If you’re eyeing a career in cybersecurity, you’ve probably heard of CompTIA Security+. It’s one of the most widely recommended starting points for good reason. It gives you a structured, practical foundation in what security work actually involves, without requiring years of experience or a computer science degree to get started.
This article breaks down what Security+ is, what topics it covers, how the exam works, and why it’s still highly relevant in 2025.
Whether you’re switching careers, building on your IT background, or just trying to make sense of the security landscape, this guide will help you figure out whether Security+ is the right next step.
What Is CompTIA Security+ Really About?
CompTIA Security+ is often described as the “gateway cert” for cybersecurity, but that undersells what it actually offers. Yes, it’s foundational, and yes, it’s beginner-friendly, but it’s also surprisingly broad.
It doesn’t just cover the basics of cybersecurity; it builds a strong, practical framework that you’ll carry with you whether you’re heading into a SOC analyst role, compliance, governance, or even cloud security.
At its core, Security+ is a vendor-neutral certification designed to validate your understanding of key security principles. That includes assessing risk, responding to incidents, and navigating today’s hybrid environments, whether you’re protecting on-premises infrastructure, mobile devices, cloud workloads, or some combination of all three.
It’s also one of the few certs that blends technical depth with operational context. You’re not just learning how to spot a phishing email or configure a firewall. You’re learning how those actions fit into larger security strategies. You’ll understand why they matter, how they connect, and what role they play in keeping an organization secure.
So, who is Security+ for? Mostly, it’s aimed at folks who are relatively new to cybersecurity. That is, people in general IT roles who want to shift into security, career changers coming from non-IT backgrounds, or students looking to break in.
That said, it also serves as a solid refresh for experienced pros who need to get up to speed on modern threat landscapes and compliance frameworks.
The Five Core Domains (And What They Mean in Practice)
The Security+ exam is organized into five domains. Each one maps to a set of real-world responsibilities you’d expect to handle in a security-focused role.
Think of these as broad knowledge areas that give structure to what cybersecurity actually involves. Here’s a quick breakdown of what each domain covers and how that knowledge translates to day-to-day work.
General Security Concepts (12%)
This is your orientation to the security world. You’ll learn core principles like the CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity, availability) and how different types of security controls—technical, operational, managerial—are applied to enforce them.
You’ll also dive into authentication models, physical security measures (yes, including bollards), and foundational ideas like Zero Trust. In practice, this domain teaches you how to think like a security professional.
Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations (22%)
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. You’ll study threat actors (from insiders to nation-states), understand attack vectors (email, USB drives, unpatched systems), and learn how to spot vulnerabilities in software, hardware, and people.
More importantly, you’ll look at how to respond using tools like access controls, segmentation, encryption, and endpoint protection. This domain sharpens your ability to assess risk and choose the right countermeasures.
Security Architecture (18%)
Here, you’re diving into systems. This domain focuses on how to build secure environments, whether you’re working with cloud infrastructure, on-prem servers, or a mix of both.
Topics include network segmentation, virtual private networks (VPNs), access control, and data protection strategies for everything from intellectual property to customer records. It’s about designing environments that are secure by default, resilient under pressure, and recoverable when things go sideways.
Security Operations (28%)
This is the heaviest domain, and for good reason. It’s all about what security looks like in action. You’ll cover topics like system hardening, vulnerability management, asset tracking, incident response, and SIEM tools.
It’s the domain that most closely mirrors the day-to-day work in a SOC or security operations role. To pass this domain, you have to learn more than theory. You have to understand how to maintain a secure environment in a constantly shifting threat landscape.
Security Program Management and Oversight (20%)
Finally, this domain zooms out and looks at the strategic side of security: governance, risk management, compliance, and auditing. You’ll learn how organizations build policies, manage third-party risks, perform security assessments, and foster a culture of security awareness. This is the stuff that connects the technical side of security with business priorities.
Exam Format and What to Expect
The Security+ exam isn’t designed to trip you up with trick questions or overly academic phrasing. However, it is designed to test whether you can apply security knowledge in realistic scenarios. That’s part of what makes it so respected and why it’s not something you can wing.
The test consists of up to 90 questions, and you’ll have 90 minutes to answer them. The format is a mix of multiple-choice questions and performance-based items.
Those are interactive scenarios that ask you to drag, drop, configure, or solve a problem rather than just pick an answer. Imagine identifying vulnerabilities in a network diagram or choosing the best mitigation strategy given a set of constraints.
To pass, you’ll need a score of 750 on a scale of 100–900. That’s not a percentage, but it roughly translates to getting around 80% of the questions right.
CompTIA recommends having at least two years of experience in IT with a focus on security, but that’s not a hard requirement. If you’re coming from a helpdesk or sysadmin background (or even a structured study plan), you’ll have a solid head start.
Most importantly, this is not a memorization exam. Sure, you’ll need to know acronyms and terminology, but the bulk of the test is about recognizing problems and applying the right concepts under time pressure.
The better you understand the “why” behind each domain, the more comfortable you’ll feel on test day.
Why It’s Still Relevant in 2025
Cybersecurity evolves fast. What was considered best practice five years ago might be outdated today. And yet, Security+ continues to hold its ground, not just as an entry-level cert, but as a current, job-relevant credential.
That’s not an accident. CompTIA updates the exam regularly to reflect what security work actually looks like in the field.
The SY0-701 version of Security+ now includes modern security concepts like Zero Trust architecture, IoT and mobile device security, and cloud-focused risk management.
It also places heavier emphasis on things like automation, threat detection, and regulatory compliance—all areas that have grown in importance as environments get more complex and interconnected.
Still, staying current is only part of the story. What really cements Security+ as a go-to cert is how closely it mirrors the skills employers are actively hiring for.
Security+ is still approved by the U.S. Department of Defense for certain cybersecurity roles (under DoD 8570/8140), and it frequently appears in job listings for positions like cybersecurity analyst, SOC technician, and risk management associate.
Even if you’re not aiming for a government role, the credential is a widely recognized signal that you understand both the technical and operational aspects of security.
In short, Security+ stays relevant because it keeps up with the work. And in a field where “up-to-date” is everything, that kind of alignment matters.
Final Thoughts – Is It Right for You?
If you’re trying to figure out whether the CompTIA Security+ certification is worth your time, the short answer is: probably, yes—especially if you’re looking to break into cybersecurity or round out your IT foundation with security skills.
This cert isn’t designed to make you an expert in one narrow area. Rather, it’s meant to build a working knowledge across a wide swath of topics, from threats and vulnerabilities, through cloud and hybrid infrastructure, to governance and compliance, and incident response.
That makes it a great fit for entry-level roles like SOC analyst, security administrator, or even IT generalist with a security focus.
It also has solid momentum behind it. Security+ is often a required or preferred cert in job postings, and it serves as a launchpad for more advanced certifications like CySA+, CASP+, or CISSP, should you decide to specialize later on.
But perhaps the best part is its versatility. Whether you’re in a helpdesk role trying to move up, coming into security from a different industry, or just curious about how the pieces of the security puzzle fit together, Security+ gives you the kind of practical, cross-cutting insight that holds up in the real world.