Is the CISSP the best security certification to get?

Answer 1

In a word, YES. Now in a much longer reply... Some certifications come and go, some are here to stay, like the Microsoft MCSE and the Cisco CCNA/CCNP/CCIE. The CISSP is also here to stay, it's been hot for a while now (I got mine in Jan 2005 and it was already hot for a year or two then) and they're still holding classes and tests in my area every month.

The reason the CISSP is held in such high regard for security is that you have to possess a good amount of experience which you have to be able to prove, you have to pass a relatively difficult exam with 250 questions in 6 hours, and you have to keep current by earning 120 CPEs every 3 years.

I would consider the CISSP the best #1 "general" or "vendor agnostic" security certification to have. Get that first. Then if you want to drill down into vendor certs, like for Cisco's CCSP, do that second.

There are over 41000 CISSPs now.
Below is a link to show you the breakdown by country.
https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/constituent_count.cgi#cissps

Answer 2

"CertCities.com Reader's Choice Awards named CISSP Certification as the Best Security Certification and a Finalist for the Most Respected High Level Certification in 2003. The CISSP Certification has also been ranked as one of the 10 Hottest Certifications by CertCities.com in 2003 and 2004."