CIoTSP study plan

Diagram the four-layer IoT reference model (perception, network, processing, application) and annotate at least three security controls at each layer

Classify five common IoT device types (sensor, actuator, gateway, camera, controller) by their attack surface and list two hardening actions per type

Explain the principle of least functionality and apply it to disable unused services, ports, and debug interfaces on a sample device configuration

Compare secure boot, measured boot, and trusted execution environments in terms of threat mitigated and implementation trade-offs

Produce a one-page hardening checklist that maps to the OWASP IoT Top 10 risks

Configure network segmentation for IoT using VLANs and firewall rules, and document the traffic flows permitted between segments

Evaluate at least three wireless protocols (BLE, Zigbee, LoRaWAN, Wi-Fi) for confidentiality, integrity, and replay protection, and select one for a given use case with justification

Implement TLS 1.2+ with mutual authentication on a simulated device-to-gateway connection and verify certificate validation

Identify and mitigate three common network-layer attacks on IoT (ARP spoofing, rogue AP, MQTT topic injection) with specific countermeasures

Draft a secure network baseline listing approved ports, protocols, and cipher suites for IoT deployments

Design an identity lifecycle for IoT devices covering enrollment, provisioning, rotation, suspension, and decommissioning

Compare symmetric key, certificate-based, and attestation-based identity for constrained devices, and recommend one per device class

Implement a key management plan specifying generation, storage, rotation cadence, and revocation for at least two key types

Map authentication and authorization flows for device-to-cloud and user-to-device access using a sequence diagram

Identify three risks of shared credentials and propose a per-device credential strategy with compensating controls

Classify data handled by an IoT system into sensitivity tiers and specify encryption at rest and in transit for each tier

Apply data minimization and retention policies to a sample telemetry dataset, and document privacy impact for personal data

Describe secure cloud service configuration for IoT platforms: identity and access management, logging, encryption, and network exposure

Compare edge versus cloud processing for security trade-offs in latency, data exposure, and physical access risk

Design a secure OTA update process including signing, verification, rollback protection, and staged rollout

Build a threat model for a representative IoT system using STRIDE, enumerating at least 12 threats across trust boundaries

Score identified threats with a risk rating method (e.g., DREAD or CVSS) and prioritize the top five for mitigation

Map threats to controls and document residual risk acceptance criteria

Create a vulnerability management workflow covering discovery, triage, patching, and verification for firmware and cloud components

Identify supply chain risks in IoT components and propose vendor security requirements

Define detection use cases for IoT environments (e.g., anomalous device behavior, unauthorized configuration change) and map them to log sources

Draft an incident response plan for an IoT-specific scenario (e.g., botnet recruitment, credential compromise) with roles, phases, and communication steps

Design a monitoring architecture that collects device, network, and cloud logs while preserving privacy

Review governance elements: policy hierarchy, asset inventory, and compliance obligations relevant to IoT

Revisit architecture fundamentals to confirm controls align with incident response and monitoring needs

Complete 60 practice questions spanning domains 1–4 under timed conditions and log incorrect answers by domain

Review each missed question to identify the underlying concept gap and write a one-sentence corrective note

Re-read summary notes for the four domains and update the hardening checklist and network baseline with any new insights

Explain aloud the differences between secure boot, attestation, and key provisioning to reinforce distinctions

Complete 60 practice questions spanning domains 5–8 under timed conditions and log incorrect answers by domain

Review missed questions and reconcile any conflicts with earlier domain notes

Revisit the threat model and incident response playbook to ensure consistency with data protection and cloud controls

Take a full-length timed mock exam covering all domains and analyze section-level performance

Finalize a one-page exam-day summary sheet of key frameworks, protocols, and control mappings