Category Archives: CISM

Peter H Gregory’s Study Guides Available For 2023 Top-Rated Certifications

Gregory’s best-selling books cover five of the top ten certifications ranked by salary

January 23, 2023

SEATTLE, Washington – Peter H Gregory’s best-selling certification study guides cover several of the highest-ranked certifications in the 2023 Salary Survey 75 list, including the #1 and #3 spots. Gregory’s books cover five of the top ten paying IT certifications, according to Certification Magazine, which just released its 2023 Salary Survey 75, the top 75 IT certifications ranked by U.S. salaries. The survey covered over 1,200 vendor and non-vendor certifications in IT, IT Security, and privacy.

The top certifications in the survey with best-selling study guides written by Peter H Gregory include:

“I am pleased that these certifications have made such a strong showing,” says Peter H Gregory, who has published over fifty books since 2000. “This success would not be possible, however, without strong support from McGraw-Hill Professional over the past thirteen years with the publication of the first edition of the CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor All-In-One Exam Guide.”

Gregory has written a total of sixteen titles for McGraw-Hill Professional since 2009, including CRISC Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control All-In-One Exam Guide, second edition, co-authored with Bobby Rogers and Dawn Dunkerley. Gregory’s other notable books include CISSP For Dummies (first published in 2002, now in its 7th edition), CISSP Guide to Security Essentials, second editionThe Art of Writing Technical Books, Chromebook For Dummies, and Solaris Security. “All of my published books have fueled my passion for helping IT professionals successfully pursue IT security and privacy careers,” Gregory adds. “The skills that my readers learn enable them to better understand how to protect their organizations’ sensitive information and critical systems.”

About Peter H Gregory

Peter H Gregory is a career information security and privacy leader. He is the author of over fifty books on information security and emerging technology. Visit him at peterhgregory.com.

For interviews with Peter H Gregory, please contact: peter.gregory [at] gmail.com

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You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference Peter H Gregory and include his web address, www.peterhgregory.com.

Peter H Gregory’s Study Guides Available For Top-Rated Certifications

January 4, 2022

SEATTLE, Washington – Peter H Gregory’s top-selling certification study guides cover several of the highest-ranked certifications in the Salary Survey 75 list, including the #1 and #2 spots. Certification Magazine has just released its Salary Survey 75, the top 75 IT certifications ranked by U.S. salaries. The survey covered over 900 vendor and non-vendor certifications in IT, IT Security, and privacy. The survey also includes a “Simmering Salaries” list of certifications where certification holders’ salaries increased at least 7% in 2021.

Top-selling study guides written by Peter H Gregory include:

“I am pleased that my titles’ certifications have made such a strong showing,” says Peter H Gregory, who has published over forty books since 2000. “This success would not be possible, however, without strong support from McGraw-Hill Professional over the past thirteen years with the publication of the first edition of the CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor All-In-One Exam Guide.”

Gregory has written a total of twelve titles for McGraw-Hill Professional since 2009, including CRISC Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control All-In-One Exam Guide, second edition, co-authored with Bobby Rogers and Dawn Dunkerley, available for pre-order and expected to be available in late March 2022. Gregory’s other notable books include CISSP For Dummies (first published in 2002, now in its 7th edition), CISSP Guide to Security Essentials, second edition, Chromebook For Dummies, and Solaris Security. “All of my published books have fueled my passion for helping IT professionals successfully pursue IT security and privacy careers,” Gregory adds. “The skills that my readers learn enable them to better understand how to protect their organizations’ sensitive information and critical systems.”

About Peter H Gregory

Peter H Gregory is a career information security and privacy leader. He is the author of over forty books on information security and emerging technology. Visit him at peterhgregory.com.

For interviews with Peter H Gregory, please contact: peter.gregory [at] gmail.com

# # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference Peter H Gregory and include his web address, www.peterhgregory.com.

Checkbox CPEs

Those of us with security certifications like CISSP, CISA, CISM, and others are acutely aware of the need to get those CPE hours completed each year. Typically, we’re required to accumulate 40 hours per year and that we keep accurate records of learning events, along with evidence that we did indeed attend those events. 

I was audited once, over a decade ago, and came up a bit short on my evidence. Since then, I’ve been meticulous in my recordkeeping and maintaining proof of attendance. But this piece is not about recordkeeping.

Are you finding your CPE events to check the box? Or are you pursuing new knowledge and skills?

I’ll tell you a secret: the certification organizations don’t know whether you are doing the minimum to check the box or pursue knowledge with enthusiasm.  They don’t ask, and they don’t care.

You should care, however, and the difference will show. If you are just checking the CPE box, you will not be learning much, and you’ll be a weaker contestant in the employment market. By not making a real effort to grow professionally, you’ll slowly fall behind.  While you may be able to fake it for a while, your learning negligence will catch up to you, and it will take considerable time and effort to dig yourself out of the hole you slid into. Not only will you have to spend considerable time catching up on security topics, but you’ll also have to undo the habit of doing the minimum to slide by.

CISM vs CISSP

A reader recently asked me about the CISM versus the CISSP. Specifically, he asked, “How hard is the CISM for someone who passed the CISSP?”

Having earned both certs (and a few more besides), and having written study guides for both, I felt qualified to help this individual. My answer follows.

CISM is much heavier on security management and risk management than CISSP. You’ll have to study these topics, and the business side of information security.  To paint with a broad brush, you could say that CISM is for CISO’s while CISSP is for security engineers. That, in essence, is the distinction.

Oh and there’s a great study guide out for the CISM: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Information-Security-Manager-Guide-ebook/dp/B079Z1J87M

I passed my CISSP almost 20 years ago while I was still a hands-on technologist.  I studied for my CISA two years later. I learned through my ISACA CISA study materials (provided by my employer) that ISACA has a vastly different vocabulary for infosec than does (ISC)2.  Think of it as a business perspective versus an engineering perspective.  Both are right, both are valid, both are highly valued in the employment market.  But they are different.  Master both, and you’ll be a rare treasure.


Study guides for CISSP:

CISSP For Dummies

CISSP Guide to Security Essentials

Study guides for CISM:

CISM All-In-One Exam Guide