The short version
AAISM stands for Advanced in AI Security Management. It is an ISACA exam for people who already hold CISM or CISSP and now have to secure, govern, or assess AI systems in an organization. The exam has 90 multiple-choice questions in 150 minutes, three domains, and a passing score of 450 on a scale of 200 to 800.
This guide draws on ISACA’s AAISM web pages, its exam content outline, and its exam candidate guide (version 1.26, which carries the outline dated June 2025). If anything here differs from ISACA’s pages, ISACA is the authority.
What the exam is
Think of AAISM as a management exam for the AI era, not a data science exam. You are not asked to train a model or write code. You are asked what a security manager should do when the asset is a model, a training set, an AI agent, or a supplier’s AI service.
That changes the questions you meet. Instead of “which port does this protocol use”, you get situations such as an AI feature that appears inside software you already own, a supplier that will not show you its training data, or a model whose behavior drifts without anyone changing a setting. Several answers will look reasonable. The exam wants the best one, and the qualifier in the question (BEST, FIRST, MOST likely) decides it.
Who it is for
ISACA describes AAISM as designed for IT security professionals with a CISM or CISSP who want recognition for securing enterprise AI solutions and for using AI to improve security operations. On its AAISM page, ISACA also says candidates should have proven security or advisory experience and some expertise in AI systems.
Typical readers are security managers, security architects, governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) staff, and consultants who have been handed AI risk on top of their normal work. The prerequisites page explains the CISM or CISSP requirement in detail.
Format at a glance
| Item | What ISACA says |
|---|---|
| Exam | Advanced in AI Security Management (AAISM) |
| Questions | 90 multiple-choice, each with a stem and four options and one best answer |
| Time | 2.5 hours (150 minutes) |
| Passing score | 450 or higher on a scaled score from 200 to 800 |
| Delivery | Computer-based, at a PSI testing center or remotely proctored |
| Languages | English, Spanish, and Japanese (per the candidate guide) |
| Prerequisite | An active CISM or CISSP |
Details on scoring, breaks, retakes, and scheduling are on the exam format page.
The three domains and their weightings
| Domain | Weighting |
|---|---|
| AI Governance and Program Management | 31% |
| AI Risk Management | 31% |
| AI Technologies and Controls | 38% |
One naming detail: ISACA’s exam content outline page calls the second domain “AI Risk Management”, while the candidate guide’s version of the outline calls it “AI Risk and Opportunity Management”. The weighting is the same in both. We use the shorter name.
AI Governance and Program Management
This domain is about who decides, what is written down, and how AI is run as a program. ISACA lists five areas: stakeholder needs, frameworks and regulatory requirements; AI strategies, policies, and procedures; management of the AI asset and data life cycle; development and management of an AI security program; and business continuity and incident response.
AI Risk Management
This domain covers how you find, rate, and treat AI risk. It has three areas: risk assessment, thresholds, and treatment; AI threat and vulnerability management; and AI vendor and supply chain management. Expect to separate a threat from a vulnerability, appetite from tolerance, and a risk assessment from an impact assessment.
AI Technologies and Controls
The heaviest domain, with five areas: security architecture and design; the AI life cycle (model selection, training, and validation); data management controls; privacy, ethical, trust, and safety controls; and security controls and monitoring. This is where concepts such as poisoning, prompt injection, and retrieval-time access control live. You need to understand them as a manager who can judge a design, not as an engineer who builds one.
How to read the exam
ISACA’s candidate guide says all questions have one best answer and that incorrect answers carry no penalty. So answer every question. Because the domain split is 38% for the technical-controls domain, spending about a third of your study time there is a sensible starting point, but the two management domains together make up 62% of the exam.
Official source
For ISACA’s own pages, see the AAISM page and the exam content outline.
More guides for AAISM
- AAISM Study Plan: 4-Week and 8-Week
- AAISM Sample Questions With Answers
- Is the AAISM Exam Hard?
- AAISM Renewal and Retakes Explained
- Is AAISM Worth It? An Honest Look
- AAISM Cheat Sheet: Key Facts to Review
- AAIA vs AAISM: Which ISACA AI Exam First?
- AAIR vs AAISM: Which ISACA AI Exam First?
Next step
Read the domains explained page to see where your time should go. When you want to check yourself, our AAISM practice tests are original practice sets with 450 questions across all three domains. They test readiness; they do not replace ISACA’s own learning material.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need CISM or CISSP to take AAISM?
Yes. ISACA’s AAISM page says candidates must hold an active CISM or CISSP.
Is there a penalty for wrong answers?
No. The candidate guide says grades are based solely on the number of correct answers, so you should answer every question.
Does the credential expire?
It has to be maintained. ISACA’s AAISM maintenance page asks for continuing professional education (CPE) and for your CISM or CISSP to stay active. The exam format page has the details.