Passed CISM (AUG 2023) // Study Material

ITSurfer · September 2023

To return the favor(s), I wanted to share what i used to study to meet the minimum 450 score. I came here to read, even though most were dated, opinions and options in how to prepare.

In 2022, I took the Cybrary.it CISM video course as well as Thor Pederson. I took CISM DEC 2022 and failed with a score of 423.

441 Information Security Governance

441 Information Security Risk Management

396 Information Security Program

432 Incident Management

Took a few months or so off, wallowed in defeat, then got serious with it and buckled down in JUN 2023 and primarily used the ISACA CISM QAE and the CISM All in One 2nd Edition by Peter H. Gregory. Spent at least an hour a day on these two. (I didn't watch any of the videos again) I found the QAE invaluable!!! My weaker areas, I used the All in One to study, read it and then would review it again. I really had to shift my thinking and break the questions down, eliminating irrelevant information from the question, then eliminating 2 of the potential answers helped as well. I then took the QAE again and was scoring 80% plus. By changing up my approach, I passed with a 563.

696 Information Security Governance

563 Information Security Risk Management

535 Information Security Program

516 Incident Management

I opted to take it remotely, via PSI, both times. Both times, i had issues connecting, even though my systems passed the pre checks. Once I got in and started the test, no issues with PSI.

Hope this helps someone.

lennyscoup · September 2023

Thanks for sharing the experience. These are both great resources for preparation.Anyway, the CISM exam is challenging, and it's important to be able to think critically and analytically.