The Security+ certification offered by CompTIA Certifications can be understood as a security certification in the foundation level perfectly suited for those who want to start out with their career in the IT security arena. This is a vendor neutral exam that tests the knowledge of the candidates in general security concepts rather than topics that are vendor specific. The exam spans over the domains of general security concepts including communication and cryptology in addition to security of operational infrastructure. The Security+ certification has these days established itself as a significant milestone to getting certified under still more advanced security certifications. CompTIA has recently retired Security+2002 by replacing it with Security+2008.

Though the organization has not specified any essential prerequisites for taking the examination, it is suggested that the professionals should have not less than two years of hands-on experience in networking preferably with a comfortable level of exposure to network security. However, anyone who feels ready to take up this exam can do so by undergoing appropriate training. To get certified under the Security+ certification, a candidate needs to pass only one exam called SY0-201 - Security+ 2008. This test requires that the candidates answer 100 multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions within 90 minutes. On a scale of 100-900, the candidates must score not less than 750 points to pass the exam. CompTIA awards the Security+ Certification after successfully passing the exam. This credential is acknowledged by top players in the industry including IBM, Symantec and Microsoft.

Unlike many other certification exams, if the candidates fail in the first attempt, they can retake this exam any time upon paying the appropriate fee even immediately. The popular exam codes for Security+ certification are BR0-001 & SY0-201. However, those who happen to fail for the second time need to wait for not less than 14 calendar days to attempt the exam once again. Those professionals who are already qualified for Security+ 2002 and wish to update their credential to the 2008 version can either take up the full SY0-201 exam or just pass the Security+ bridge exam, BR0-001, which consists of only 50 questions to be completed within 60 minutes. In this exam, a candidate must score not less than 560 on a scale of 100 - 900.