I would definitely recommend SANS to other practitioners. Being able to both reinforce and improve knowledge in an ever-evolving field is critical to your enduring success.

Which SANS Courses have you taken?

SEC503: Network Monitoring and Threat Detection In-Depth - GCIA Certified

SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, and Incident Handling- GCIH Certified

FOR508: Advanced Incident Response, Threat Hunting, and Digital Forensics - GCFA Certified

LDR514: Security Strategic Planning, Policy, and Leadership - GSTRT Certified

SEC599: Defeating Advanced Adversaries - Purple Team Tactics & Kill Chain Defenses - GDAT Certified

ICS515: ICS Visibility, Detection, and Response - GRID Certified

As a cybersecurity practitioner, how do you feel that SANS has supported you as an individual through your cybersecurity career?

Having started my cybersecurity career with limited foundational knowledge, SANS provided highly respected world-leading courses that enabled me to accelerate the development of foundational skills to excel within the Cyber Security field. The ever-evolving catalogue of courses that SANS offers has allowed me to pivot, as I have moved roles, and develop into a senior leadership position.

Please explain the benefits of being GIAC certified to you as an individual as well as to your organisation.

I hold 6 SANS certifications varying from in-depth technical certifications to my most recent SANS leadership certification. I feel certifications are important as it evidences that you have not just attended the course, but you have both understood the content and can implement that knowledge within your organisation. This will build both your personal brand and enable confidence from peers/colleagues that you are competent within the profession.

Would you recommend SANS to other cybersecurity practitioners?

I would definitely recommend SANS to other practitioners. Being able to both reinforce and improve knowledge in an ever-evolving field is critical to your enduring success. Having the opportunity to share stories and learn from peers, also attending the course, can also prove invaluable.

In what way does SANS training empower practitioners to enhance their technical proficiency and effectively address complex cybersecurity challenges?

SANS has world-leading instructors who can call on real-world examples to bring home the technical message that is being outlined. Utilising these examples really highlights the importance of both understanding the technical challenge, as well as the consequences of not taking proficient action. This really motivates the audience to take personal ownership in their learning journey but also to take the key messages back to their organisations to drive improvements.

How does SANS Institute’s training curriculum address the latest industry trends, technologies and best practices to ensure practitioners like yourself are equipped with knowledge and skills?

Cyber Security as a field is ever- evolving and if you stand still for just a short period of time you will generally be left behind. The SANS training catalogue is continually updated, and new courses are added which ensures practitioners can keep pace with the evolving threat landscape.

Aside from the training offerings available at SANS, do you use any of the complimentary resources or attend the complimentary summits?

The SANS posters are an invaluable resource which highlight bite-sized critical pieces of information to learn and refer to. I also utilise the SANS handler’s diary within my RSS feed which supports me in keeping up to date with ongoing Cyber Security news. I also attend the occasional SANS webcast when my diary allows.