and monitor effectiveness. Each exam reflects a different philosophy about what it means to lead in cybersecurity.
The domain structures also reflect these differences. CISM has four domains, each focused on a key area of security management. CISSP has eight domains that span the entire security landscape, blending theory, operations, and architecture. CRISC has four domains, all tied directly to the risk lifecycle. These structures shape the types of questions you’ll see and the study path you’ll follow. Choosing the right certification means choosing the kind of knowledge and responsibilities you want to be accountable for in your career.
If you see yourself leading information security initiatives, making strategic decisions, and communicating directly with executives, then CISM may be the best fit. It supports a pathway to becoming a security manager, director, or officer responsible for enterprise-wide security alignment. If your interests lie in designing secure networks, managing systems, or serving as a subject matter expert across many technical areas, CISSP may be more appropriate. If your goal is to become a specialist in risk analysis, auditing, or compliance—especially in regulated environments—then CRISC could be the right choice. Matching the credential to your long-term goals ensures that your time and energy are invested where they will provide the most return.
It’s also helpful to look at how each exam is delivered and structured. The CISM exam is made up of one hundred and twenty-five multiple-choice questions that are all scenario-based, requiring judgment and management-level decision-making. CISSP uses an adaptive testing format for English-speaking candidates. This means the exam adjusts question difficulty based on how you respond, and it includes different types of items such as multiple response and drag-and-drop questions. The CRISC exam is also multiple choice, with questions focused on specific risk-based scenarios. Each exam is approximately four hours in length and has a unique scoring method, so preparation must be customized accordingly.
The level of difficulty you experience will depend in part on your background. Someone with a deep technical background may find CISSP more comfortable, while someone with experience in program management or risk governance may prefer CISM or CRISC. However, all three exams require thoughtful preparation and a strong understanding of real-world concepts. Practice questions are a must, especially for scenario-based formats like CISM and CRISC. Learning to analyze situations and apply your knowledge to uncertain or conflicting choices is a core part of what these exams measure.
Another critical consideration is professional experience. For CISM, candidates need five years of information security experience with at least three years in a management capacity. CISSP requires five years of experience across its broad set of domains but does not require management-level roles. CRISC has a shorter requirement—three years of experience in risk management and control—but that experience must align directly with the job tasks defined by ISACA. Each certification also requires verification of this experience through an endorsement process. This step is often overlooked, but it is essential to becoming fully certified after passing the exam.
The endorsement process typically involves a manager, supervisor, or peer attesting to your work experience. For ISACA certifications like CISM and CRISC, this endorsement must confirm that you’ve performed responsibilities related to the specific domains tested. For CISSP, ISC squared also requires an endorsement, but the process may be slightly different depending on how your experience aligns with the eight domains. Failing to complete this step after passing the exam can delay or prevent full certification. It’s important to plan ahead and ensure that your work experience meets the criteria before scheduling your exam.
Once certified, all three credentials require ongoing education to remain valid. CISM and CRISC follow ISACA’s standard model of one hundred and twenty continuing professional education credits over three years, with a minimum of twenty credits earned annually. These credits can be earned through webinars, conferences, university courses, or approved self-study programs. CISSP requires one hundred and twenty credits as well but follows ISC squared’s reporting format and also includes annual maintenance fees. Missing the annual credit or payment requirements can lead to suspension, which can affect your ability to maintain contracts, job roles, or access to professional resources.
If you do not maintain your certification in good standing, you may have to retake the exam or reapply after a lapse period. This is especially significant for roles that require active certification, such as positions in government, consulting, or compliance. For professionals in leadership, falling out of good standing can also damage your credibility with stakeholders or executive teams. That is why it’s important to treat certification maintenance as part of your career responsibilities—not just a one-time milestone. Keeping up with continuing education also ensures you stay informed as new threats, technologies, and standards emerge.
Making the final decision about which certification to pursue begins with a clear self-assessment. Ask yourself whether you prefer guiding strategy, diving into technical details, or analyzing organizational risk. CISM supports professionals who want to lead from the top and influence the direction of security within a company. CISSP supports professionals who want to apply broad technical knowledge to a wide range of roles. CRISC supports professionals who want to specialize in risk, controls, and governance processes that affect every part of the organization.
Take the time to map your past experience against each certification’s domain structure. Think about the tasks you’ve performed, the roles you’ve held, and the responsibilities you’ve taken on. If you’re already working in a management or strategic capacity, CISM may be a natural next step. If you’ve been responsible for system configuration, security testing, or policy implementation across various platforms, CISSP might be the better fit. If you work with auditors, analyze risk registers, or write control recommendations, CRISC may align more closely with your day-to-day work.
Once you choose a certification, the next step is to commit to a structured preparation plan. This includes selecting up-to-date study materials, creating a realistic study schedule, and practicing with domain-specific questions. For CISM, focus on decision-making frameworks, governance models, and scenario analysis. For CISSP, make sure to cover each of the eight domains and use adaptive practice exams if possible. For CRISC, pay special attention to the language of risk, control implementation, and continuous monitoring.
Thanks for joining us for this episode of The Bare Metal Cyber CISM Prepcast. For more episodes, tools, and study support, visit us at Bare Metal Cyber dot com.