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The SSCA 300-740 blueprint is unusually wide. It runs from zero-trust theory and cloud platform security, through identity, multifactor authentication and data protection, into AI security, workload microsegmentation and the operations that prove any of it is working. Almost nobody arrives comfortable in all of it. A network engineer knows tunnels and has never read a SAML assertion. A security analyst knows MITRE ATT&CK and has never labelled a workload.

This book is written for both of them, starting from first principles and ending with configuration you could actually deploy.

What's inside

324 pages covering every topic in the published v2.0 blueprint, which became the live exam on 27 August 2026
5 sections, 52 sub-sections, weighted to match the domain percentages Cisco publishes
260 knowledge-check questions — five per sub-section, with explanations of why the plausible wrong answers are wrong, not only why the right one is right
48 diagrams, because some things are easier seen than described
8 cases from the field — cross-domain incident narratives, each naming the sub-sections it draws on
A glossary of 108 terms and a blueprint-to-sub-section map, so you can check your coverage topic by topic

How each sub-section is built

The structure repeats deliberately, so that after a few pages you know where to find what you need: an explanation from first principles with every term defined at first use, a diagram where the relationship is spatial or sequential, real configuration with verification steps, four kinds of callout (Did you know?, Exam Tip, Common Pitfall, From the Field), a summary and key takeaways written to work as a standalone revision pass, and five knowledge-check questions.

What it covers

Concepts — NIST SP 800-207, the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model v2.0, MITRE ATT&CK for cloud, IdP and SaaS, public cloud security and operational requirements, private cloud and Kubernetes, and eBPF runtime security with Cilium and Tetragon
Identity — identity intelligence, certificate-based authentication, Cisco Duo, phishing-resistant multifactor, endpoint posture and device trust, SAML for web and mobile, SCIM provisioning, and an ordered method for troubleshooting the identity path
Policies — encryption in transit and at rest, IPS and malware protection, data loss prevention design, Cisco AI Defense, AI Access and AI Guardrails, web application firewalls and DDoS, the Secure Access policy model, Secure Firewall and SD-WAN enforcement, and the full Cisco Secure Workload microsegmentation lifecycle
Access — Secure Access architecture and onboarding, DNS security, the secure web gateway, DLP and CASB configuration, resource connectors and IPsec backhaul, branch connectivity, VPN as a service with ISE, client-based and clientless zero-trust access with QUIC and MASQUE, ThousandEyes, and an ordered method for troubleshooting the access path
Operations — choosing the right visibility and enforcement tool, reading telemetry against a baseline, compliance evidence that survives an audit, the Secure Access dashboards, and the Cisco XDR and Splunk Enterprise integrations

Who it's for

Engineers preparing for SSCA 300-740 as a CCNP Security concentration, and anyone implementing Cisco Secure Access who wants the reasoning as well as the configuration. It assumes CCNA-level networking, basic familiarity with TLS and certificates, and general awareness of what a public cloud is. Everything else is built from the ground up.

A note on what this is

This is an independent, unofficial study guide. It is not endorsed by, affiliated with or produced in cooperation with Cisco Systems, Inc. All configurations are illustrative and should be tested in an environment you control. Cisco may revise exam topics at any time — always confirm the current blueprint before booking.

Free sample

The free sample runs to 40 pages: the complete front matter, the contents of the whole book, and the first four sub-sections of Section 1 in full — including diagrams, callouts and 20 knowledge-check questions. Download it and see whether the style suits you before buying.

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Kick off your book project, get started with GhostAI, get better at marketing, or spend the day doing all three! Free live workshops on Zoom. Saturday, June 27, 2026.

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