Categories
Everything on this site that isn’t my own story ends up here. The posts fall into four groups:
- Bad Infosec reviews: complaints other students and customers posted on PissedConsumer, Ripoff Report, Reddit and Trustpilot, each with a note on where it came from and when.
- News: what Infosec and its owner, Cengage Group, are doing, sourced to press releases and earnings calls.
- Better choices: how to check a training company’s claims, and which providers ISC2 actually lists as official partners.
- Study tool reviews: the CISSP prep I tried, including the ones that didn’t work for me.
Short on time? Start with is Infosec Institute legit?, who owns Infosec Institute, and how the pass guarantee really works.
If you only read one page, make it the full Infosec Institute review roundup.
Infosec Institute Alternatives: Where to Get CISSP Training Instead
The best alternatives to Infosec Institute: ISC2’s official training partners, ISC2’s own training, and the self-study tools that got me through the CISSP.
Infosec Institute Employee Reviews on Glassdoor: The Layoff and Outsourcing Claims
Infosec Institute’s Glassdoor rating, and a November 2025 employee review alleging layoffs and outsourcing. What it says and what it doesn’t prove.
Infosec Skills and Infosec IQ Reviews: What Users and Cengage’s Numbers Say
Reviews of Infosec Skills and Infosec IQ from users, plus what Cengage’s own reports say about IQ customer churn and Skills renewals.
Infosec Institute Exam Pass Guarantee: The Fine Print, According to Students
What students say it takes to qualify for Infosec Institute’s exam pass guarantee, how payouts work, and where people got caught out. Sourced from Reddit.
Who Owns Infosec Institute? Cengage, Its Private Equity Owners and the IPO
Infosec Institute is owned by Cengage, which is controlled by Apollo, Apax, KKR and Searchlight. The ownership chain, the write-off and the IPO filing.
Is Infosec Institute Legit? What the Evidence Shows in 2026
Infosec Institute is a real company owned by Cengage. Whether it’s worth your money is another question. A sourced answer with reviews and filings.
Infosec Institute Reviews on Reddit: What Students Say About the Boot Camps
What Reddit users said about Infosec Institute boot camps from 2015 to 2026: outdated materials, pass rates, the guarantee, and the good reviews too.
Infosec Institute Reviews on PissedConsumer and BBB: Every Complaint, Read and Summarized
All 18 Infosec Institute reviews on PissedConsumer and the BBB complaint, grouped by problem and dated, including the one positive review.
Cengage Wrote Off All of Infosec Institute’s Goodwill: The $101.6 Million Admission
Cengage’s own annual report shows it wrote off all $101.6 million of Infosec Institute’s goodwill. What that means, and what Cengage said at the time.
Cengage Says Infosec Is “Challenged”: What Its 2026 Earnings Calls Said
Cengage’s CFO told investors in February 2026 that Infosec was down year on year and that costs were being cut. The exact quotes, with sources.
Official ISC2 Training Partners in North America (Verified List)
The current list of ISC2 official training partners in North America, and how to check a CISSP provider’s “official” claim before you pay.
How to Verify a Training Company’s Claims (ISC2, EC-Council, CompTIA)
How to verify a training company’s claims with ISC2, EC-Council and CompTIA directly before you spend money on a CISSP, CEH or CompTIA boot camp.
Ripoff Report: Infosec Institute / Intense School MCSA Boot Camp, One Pass Out of 44
A Ripoff Report complaint about Infosec Institute’s Intense School MCSA boot camp, where the reviewer says one exam was passed out of 44.
Reddit Review: Infosec Institute’s CEH Boot Camp Isn’t Worth It
A student’s December 2018 Reddit review of Infosec Institute’s CEH boot camp: slide-reading instruction, buggy labs, typo-riddled materials and brain dumps.