CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CSA+): Exam CS0-001

First of all, this is literally the first book released regarding this exam. Second of all, the nature of the exam is a bit different compared to earlier CompTIA exams. This means ONLY reading a book will not be enough to pass this new exam. This book accurately covers the theory and general knowledge base (syllabus) needed to pass this exam. It's to the point and covers many aspects of work done by security analysts in SOCs. It will give you a good base to understand what software suites are used, and what are many procedures used in the industry (from security in the software development cycle, to analysis of incidents). The problem which some people may come up upon, is that the exam's format requires much more interaction between different skills, and this is taught by doing, and not by reading. The two main pieces of software that the CSA+ exam heavily covers is NMAP & Wireshark. Experience in reading logs (system & IDS/IPS) is also required. As questions go, they're mostly situational, namely they'll give you a situation or some output, and you have to identify the best problem/solution, which often is not as clear cut or direct. Simulations in the exam can also be confusing unless you have had a chance to look over & use these two pieces of software (along with some system reporting commands in Windows & Linux). I don't think this book fails to prepare you for these parts, simply because without direct experience, it's can be hard to actually understand the information presented in the exam. While this book has some labs described per each chapter, they might not be enough for everyone. I would also suggest watching some training videos (as of writing this review, only ITPro.TV has a complete CSA+ video course). And regarding use of SIEM software, these suites are often expensive and only found in larger, enterprise networks. So gaining experience on them is hard. Cybrary.it offers a set of online labs for this certification, and while not required, can help someone new to this field gain hands on experience. Supplementing this book with other training is pretty much required in order to pass the exam. As for me, the book worked well, covered the topics well, and along with supplementary training from third parties (videos) & just messing around on my computer, helped me pass this exam.

Update: I passed my test on the first try. I ended up going through this book about four times total as part of my own study method. I would recommend this book. I felt it was pretty detailed and touched on some other topics that may not have been covered by the other CySA+ books. It had a lot more pictures to go along with the reading to show the different reports, logs, etc. that you get from the various software required for the test. Previous: I haven’t taken my test yet, but I’ve read this book through almost twice now. It has a lot of diagrams and pictures to explain the topics. There are occasional typos, but the content seems great despite that minor flaw. I’ve compared this to the other CSA+ books available, and they’re all basically the same on covering all the objectives. One might explain a few concepts more or less than another one does, so they’re great to read together.

This is very good book. It read good and very easy to understand . Actually, this is best available study guide for CYSA +. The book follows the comptia objective which is good because you do not have print the objective and go through it . The book also explains concept in detail and gives good real life IT examples , it could be good reference material for work and to pass the certificate. The author also wrote amazing book for CISSP. I am reading that book also. sometimes I use it for tutoring my class mates and understanding the concept more.

I used this book to prepare for the CySa+ exam earlier this year in conjunction with the practice test and the linkedin video course by the author of this book. If you're going to buy this book, I recommend you also use his videos. Thankfully, I was successful in the exam and am now certified. I think it speaks to the quality of this book that I have very very little hands-on experience in cybersecurity but was prepared enough to pass. I have also used other sources, but I find that Mike's books are more focused on the real tough scenarious and questions, which I'm glad I was exposed to.

The CompTIA CySA+study guide was essential for me to pass the test. The book provided the depth that I needed on the topics that I was weak on and the online tools such as the flash cards helped me out to learn and be ready for the exam. I would highly recommend this book.

Covers a lot of content and they are clear when the CSA+ content differs from actual practice, so you have the information needed for the certification but at the same time you don't lose the perspective of the industry practices.. I am using this book alongside Certmaster, there are a couple of differences in minor things but using both tools together seems to me really useful, hoping to pass the exam!

When preparing for my Security+, i've abandoned the textbook several times because of how dry and uninteresting it was. This book is the opposite. I finished it in under two weeks and i will go through it again to take my notes before doing the exam. All the explanations are clear and the post-chapter quizzes help you brush up on the material. Highly recommended.

update 9-11-2018: When you choose your product from the drop down list, choose the one that says "Study GuideExam". That is for the book itself, not a separately purchased exam; it's a misspelling. You will then be allowed to register and will receive an email with a redemption code that you can redeem on your Course Dashboard. I will upgrade to 3 stars but no more because I've spent too much time messing with just trying to get access to the online bonus content. Wiley support was no help and actually misdirected me to the "Practice Tests" and also stated that the Glossary, Flashcards, and other bonus content got lost in a migration to a new server. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- update 9-2-2018 (thereabouts): I'm prepping for the test and there is a link in the book for additional study material for flash cards, downloadable glossary in PDF format, extra practice questions, etc... The link doesn't work. I've spent an hour searching all over Wiley's convoluted website for the right area to no joy. At some points it says I need to set up an account for wiley.com. There is no button to click on to create an account. At another point it says I will need a PIN. I have no idea where I am suppose to get a PIN. Got directed to hub.wiley.com where I did make an account, to no avail. Probably get a slew of SPAM now. Finally sent the broken link to the webmaster; hope I can get an answer from him. Would also like to add, this book doesn't have a glossary. Right now I'd give it negative stars if I could. I regret buying it. Well, the email to the webmaster bounced back to me claiming invalid recipient. I'm even less impressed with Wiley/Sybex right now than I am the authors. This book won't be enough to pass the test. I'm looking for other material. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original review sometime in August 2018: Overall, I'm happy with the book. When I went to order, Amazon was out of stock. So I waited, and finally received an older stock 1st edition of the book that says "CSA+". I thought I would be getting a 2nd edition that fixes some typos, says "CySA+", but I guess it hasn't been published yet???? But I'm okay with that; the content is the same. BUT: This older stock book printed over a year ago is falling apart. The spline has a big crease in it and chapters 6/7/8 from the middle of the book are starting to fall out from normal reading and wear and tear. I don't mistreat my books and have never had this happen before. I like to keep all of my educational books looking nice as future references. Very disappointed in the quality of the book itself from John Wiley & Sons, and in Amazon for using a deceptive picture and sending out old stock books. But the important thing is the content from the authors, so I still give it a 4 star rating.