What is it?

What exactly is the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity?

Cisco's professional-level security certification proving you can design and operate enterprise security at scale.

The Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Cybersecurity - built on the CCNP Security track - is Cisco's professional-level security certification. It requires passing the core exam Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies (350-701 SCOR) plus one concentration exam (such as Securing Networks with Cisco Firepower 300-710 SNCF, Cisco Identity Services Engine 300-715 SISE, or Secure Solutions with VPNs 300-730 SVPN). SCOR validates core security technologies - security concepts, network/cloud security, secure service edge, endpoint protection, and network access/visibility - while the concentration proves depth in a chosen specialty. Earning it opens senior roles such as Security Engineer, Senior SOC Analyst, and Security Architect, and the SCOR core also satisfies the written prerequisite for the expert-level CCIE Security.

The path in brief

1. Confirm CCNA-level networking knowledge (recommended, not required)
2. Pass the 350-701 SCOR core exam (US$400)
3. Pick a concentration exam matching your role (e.g., 300-710 SNCF)
4. Prepare with Cisco U. SCOR + concentration courses and labs
5. Schedule and pass the concentration exam via Pearson VUE
6. Claim CCNP Security and plan renewal/CCIE Security path

Before you book

Who is eligible to sit the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity?

Open to all candidates; anyone may register for the SCOR core and a concentration exam through Pearson VUE.

Who it is for: Experienced network/security engineers, security operations engineers, and SOC analysts targeting senior or architect roles; candidates pursuing CCIE Security.

The test itself

What is the format of the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity?

The Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity is administered by Pearson VUE and runs 120 minutes per exam (SCOR and each concentration) and requires Cisco does not publish a fixed passing score; results use a scaled 300-1000 range with the statistical cut score typically around 750-850. Pass/fail is reported with a section-level breakdown. to pass.

The fine print

What are the retake and renewal rules for the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity?

Proctoring & delivery

Delivered by Pearson VUE: at authorized test centers or online via OnVUE remote proctoring (CCST uses the Certiport/Pearson VUE platform). A government-issued photo ID is required; online tests include a room/environment scan.

Retake policy

If you fail, Cisco requires a waiting period of 5 calendar days before you may retake the same exam. Each attempt requires full payment of the exam fee. Cisco does not cap total attempts, but some exams limit attempts within a 12-month window.

Score reporting

Results are reported as pass/fail and made available online (Cisco Certification Tracking System) typically within 48 hours. A section-level performance breakdown is provided to help target further study; scaled scores use a 300-1000 range (CCNA/CCNP-style exams).

Recertification

All Cisco certifications are valid for 3 years from the date earned. Recertify before expiry by (a) passing a higher-or-equal level qualifying exam, (b) earning Continuing Education (CE) credits through eligible training/activities, or (c) a combination of exam + CE. For associate-level certs 30 CE credits are required; for professional-level 40 CE credits. Certificates can also be extended via the Cisco Continuing Education program.

Refunds & rescheduling

Exam fees are generally non-refundable once scheduled, but Pearson VUE allows rescheduling or cancellation up to 24-48 hours before the appointment without penalty; no-shows forfeit the fee. CCST/Certiport policies may differ by region.

What it pays

How much does this credential pay?

$124,910 median for information security analysts (BLS, May 2024); $168,159 self-reported average for CCNP Security holders

CCNP Security is the point on the Cisco ladder where the credential stops being a hiring filter and starts being a pricing signal. The occupation that fits is Information Security Analysts, where BLS reports a May 2024 median of $124,910 and a top decile above $186,420 — and unlike an associate-level candidate, a professional-level holder with real Firepower or ISE deployment experience is competing in the upper half of that distribution rather than the bottom decile. The comparison that makes the case is the rung below. Network and computer systems administrators, the job family most CCNP Security candidates are leaving, had a May 2024 median of $96,800 and a projected 4 percent employment decline through 2034. Information security analysts, by contrast, are projected to grow 29 percent over the same decade. Moving from network administration into security engineering is therefore both a pay move and a hedge against an occupation that BLS expects to shrink. Self-reported survey data reinforces this: Skillsoft's IT Skills and Salary Report has consistently ranked CCNP Security among its top-paying certifications, with a US average around $168,159. That figure deserves a clear health warning — it is self-reported by respondents who chose to complete a training vendor's survey, it does not control for years of experience, seniority or region, and holders of a professional-level security certification skew senior by definition. Treat it as evidence that the credential travels with well-paid roles, not as evidence that passing two exams produces a $168,000 offer. The BLS distribution is the more defensible planning number.

Job growth.29% projected growth 2024-34 for information security analysts, against a 4% projected decline for network and computer systems administrators

Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Information Security Analysts

Your schedule

How long should I study for it?

200-260 hours across both exams of focused study

CCNP Security is two exams, and the biggest planning error is treating it as one long study block. The core, 350-701 SCOR, is 120 minutes and covers six areas at implementation depth across a genuinely wide product surface: security concepts, network security, cloud security, content security, endpoint protection and detection, and secure network access with visibility and enforcement. The concentration is a separate 90-minute exam on one product family, and your choice of concentration completely changes the second half of your preparation — 300-710 SNCF is Firepower and FMC policy work, 300-715 SISE is identity, posture and TrustSec, 300-730 SVPN is IPsec and remote access tunnelling, 300-740 SCAZT is secure cloud access and zero trust. There is a timing decision to make right now. SCOR v1.1 is testable through 26 August 2026, with v2.0 going live on 27 August 2026, and 300-720 SESA and 300-725 SWSA both retire on 26 August 2026. If you are more than a few weeks from ready, study v2.0 and do not pick a retiring concentration. The plan below assumes 200-260 hours across roughly eighteen weeks with lab access, split into a SCOR block and a concentration block.

1. Weeks 1-212-14 hrs/week

   SCOR — security concepts and the threat surface

   • Read the current 350-701 exam topics document from Cisco and confirm which version you are sitting before buying anything
   • Common attack vectors at implementation depth: on-path, DoS/DDoS, injection, DNS-layer attacks, endpoint compromise chains
   • Cryptography for engineers, not for definitions: PKI, certificate chains, TLS inspection trade-offs, IPsec transform sets
   • API security and the Cisco security API surface — this is a genuine SCOR topic candidates routinely skip
2. Weeks 3-513-15 hrs/week

   SCOR — network security and firewalls

   • Build a Firepower Management Center lab in a DevNet Sandbox or dCloud session and deploy an access control policy end to end
   • Understand the FTD policy hierarchy: prefilter, access control, intrusion, malware and file, and the order they evaluate in
   • ASA versus FTD: where each still fits, and what a migration actually changes
   • Site-to-site and remote-access VPN as SCOR covers them, at concept-plus-configuration depth
3. Weeks 6-712-14 hrs/week

   SCOR — cloud security and content security

   • The shared responsibility model applied to IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, and what changes in each
   • Cisco Umbrella DNS-layer enforcement, roaming clients, and where it sits relative to a web proxy
   • Email and web security controls: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, URL filtering, TLS inspection placement
   • Cloud workload protection and the visibility problem in ephemeral infrastructure
4. Weeks 8-913-15 hrs/week

   SCOR — endpoint protection, plus secure access, visibility and enforcement

   • Cisco Secure Endpoint concepts: retrospective detection, file trajectory, outbreak control
   • Deploy ISE in a sandbox and configure 802.1X, MAB and a posture policy
   • TrustSec and SGT-based segmentation versus VLAN-based segmentation
   • NetFlow, Stealthwatch-style flow analytics, and where telemetry gaps appear
5. Week 1014-16 hrs

   SCOR — timed drilling and sit the exam

   • Three full 120-minute timed practice exams under forward-only conditions
   • Re-lab anything you got wrong rather than re-reading it
   • Book and sit 350-701
   • Note your concentration choice deadline: you now have three years to finish, but plan for three months
6. Weeks 11-1312-14 hrs/week

   Concentration block — product depth, chosen exam

   • Build the specific lab for your chosen concentration and use it daily, not weekly
   • For 300-710: FMC policy design, NAT, routing on FTD, high availability, troubleshooting deploy failures
   • For 300-715: policy sets, authorisation profiles, posture, TrustSec, guest and BYOD flows
   • For 300-730: IKEv2, DMVPN, FlexVPN, remote access with AnyConnect/Secure Client, and troubleshooting phase 1 versus phase 2
7. Weeks 14-1612-14 hrs/week

   Concentration — troubleshooting depth

   • Deliberately break your lab and fix it: bad certificate, mismatched proposal, policy not deploying, authorisation matching the wrong rule
   • Learn the diagnostic commands for the product cold; concentration exams reward knowing where to look
   • Work through the official cert guide for your concentration and lab every configuration example
   • Cross-check the exam topics document objective by objective and mark anything you have not physically done
8. Weeks 17-1812-14 hrs

   Concentration — timed drilling and sit the exam

   • Timed 90-minute practice runs — the concentration clock is tighter per item than SCOR
   • Final pass over troubleshooting scenarios, which is where concentration papers concentrate their difficulty
   • Book and sit the concentration exam
   • On passing, record your recertification date: three years, 80 CE credits or a qualifying exam

What to buy

Which study resources are worth paying for?

This is the most expensive credential of the four on this site before you spend a penny on training: $400 for SCOR plus $300 for a concentration is $700 in vouchers alone. The good news is that the single most valuable resource — real product access — is available free through Cisco's own sandbox programmes, so the sensible budget puts money into question banks and cert guides and nothing into hardware.

Prices checked 2026-08 in USD before tax; Cisco exam fees vary by country and Learning Credit rates differ, and subscription tiers change frequently — confirm at the vendor before buying. We do not rank by commission.

What you'll face

What question types will I see?

Two papers with different shapes. SCOR is 120 minutes, delivered in English and Japanese, and tests breadth across six areas — expect a lot of "here is a requirement, which control and which configuration" items and comparatively fewer deep troubleshooting scenarios. The concentration exam is 90 minutes on one product family and inverts that balance: fewer product-selection questions, far more configuration detail and symptom-to-cause troubleshooting. Both are graded pass/fail with results available online within 48 hours, and both present items one at a time with no backward navigation, which matters more at 90 minutes than at 120. Item formats across both include single-answer multiple choice, multiple response with a stated count, drag-and-drop matching and ordering, and exhibit-based items where a topology, policy table or CLI output is shown. Cisco professional exams may also include simulation-style items on some tracks; do not assume their absence, and make sure you can navigate a real FMC or ISE interface rather than only recognising screenshots.

Samples are editor-written illustrations of the published blueprint, not live exam items.

Reference

What are the key facts about the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity?

Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity is a certification credential; awarded by Cisco; the exam fee is Core exam 350-701 SCOR: US$400. Each concentration exam (300-xxx): US$300. Total US$700 for the full certification (plus tax; redeemable with Cisco Learning Credits).; typical preparation is Approximately 4-8 months total (roughly 150-250 hours across both exams).; holders typically earn $90,000 – $130,000.

In short

Is the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity worth it?

• Professional security cert = SCOR 350-701 core (US$400) + 1 concentration (US$300) = US$700, 120 min each.
• SCOR v2.0 domains: Network Security heaviest at 25%; SSE lightest at 10%; total 100%.
• No enforced CCNA prerequisite; 3-5 years experience recommended.
• Valid 3 years; SCOR core also unlocks the CCIE Security written prerequisite.

Worth comparing

How does the Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity compare with similar credentials?

• CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) CompTIA

Trust

Where does this information come from?

Everything above is taken from the awarding body's own published material. Fees, question counts and domain weights are revised regularly — check the official page before you pay.

• Cisco Awarding body
• Official Cisco Certified Network Professional Cybersecurity exam page Exam page
• Cisco certification programme Programme rules

Research confidence: high · Last reviewed 2026-08