1. First Principles of Cybersecurity

Before diving into the five exam domains, we need to establish the mental models that make every other topic click. This phase isn't directly tested as its own domain, but every single exam question assumes you think this way. Candidates who skip foundations and jump straight to memorizing acronyms consistently underperform — they can recall facts but can't apply them to the scenario-based questions that make up the majority of the exam.

The goal here is simple: build four foundational pillars that everything else rests on. Once these are solid, the exam domains become applications of principles you already understand rather than disconnected facts to memorize.

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