The CISSP launched in 1994 with 46 certified holders in its first year. Thirty-one years later, the certification has grown to more than 165,000 active professionals worldwide. ISC2’s 2024 Annual Report showed overall organizational membership growing 16% year-over-year, with the entry-level Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) credential growing 56% — the fastest growth in the ISC2 portfolio — as the pipeline into more advanced certifications widens.
The growth trajectory matters for anyone evaluating whether CISSP is worth pursuing. A certification with 165,000 holders globally is recognized by employers across industries and geographies. Endorsers are easier to find, professional networks are denser, and hiring managers in virtually any security-adjacent market know what the credential represents. That recognition didn’t exist at scale two decades ago and took sustained organizational investment to build.
The Pipeline Effect
The CC credential’s 56% year-over-year growth is a meaningful leading indicator for CISSP demand over the next decade. The CC serves as ISC2’s entry point into cybersecurity — it’s available free of charge to anyone who completes the associated training under ISC2’s One Million Certified in Cybersecurity initiative. Candidates who earn the CC and move into security roles typically follow a natural progression: CC to SSCP to CISSP as experience accumulates. A substantially larger cohort entering at the CC level means a larger pool of professionals working toward CISSP eligibility five to ten years from now.
ISC2’s 2004 milestone is worth noting in this context: CISSP was the first security certification ever to receive accreditation from the ANAB (ANSI National Accreditation Board) under ISO/IEC 17024. That accreditation — renewed in 2024 — means the certification program meets internationally recognized standards for personnel certification. It’s part of why CISSP appears in government hiring frameworks in multiple countries and qualifies under the U.S. Department of Defense’s DoDD 8140 baseline certification requirements.
ISC2’s overall membership — comprising certified holders and associates across all credentials — stands at more than 265,000 as of the organization’s current public figures. The concentration of members is largest in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India, though ISC2’s annual report notes growth across all regions, with the strongest percentage gains in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
For candidates asking whether the credential will still be relevant five years from now: the 31-year track record, the DoD recognition, the ISO accreditation, and the expanding global holder base all point in the same direction. The requirements haven’t gotten easier — if anything the April 2026 waiver changes make the experience requirement slightly harder to shortcut — but the credential itself remains the recognized standard for experienced security management professionals across the markets where it matters most.