The most trusted source for computer security training, certification and research.



select a course
Global Information Assurance Certification

SANS courses bring the best of the best to one place to learn cutting edge information.
-Jeremy Baca, LMIT at Sandia National Labs

SECURITY 504 - Day 1

Incident Handling Step-by-Step and Computer Crime Investigation

6 CPE Credits

NOTE: Includes access to the Virtual Training Lab


Securing an infrastructure is a complex task of balancing business needs against security risks. With the discovery of new vulnerabilities almost on a daily basis, there is always the potential for an intrusion. In addition to online intrusions, physical incidents like fires, floods and crime all require a solid methodology for incident handling to be in place, in order to get systems and services back online as quickly and securely as possible.

The first part of the course looks at the invaluable Incident Handling Step-by-Step model. Incident Handling Step-by-Step was created through a consensus process involving experienced incident handlers from corporations, government agencies, and educational institutes, and has been proven effective in hundreds of organizations. This section is designed to provide students a complete introduction to the incident handling process, using the six steps (preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery and lessons learned) one needs to follow to prepare for and deal with a computer incident.

The second part of this course examines from-the-trenches case studies to understand what does and does not work in identifying computer attackers. This section provides valuable information on the steps a systems administrator can take to improve the chances of catching and prosecuting attackers.
  • Preparation
    • Building a Jump Kit
    • Identifying the Core Team
    • Instrumentation of the Site and System
  • Identification
    • Signs of an Incident
    • First Steps
    • Chain of Custody
  • Containment
    • Documentation Strategies: Video and Audio
    • Containment and Quarantine
    • Pull the Network Cable, Switch and Site
    • Identifying and Isolating the Trust Model
  • Eradication
    • Evaluating Whether a Backup is Compromised
    • Total Rebuild of the Operating System
    • Moving to a New Architecture
  • Recovery
    • Who Makes the Determination to Return to Production?
    • Monitoring to System
    • Expect an Increase in Attacks
  • Special Actions for Responding to Different Types of Incidents
    • Espionage
    • Inappropriate Use
    • Sexual Harassment
  • Incident Record Keeping
    • Pre-built Forms
    • Legal Acceptability
  • Incident Follow-Up
    • Lessons Learned Meeting
    • Changes in Process for the Future

504 was a great course to better enhance my understanding of attack methods and how to better defend my systems
-Dustin Odsa, Indiana University

Training Events By Course

SECURITY 504 :: Hacker Techniques, Exploits and Incident Handling
SANS 2010 Orlando, FL March 06, 2010 - March 15, 2010
SANS CDI East 2009 Washington, DC December 11, 2009 - December 18, 2009
SANS Security East 2010 New Orleans, LA January 10, 2010 - January 18, 2010
SANS Security West 2010 San Diego, CA May 07, 2010 - May 15, 2010
Mentor Session - Security 504 Sacramento, CA December 07, 2009 - December 16, 2009
SANS London 2009 London, United Kingdom November 28, 2009 - December 06, 2009
Community SANS Ottawa 2010 Ottawa, ON March 22, 2010 - March 27, 2010
Community SANS Salt Lake City Winter 2009 Salt Lake City, UT November 30, 2009 - December 05, 2009
Community SANS Rome 2010 Rome, Italy February 01, 2010 - February 17, 2010
Community SANS Mexico 2010 Mexico City, Mexico March 22, 2010 - March 27, 2010
Mentor Session - Security 504 Honolulu, HI January 19, 2010 - March 23, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC504 Houston, TX January 14, 2010 - March 18, 2010
SANS Northern Virginia Bootcamp 2010 Reston, VA April 06, 2010 - April 13, 2010
Mentor Session - Security 504 Greenwood Village, CO January 08, 2010 - March 12, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC504 Portland, OR December 08, 2009 - February 23, 2010
Mentor Session - 504 Slidell, LA January 27, 2010 - April 07, 2010
Community SANS Colorado Springs 2010 Colorado Springs, CO March 08, 2010 - March 13, 2010
Community SANS Madison 2010 Madison, WI April 26, 2010 - May 01, 2010
Community SANS Honolulu 2010 Honolulu, HI May 03, 2010 - May 08, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC504 Greentree, PA January 05, 2010 - March 09, 2010
Pensacola 2010 Pensacola, FL January 25, 2010 - January 30, 2010
SANS vLive! - SEC 504 - Ed Skoudis and John Strand Webcast Classroom Training, VA May 04, 2010 - June 10, 2010
SANS Dublin 2010 Dublin, Ireland March 15, 2010 - March 20, 2010
SANS India 2010 Bangalore, India February 22, 2010 - February 27, 2010
SANS OnDemand Online Training & Assessments Anytime
SANS SelfStudy Books and .MP3s Only Anytime