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Global Information Assurance Certification

SANS delivers the best training I have seen in the industry.
-Brian Hughes, Idaho State University

SECURITY 401

SANS Security Essentials Bootcamp Style

8 CPE/Days 1-5, 6 CPE/Day 6

Please note that some course material for SEC 401 and MGT 512 may overlap. We recommend SEC 401 for those interested in a more technical course of study, and MGT 512 for those primarily interested in a leadership-oriented but less technical learning experience.
This course prepares you for the GSEC certification which meets the requirement of the DoD 8570 IAT Level 2.

Maximize your training time and turbo-charge your career in security by learning the full SANS Security Essentials curriculum needed to qualify for the GSEC certification. In this course you will learn the language and underlying theory of computer security. At the same time you will learn the essential, up-to-the-minute knowledge and skills required for effective performance if you are given the responsibility for securing systems and/or organizations. This course meets both of the key promises SANS makes to our students: (1) You will gain up-to-the-minute knowledge you can put into practice immediately upon returning to work; and, (2) You will be taught by the best security instructors in the industry. As always, great teaching sets SANS courses apart, and SANS ensures this by choosing instructors who have ranked highest in a nine-year competition among potential security faculty.

SPECIAL NOTE: This course is endorsed by the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) NSTISSI 4013 Standard for Systems Administrators in Information Systems Security (INFOSEC).

Test your security knowledge with our SANS Security Essentials Assessment Test. Get your free test at https://portal.sans.org/assessments/

People who have taken SEC 401: Security Essentials have also taken:

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View Dr. Cole's security videos

  • Who Should Attend
    • Security Professionals who want to fill the gaps in their understanding of technical information security
    • Managers who want to understand information security beyond simple terminology and concepts
    • Anyone new to information security with some background in information systems and networking
  • SANS Security Essentials Course Topics
    • Risk Assessment and Auditing
    • Host and Network Based Intrusion Detection
    • Honeypots, Firewalls and Perimeter Protection
    • Security Policy
    • Password Management
    • Security Incident Handling - The Six Steps
    • Information Warfare
    • Web Security
    • Network Fundamentals and IP Concepts and Behavior
    • Cisco Router Filters
    • Four Primary Threats for Perimeter Protection
    • PGP, Steganography
    • Anti-Viral Tools
    • Windows (2000, XP, 2003, Vista) Security Administration and Auditing
    • IIS Security
    • Unix Security Fundamentals

The SANS class stands out above the rest because of the subject matter experts who teach the classes and labs.
-Shirlee Eitel-Birgham, State of Nevada

Author Statement

One of the things I love to hear from students after teaching Security 401 is "I have worked in security for many years and after taking this course I realized how much I did not know." With the latest version of Security Essentials and the Bootcamp, we have really captured the critical aspects of security and enhanced those topics with examples to drive home the key points. After attending Security 401, I am confident you will walk away with solutions to problems you have had for a while plus solutions to problems you did not even know you had.
- Eric Cole

Dr. Eric Cole on YouTube — Introducing Security Essentials

Training Events By Course

SECURITY 401 :: SANS Security Essentials Bootcamp Style
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
SANS London 2009 London, United Kingdom November 28, 2009 - December 06, 2009
Mentor Session - Security 401 Boise, ID February 02, 2010 - April 06, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Sacramento, CA January 25, 2010 - February 03, 2010
Community SANS Mexico 2010 Mexico City, Mexico March 22, 2010 - March 27, 2010
Community SANS Knoxville 2010 Knoxville, TN January 18, 2010 - January 23, 2010
Community SANS Boca Raton 2010 Boca Raton, FL January 18, 2010 - January 23, 2010
SANS Tokyo 2010 Spring Tokyo, Japan February 15, 2010 - February 20, 2010
SANS Northern Virginia Bootcamp 2010 Reston, VA April 06, 2010 - April 13, 2010
Community SANS Cincinnati 2010 Cincinnati, OH January 18, 2010 - January 23, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Toronto, ON December 07, 2009 - February 22, 2010
SANS Wellington 2010 Wellington, New Zealand March 15, 2010 - March 20, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Arlington, VA January 20, 2010 - March 24, 2010
Mentor Session - Security 401 Augusta, GA January 12, 2010 - March 16, 2010
Community SANS Springfield, IL 2010 Springfield, IL February 01, 2010 - February 06, 2010
SANS Phoenix 2010 Phoenix, AZ February 14, 2010 - February 20, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Calgary, AB February 02, 2010 - April 06, 2010
Community SANS Oklahoma City 2010 Oklahoma City, OK March 08, 2010 - March 13, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Minneapolis / Edina, MN January 14, 2010 - March 18, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Bentonville, AR December 03, 2009 - February 18, 2010
SANS vLive! - SEC 401 - Eric Cole and Seth Misenar Webcast Classroom Training, VA January 19, 2010 - February 25, 2010
Mentor Session - SEC401 Bangkok, Thailand January 26, 2010 - March 30, 2010
SANS Dublin 2010 Dublin, Ireland March 15, 2010 - March 20, 2010
SANS OnDemand Online Training & Assessments Anytime
SANS SelfStudy Books and .MP3s Only Anytime