Part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog: PassProfessor is building a Security+ practice program mapped domain-by-domain to CompTIA’s official SY0-701 exam objectives. Join the notify list and we will email you when enrollment opens.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
CompTIA Security+ is CompTIA’s vendor-neutral cybersecurity certification, earned by passing a single exam — currently Security+ V7, exam code SY0-701. The exam presents a maximum of 90 questions, mixing multiple-choice and performance-based items, in 90 minutes, and you pass with a score of 750 on a 100–900 scale. PassProfessor’s Security+ program, now in development, will prepare you against the same five domains and weights CompTIA publishes — from General Security Concepts (12%) through Security Operations (28%) — so the time you spend practicing lines up with the exam CompTIA actually delivers. Our full breakdown of the real exam is in the CompTIA Security+ exam guide.
What the program will cover
All five SY0-701 domains, at their real weights. The program is being built directly on CompTIA’s published SY0-701 objectives. Security Operations — the largest domain at 28% of the exam — gets the largest share of practice, and the smallest domain, General Security Concepts at 12%, is not padded to look bigger than it is. The coverage table below shows the blueprint the program is built to.
Scenario-based practice, not just definitions. Security+ rewards judgment: given a set of logs, a described environment, or an incident in progress, which action comes first and why? The program is being designed around that style of question — threats and mitigations, architecture choices, operational decisions — because recognizing a term and using it under pressure are different skills, and only the second one is tested.
Performance-based question readiness. Part of the SY0-701 exam is performance-based: tasks carried out in a simulated environment rather than options picked from a list. The program will include practice aimed at that format — reading firewall rules, log output, and network layouts and deciding what they show — so the format itself is familiar before exam day.
Timed, full-length practice. Ninety questions in 90 minutes is a pace of about a minute per question, and performance-based items take longer than multiple-choice ones. The program will include full-length timed practice at the real exam’s length, so pacing is a practiced skill rather than an exam-day surprise.
A study loop tied to the blueprint. Practice results will break down by CompTIA’s five domains, so a weak area — governance and risk in Domain 5, say, or incident response inside Domain 4 — shows up in your practice data while there is still time to fix it, not for the first time on a score report.
The real exam at a glance
Current as of October 2026, per CompTIA’s Security+ certification pages (comptia.org). Full detail — who should take it, registration, test day, retakes, and renewal — is in our CompTIA Security+ exam guide.
| CompTIA Security+ (V7) | |
|---|---|
| Exam code | SY0-701 |
| Administered by | CompTIA; delivered through Pearson VUE |
| Questions | Maximum of 90 |
| Question types | Multiple-choice and performance-based |
| Time limit | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 750 on a scale of 100–900 |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE test centers, or online from home or office through Pearson VUE’s OnVUE proctoring |
| Certification validity | 3 years |
- There is no formal prerequisite to sit the exam. CompTIA recommends — but does not require — holding CompTIA Network+ and having about two years of IT administration experience with a security focus. Candidates without that background simply need to budget more time on the networking and operations material.
- 750 is a scaled score, not a percentage. CompTIA scales results so different forms of the exam demand the same level of knowledge. You cannot convert 750 into a fixed number of questions you are allowed to miss — plan to practice comfortably above the line.
- A version change is coming. CompTIA states that Security+ V8 is expected to launch on or around November 17, 2026, with expanded coverage of AI-related risks, security operations, and modern environments. V7 (SY0-701) remains available today; if your exam date falls after the V8 launch, confirm which version you will sit before you finalize a study plan. This program targets SY0-701.
How the practice maps to the real exam
The program is being built section-by-section on CompTIA’s official SY0-701 exam objectives — the same document the real exam is built from. Weights below are CompTIA’s published domain percentages.
| Official SY0-701 domain (weight on the real exam) | What the program will drill |
|---|---|
| 1.0 General Security Concepts (12%) | Security control types and purposes, CIA and AAA fundamentals, zero trust, change management, and cryptographic solutions including PKI, encryption, and hashing |
| 2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations (22%) | Threat actors and motivations, attack vectors and surfaces, vulnerability types, indicators of malicious activity, and mitigation techniques such as segmentation, hardening, and patching |
| 3.0 Security Architecture (18%) | Architecture models (cloud, on-premises, virtualization, IoT), secure enterprise infrastructure, data protection, and resilience and recovery design |
| 4.0 Security Operations (28%) | Hardening and secure baselines, identity and access management, vulnerability management, monitoring and alerting, automation, incident response, and digital forensics data sources |
| 5.0 Security Program Management and Oversight (20%) | Security governance, risk management, third-party risk, compliance and privacy, audits and assessments, and security awareness practices |
How to use it
- Join the notify list today. While the program is in development, start with the free official material: download CompTIA’s SY0-701 exam objectives and use them as your checklist — everything testable is on that list.
- When the program opens, start with a timed full-length practice exam. Ninety questions against a 90-minute clock shows you both your knowledge gaps and your pacing, in the format the real exam uses.
- Drill by domain, heaviest first. Security Operations (28%) and Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations (22%) together are half the exam. Work your weakest domains until the misses stop repeating.
- Give performance-based tasks their own practice time. They carry the same clock as everything else but take longer per item. Familiarity with reading logs, rules, and layouts is a score advantage on its own.
- Schedule the real exam through Pearson VUE when your timed practice sits comfortably above the passing standard — and confirm at scheduling time whether you are booking SY0-701 (V7) or the V8 exam, because the blueprints differ.
Frequently asked questions
What is CompTIA Security+? Security+ is CompTIA’s vendor-neutral cybersecurity certification. It validates the core skills needed to perform security functions — assessing an environment’s security posture, recommending and implementing security solutions, monitoring and securing hybrid environments, and identifying and responding to security events and incidents — and it is earned by passing one CompTIA exam.
What is the current version of the Security+ exam? Security+ V7, exam code SY0-701, is the version available today, per CompTIA. CompTIA states that Security+ V8 is expected to launch on or around November 17, 2026. Candidates testing before that transition should prepare for SY0-701; candidates testing after it should confirm the current version on CompTIA’s website before scheduling.
How many questions are on the Security+ exam? A maximum of 90 questions. The exam mixes multiple-choice questions with performance-based questions — tasks you complete in a simulated environment. You have 90 minutes for the full exam, including the performance-based items.
What score do I need to pass Security+? A score of 750 on a scale of 100–900. The score is scaled across exam forms, so 750 does not correspond to a fixed percentage of correct answers. Your result is shown when you complete the exam.
Do I need experience or another certification before Security+? No formal prerequisite is enforced. CompTIA recommends that candidates hold CompTIA Network+ and have about two years of experience in IT administration with a security focus, but neither is required to register, sit the exam, or hold the certification.
Where do I take the Security+ exam? Through Pearson VUE, CompTIA’s testing provider. You can test at a Pearson VUE test center or online from home or office through Pearson VUE’s OnVUE remote proctoring, where available. You schedule and choose your delivery method through Pearson VUE after obtaining an exam voucher.
How long is Security+ valid? Three years from the date you pass. CompTIA’s Continuing Education program is the renewal path — you keep the certification active by earning continuing education units and paying the CE fee during each three-year cycle, or by passing the current version of the exam again.
Is Security+ recognized for U.S. Department of Defense roles? Yes. Security+ is an approved baseline certification under the DoD 8140 workforce framework (the successor to DoD 8570), which is why it is so commonly required in federal and defense-contractor job postings. The exact work roles a certification satisfies are set by the DoD qualification matrix, so check the current matrix for a specific role.
Are these the actual exam questions? No. PassProfessor practice questions are written independently, from scratch, to CompTIA’s published exam objectives. We never use actual exam questions or another provider’s material — and CompTIA does not authorize third-party “brain dump” sites that claim to hold real exam content.
When will the PassProfessor Security+ program be available? It is in development now. Join the notify list on this page and we will email you when it opens. No enrollment is being taken yet, and we are not publishing a launch date we cannot keep.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by CompTIA or Pearson VUE. CompTIA and Security+ are trademarks of CompTIA, Inc. This program is exam preparation only and provides no certification; the Security+ certification is granted solely by CompTIA to candidates who pass its exam. Exam details on this page are general information current as of October 2026 — CompTIA’s official publications govern if anything here differs from them.