Over the last ten years, thousands of individuals have taken the SANS MGT433 Managing Human Risk course, learning how to build, manage and measure mature awareness programs with the ultimate goal of managing human risk. Many students have gone on to take the SANS Security Awareness Professional (SSAP) – our industry’s leading credential demonstrating expertise in the field of managing human risk. And, even more importantly, students have been welcomed into a community of professionals, helping grow and become more successful in their career.
Every year we actively update the course to stay current with the latest risks, research, and technologies. For 2023 we are making the biggest update ever by expanding the course from two days to three days long. This expansion reflects just how much our industry has matured. We are not changing the course; we are building on and further developing the course to have an even greater emphasis on managing human risk:
- Expanding from five to eight interactive labs. The labs are one of the most popular aspects of the course, through which students can interact and learn with their peers. Student feedback has consistently shown requests for more time and more labs.
- Growing the section about identifying role-based risks and how to develop specialized training for those roles.
- Adding a deep dive into setting up your own Ambassador Program.
- Broadening the culture section, to include a lab on defining your organization’s overall culture, aligning security with that culture, and building and measuring your security culture.
- Expanding the metrics section to include how to present your metrics at a strategic level, plus how to use security frameworks and maturity models.
- Adding additional content on how to grow your role, expand your career, and increase your compensation.
Just to confirm, we are not changing the content of the course, we are expanding it.
Benefits for your organization:
- Align your security awareness program with your organization's strategic security priorities.
- Effectively identify, prioritize, and manage your organization's top human risks.
- More closely integrate your security awareness efforts with your security team's overall risk management efforts.
- Make the most of your investment by sustaining your program long-term, going beyond changing behavior to embedding a strong security culture.
- Communicate and demonstrate the value of the change to your senior leadership in business terms.
What About the SSAP?
The requirements and process for the SANS Security Awareness Professional (SSAP) remain the same for the expanded three-day course. The only difference is instead of being tested on two days of content you will be tested on three days of content. For those of you already holding the SSAP, there is no impact, as you will maintain your credential.
When Does the New Three-Day Version Go Live?
The first class is a beta class, to be held February 13, 2023. As a beta the February class is discounted. After that the final version of the class goes live April, 2023. The updated OnDemand recording of the class will go live in the same time frame as the In-Person classes. For the OnDemand experience we will be re-recording the entire course in a professional recording studio, ensuring you have the best recorded learning experience possible for self-paced study.
Should I Take the Course Again?
If you took MGT433 before 2019, you should consider taking the course again. There have been tremendous updates to not only our class, but the field overall. Did you know that SANS has a standing offer to alumni of any SANS course? Students can re-take a course at any time, in any modality, for 50% of the list price of the course. Here’s how:
- Register for the course.
- Select payment type “Check”.
- Send an email to tuition@sans.org with your invoice attached and request the “Alumni” discount.
- Your previous registration will be confirmed, and you will receive an updated invoice with the adjusted amount.
- You can then complete payment by calling the tuition team at +1 (301) 654-SANS (7267)
If your portal account email address has changed since you took the last course, please reach out to registration@sans.org with the information you have on the previous course.
SANS Institute is committed to providing the most up-to-date security training, worldwide, especially during unprecedented times when hackers tend to exploit vulnerabilities. We feel strongly that a proactive approach with security will help deter negative repercussions, and therefore we want to support our alumni with the most current offerings. Thank you for all you do to promote internet safety and security.
Do you need to justify your training request?
Download the Justification Letter template here, to help your cause. Review the full course description at MGT433: Managing Human Risk.
If you have any more questions, please reach out to me at lspitzner@sans.org, I would love to hear from you!
