Cisco CCNP Security in 2026: Current Exams and Skills

Cisco CCNP Security changed enough in 2026 that a “this week” update quickly becomes stale. The useful snapshot is the current certification structure and the skills Cisco is emphasizing now.

The professional certification still requires the 350-701 SCOR core exam plus one concentration. Cisco’s current lineup includes 300-710 SNCF, 300-715 SISE, 300-740 SSCA, and 300-745 SDSI. The Cisco certification roadmap also shows security exam updates released on August 27, 2026, so candidates should verify the live blueprint instead of relying on an older course outline.

SCOR remains the common security core

350-701 SCOR covers network security, cloud security, content security, endpoint protection and detection, secure network access, visibility, and enforcement. It is also the qualifying exam for CCIE Security.

That breadth means SCOR preparation should connect technologies rather than isolate them. Identity policy changes endpoint access; cloud architecture changes visibility; segmentation changes enforcement; incident evidence changes the response decision.

SNCF is the firewall implementation path

300-710 SNCF focuses on Cisco Secure Firewall and Secure Firewall Management Center, including deployment, policy, integration, operations, and troubleshooting. This concentration is the most direct fit for engineers who spend substantial time implementing or operating Cisco firewall environments.

Use the concentration to deepen product-level skill after the broader SCOR foundation, not as a replacement for understanding the rest of the security architecture.

SISE is still the identity and access-control path

300-715 SISE validates Cisco Identity Services Engine skills such as architecture, policy enforcement, web authentication, guest access, profiling, BYOD, endpoint compliance, and device administration.

It is a good concentration for engineers whose work sits at the boundary between identity, endpoints, and network access. The deeper lesson is that modern security policy increasingly depends on who or what is connecting, not just on an IP address.

SSCA moves secure access toward cloud architecture

300-740 SSCA is focused on designing and implementing secure cloud access for users and endpoints. Cisco lists cloud security architecture, user and device security, network and cloud security, application and data security, visibility, assurance, and threat response.

That makes it relevant to teams moving beyond a purely perimeter-centric model. Candidates should be comfortable reasoning about distributed users, cloud-delivered controls, identity, endpoint posture, and visibility.

SDSI is the design-heavy concentration

300-745 SDSI emphasizes security infrastructure design. Cisco includes secure infrastructure, applications, risk, events, requirements, AI, automation, and DevSecOps in the scope.

This concentration rewards architecture judgment. Instead of asking only how to configure a control, it asks why the control belongs in the design and how requirements, risk, operations, and automation change the answer.

AI and automation are now part of the security conversation

Cisco’s current security materials explicitly mention AI and automation. That does not mean traditional skills disappear. It means candidates need to understand how telemetry, policy, orchestration, analysis, and human review work together.

The broader Cisco security certification path helps place SCOR and the concentrations in context. If you are comparing levels, the CCNA Cybersecurity vs CCNP Security guide explains the shift from associate-level operations to professional-level depth.

Choose the concentration by the incidents and projects you handle

If your work is firewall-heavy, SNCF is the obvious fit. If access policy and endpoint posture dominate, SISE is stronger. If your organization is redesigning secure access around cloud services, SSCA is more aligned. If you are responsible for architecture standards, design reviews, automation, and cross-domain decisions, SDSI may tell the clearest story.

The certification is most valuable when the concentration matches the work you can demonstrate. Use the 2026 blueprint as a map, then build labs and scenarios around the real problems you expect to solve.

Build the lab around the core and one concentration

A practical study environment should reflect the exam combination you intend to take. Use SCOR to connect identity, network security, cloud, content, endpoint, visibility, and automation concepts, then deepen the technologies required by your concentration. The goal is not to assemble every Cisco security product. It is to practice the decision chain: what the requirement is, where enforcement belongs, what evidence confirms behavior, and how you troubleshoot when policy and observed traffic disagree.