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GSEC vs CISSP: Hands-On Proof Now or Five Years of Experience

GSEC tests defensive skills on live systems with no prerequisites; CISSP needs five years of security work. Exams, costs, the CISSP waiver list and order compared.

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Lisa Thompson
Security Training Director
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GSEC vs CISSP: Hands-On Proof Now or Five Years of Experience

GSEC is for administrators and newer analysts who can show defensive skills on a live Windows or Linux machine. CISSP is for people with five years of security work who now shape a whole program. For most readers the deciding fact is money: GIAC charges $999 for a GSEC attempt, before SANS training, and the pass won't shorten the wait for CISSP.

Both exams at a glance

GSECCISSP
IssuerGIACISC2
FormatProctored, open book (printed only), with CyberLive tasks in virtual machinesComputerized adaptive test; multiple choice and advanced item types
Questions106100 to 150, including 25 unscored pretest items
Time4 hours3 hours
Passing score72%700 out of 1000, reported as pass or fail
Price$999 per attempt; $899 retake$749 standard registration (Americas, Asia Pacific)
ExperienceNone listedFive years in two or more of eight domains to certify; one year can be waived
RenewalEvery four years: 36 CPEs and a $499 fee, or pass the current exam$135 a year and 120 CPE credits per three years

Two kinds of breadth

Both credentials are broad, but they cover ground at different heights. GSEC's 26 objectives run across Windows, Linux, networking, cryptography, cloud and incident handling, and most ask for a basic or high-level understanding. What makes the exam hard is CyberLive: GIAC puts hands-on tasks in real virtual machines at the end of the exam, and its FAQ warns that candidates who miss most of them shouldn't expect to pass. Windows gets six of the 26 objectives, more than any other area, from NTFS and registry permissions to Group Policy and PowerShell auditing.

CISSP never asks you to touch a system. Its eight domains reach security architecture, law and investigations, business continuity and secure software development, and the questions ask which option is best for the organization rather than which command works. GSEC lets you bring printed books and your own index. CISSP is adaptive, so you can't return to a question once you've answered it.

The upshot is that GSEC shows you can do the work of a defender on a given afternoon, and CISSP shows you've done security work for years and can reason about a program.

Who should take which

Take GSEC if you're a system or network administrator picking up security duties, or an analyst in your first year or two whose employer will pay for SANS SEC401. SANS lists the course at $8,780 for OnDemand and most US live events, and adding the exam to it costs the same $999 with two practice tests included. If you're paying yourself and only need a baseline that postings ask for, our GSEC vs Security+ comparison covers the cheaper route.

Take CISSP if you're at least four or five years in and moving toward architecture, management or consulting. By then GSEC's objectives describe work you've already done, and the money goes further on the credential with the experience gate.

There's an awkward stretch between the two, around years three and four, when you've outgrown GSEC but can't yet certify as a CISSP. GIAC's own next steps, such as GCIH for incident handling, fill it better than an early CISSP attempt does, and our blue team track maps the rest of a defender's route.

GSEC doesn't count toward the CISSP waiver

ISC2 lets one credential from an approved list stand in for one of CISSP's five years. Several GIAC certifications are on it, including GISF, GSLC and GICSP, along with CompTIA Security+. GSEC isn't. A GSEC holder who wants the waiver needs a relevant degree or a different listed credential, and ISC2 caps waivers at one year in total either way.

Both count for US defense roles. GIAC lists GSEC among its certifications approved under DoD 8140, and ISC2 lists CISSP as approved under DoD Manual 8140.03. Check which qualification your work role calls for before choosing on that basis.

Holding both means two renewal systems. GIAC renews on a four-year cycle with 36 CPEs and a $499 fee. ISC2 wants $135 every year and 120 CPE credits every three years. Each body keeps its own CPE records, so log qualifying training with both.

Where we come down

GSEC earns its standing because CyberLive makes you prove things on a live host, but its cost only makes sense when an employer pays for SEC401. CISSP is the long-term credential for anyone heading toward architecture or leadership, and it doesn't need GSEC underneath it. If you can afford only one and you're under five years in, we'd pick a cheaper baseline now and save for CISSP, unless your employer is offering the SANS course, in which case take it and sit GSEC while it's fresh.

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