CompTIA Security+ SY0-701
8-WEEK STUDY PLAN
Professor Messer Videos + Jason Dion Practice Exams · 1.5–2 hrs/day · Fresh start
Domain 1.0
General Security Concepts
Security controls, frameworks, cryptography basics, authentication, PKI, hashing
Weeks 1–3
Domain 2.0
Threats, Vulnerabilities & Mitigations
Malware, social engineering, application attacks, network attacks, vulnerability scanning, threat intelligence
Weeks 1–2, 5
Domain 3.0
Security Architecture
Network security, cloud security, virtualization, zero trust, SASE, IaC, secure infrastructure design
Weeks 4–5
Domain 4.0
Security Operations
Identity & access, endpoint security, monitoring, SIEM, incident response, forensics, hardening
Weeks 3, 6
Domain 5.0
Security Program Management & Oversight
Risk management · compliance & regulations · data privacy · auditing · security policies · third-party risk · BCP/DR
Week 7
Daily Structure
Watch 1–2 Messer SY0-701 videos (30–45 min) → handwritten notes → flashcards for new terms → scenario practice or lab (30 min). Saturday = full timed Dion exam. Sunday after exam = review every wrong answer only.
Score Benchmarks
Week 3 first attempt: identify weak domains — score doesn't matter yet. Weeks 4–5: target 70–75%. Weeks 6–7: target 78–82%. Week 8: 85%+ on Dion = ready to book. Real exam pass = 750/900.
Sec+ vs Net+ Mindset
Security+ is scenario-heavy — you need to know WHY, not just WHAT. The exam asks "which is the BEST control?" and "what should you do FIRST?" Learn reasoning, not just definitions. PBQs are a big part of this exam.
Leverage Your Lab
Your Proxmox lab is perfect for hands-on: run Wireshark to see TLS handshakes, set up a Windows VM to practice GPO hardening, deploy a SIEM (Wazuh is free), and test vulnerability scanning with OpenVAS.
Resources Needed
Professor Messer SY0-701 course (free on YouTube or paid bundle at professormesser.com) · Jason Dion SY0-701 Practice Exams on Udemy (buy on sale ~$15–20 CAD) · Professor Messer study notes PDF · Messer's free SY0-701 practice exam (his site)
Reference
SCORE TRACKER
Log your Dion practice exam scores. Green = on target. Red = revisit that domain in Messer before next attempt.
Reference
ACRONYM REFERENCE
Security+ has ~150 acronyms you must know. Mark each as "known" to track your progress.
| Acronym | Full Name | Category | Description |
|---|
Reference
ATTACK TYPES
Know the attack, its mechanism, and the best mitigation — Sec+ tests all three in scenario questions.