College Board AP Cybersecurity Exam Outline

AP Cybersecurity Exam Review Guide

Exam Overview

The AP Cybersecurity Exam is administered digitally using College Board's Bluebook testing application.

Section	Questions	Time	Percentage of Score
Section I: Multiple Choice	60 Questions	80 Minutes	70%
Section II: Free Response	1 Question	50 Minutes	30%

Total Exam Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes

Major Cybersecurity Skills

Students should be able to apply cybersecurity knowledge to realistic situations rather than simply memorize vocabulary.

Analyze Risk
Mitigate Risk
Detect Attacks
Collaborate and Communicate Cybersecurity Concepts

1. Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Cybersecurity principles
Threats
Vulnerabilities
Risk
CIA Triad
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Authentication
Authorization
Security controls
Policies and procedures

2. Physical and Organizational Security

Physical security controls
Locks and access controls
Security cameras
Personnel security
Security awareness training
Social engineering
Risk assessments
Defense in depth
Security policies

4. Device and Operating System Security

Operating system security
User accounts
Permissions
Administrator privileges
Privilege escalation
System hardening
Patch management
Endpoint protection
Antivirus and antimalware tools
Logging
Monitoring

5. Application Security

Secure software concepts
Application vulnerabilities
Authentication
Authorization
Access control
Input validation
Web application attacks
Secure development practices
Application updates and patching

6. Data Security

Data classification
Data at rest
Data in transit
Data in use
Encryption
Hashing
Password security
Digital certificates
Public key infrastructure
Backups
Data loss prevention

7. Common Cyberattacks

Phishing
Social engineering
Malware
Viruses
Worms
Trojans
Ransomware
Remote Access Trojans (RATs)
Botnets
Password attacks
Brute-force attacks
Man-in-the-middle attacks
Denial-of-service attacks
Distributed denial-of-service attacks
Session attacks
Privilege escalation

8. Detection and Incident Response

Security logs
Indicators of compromise
Network monitoring
Intrusion detection
Intrusion prevention
Incident identification
Evidence collection
Basic incident response
Containment
Recovery

9. Risk Mitigation

Students should be able to examine a cybersecurity scenario and determine the most appropriate security response.

Identify the asset being protected.
Identify the vulnerability.
Identify the threat.
Determine the possible attack.
Evaluate likelihood and impact.
Select an appropriate security control.
Explain how the control reduces risk.

Important Exam Strategy

Students should not study cybersecurity as a collection of isolated vocabulary terms.

For every cybersecurity situation, students should learn to connect the threat, vulnerability, attack, impact, detection method, and mitigation.

Threat → Vulnerability → Attack → Impact → Detection → Mitigation

Example

Vulnerability: Weak password

Threat: Attacker attempting to access an account

Attack: Password guessing or brute-force attack

Impact: Unauthorized account access

Detection: Multiple failed login attempts or suspicious login activity

Mitigation: Strong password policy, account lockout, and multifactor authentication

What Students Should Practice

Identify vulnerabilities in a cybersecurity scenario.
Recognize common attack techniques.
Identify indicators of compromise.
Select appropriate security controls.
Explain why a security control reduces risk.
Analyze logs and security information.
Compare different security solutions.
Explain cybersecurity decisions using evidence.

AP Cybersecurity Exam Date

The first AP Cybersecurity Exam is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5, 2027.