Why Certify?

In 1999, SANS founded GIAC, the Global Information Assurance Certification, which has allowed over 20,000 security professionals to prove their skills and meet challenging standards. GIAC is unique in the field of information security certifications by not only testing a candidate's knowledge, but also testing a candidate's ability to put that knowledge into practice in the real world.

A certification is proof an individual meets a minimum standard. The mission of GIAC is to provide assurance to employers that their people and prospective hires can actually do the job.

A study released by the Gartner Group predicted that:

"Security certification will be required of 40 percent of personnel having day-to-day technical operations responsibility" and that "the GIAC certification will likely become the preferred credential."

To accomplish this mission, GIAC goes beyond theory and terminology and tests the pragmatics of audit, security, operations and management tasks.

Benefits of GIAC Information Security Certification for Individuals

• For system and network administrators and security professionals, the program offers added confidence that you know what tasks need to be done to protect systems and networks and that you possess the skills needed to carry out those tasks.
• SANS courses use a "first-things-first" approach, ensuring that dangerous threats - those that are actively being exploited - are addressed early and thoroughly.
• GIAC certification ensures that certified professionals can keep their skills and knowledge current through periodic recertification and access to the latest, most up-to-date information.
• Many large private companies and government agencies now request or require GIAC certification for new job candidates.

Benefits of GIAC Information Security Certification to Employers

• Confidence that GIAC certified individuals who are securing your systems and networks actually know how to do the job.
• SANS training provides system and network administrators with the technical skills needed to meet their security responsibilities.
• Many organizations, including the US government, are asking contractors and consultants to have folks certified before winning new contracts.

In addition to personal benefit, a certification is a manager's tool in two ways. To begin with, it is a way to verify the time and money you have invested in an employee's education is not wasted because your employee has something tangible to show for it. Secondly, it is a way for a new manager to know that an employee is capable because they have the credentials to show they know what they are talking about.

The exams are taken online via your Portal account in a proctored environment. Students who complete the exam for their certification have earned the GIAC Silver. Students who want to take their professional accomplishment to another level have the option of pursuing GIAC Gold or GIAC Platinum. GIAC Gold will require a technical report to be completed by the candidate that will benefit the community. Students attempting GIAC Gold will have an advisor to work with throughout the development of their project. The GIAC platinum level certifications and specifically the testing process is a multi-faceted approach that is the most rigorous and comprehensive in the IT security industry. The GIAC platinum series ensures that an individual is a true subject area expert.

For more information on GIAC Certification we recommend you download our GIAC Program Overview. You may want to also check out the following documents:

Profile from the Front Lines

Does Information Security Certification Really Matter

One of GIAC's primary goals is to continually advance the defensive state of practice of information security. We do this not only through education, but also by sharing our research with others so that they too can continue to learn.

• Community consensus drives our curriculum and shapes the future direction of the program.
• Public disclosure on our web site - through GIAC and the SANS Internet Storm Center, through consensus documents, and through the research of GIAC certified professionals - provides free public information and education.

The more qualified security professionals there are the better protected our Internet neighborhoods become. It is much like having more police officers watching over us, or at the very least a really strong Neighborhood Watch group. Our "neighborhood" is worldwide, so we need a lot of qualified "police officers" to do the job right. The mission of GIAC is to provide assurance to employers that their people and prospective hires can actually do the job.

Where Can I Take Classes and Register!

The SANS Promise is "You will be able to apply our information security training the day you get back to the office!"