SANS Institute Returns to Arizona to Help Cyber Security Professionals Sharpen their Skills

Offers a Unified Approach to Security with Metrics-Based Offensive and Defensive Training  

BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the New Year underway, a steady stream of data breach news confirms attacks against organizations are increasing. To better prepare cyber security professionals for the evolving fight against cyber attackers, SANS Institute today announced it is returning to Arizona for SANS Phoenix/Scottsdale 2014. Taking place in Scottsdale February 17 – 22, the training event will help information security professionals better understand how attackers are breaking into systems and detail which areas of security they should reinforce.

The event will focus on a metrics-based approach to information security with an emphasis on offensive and defensive security methods and how they work together. The SEC560: Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking course will help attendees hone their offensive skills by teaching them how to conduct successful penetration testing and ethical hacking techniques. The SEC566: Implementing and Auditing the 20 Critical Security Controls In-Depth course will focus on defense as students learn how to implement a prioritized, risk-based approach to information security (i.e. the 20 Critical Controls).  

"Breaches and data loss will continue unless organizations focus on the right areas of security which requires understanding how an attacker infiltrates systems," said Dr. Eric Cole, Fellow and Cyber Security Lead for the SANS Institute. "This event will teach cyber security professionals how to attack systems/networks so they know how to defend them. Leveraging this information and the 20 critical controls, students will learn what areas they need to defend while collecting metrics to measure their progress."

"In building a comprehensive information security program, organizations need to understand the importance of offense informing defense. That is to say that penetration testing, performed correctly, can assist in the threat modeling and self-targeting necessary to complete a defensive infrastructure," said Adrien de Beaupre, SANS Instructor and a member SANS' Internet Storm Center. "Penetration testing is best defined as modeling the actions of the threat factors that intend us harm. It requires correct threat assessment data and intelligence as an input, and provides information about the safeguards and corrective actions necessary for defending."

For more information on SANS Phoenix/Scottsdale 2014, including a complete list of courses, and instructors, or to register for the event please visit: http://www.sans.org/info/148300

About SANS Institute
The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest source for world-class information security training and security certification in the world, offering over 50 training courses each year. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, is a certification body featuring over 27 hands-on, technical certifications in information security. SANS offers a myriad of free resources to the InfoSec community including consensus projects, research reports, and newsletters; it also operates the Internet's early warning system—the Internet Storm Center. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to help the entire information security community. (www.SANS.org)

SOURCE SANS Institute