SEC536: Adversarial AI - Penetration Testing AI Systems




Operational technology was never designed for the threat landscape it now sits in. Three forces are closing in at once: AI-driven attacks that move faster than any human response, identity hijacking that turns trusted access into the front door, and quantum computing that puts a hard expiry date on the cryptography protecting industrial systems today.
This session unpacks how those forces are reshaping OT security in practice, and why post-quantum resilience is a programme to start now rather than a problem to schedule later. OT assets have refresh cycles measured in decades, which means the cryptographic decisions made this year will still be live when quantum capability arrives.
Ideal for OT and ICS security leaders, CISOs, architects, and risk owners across critical infrastructure and industrial environments.
In-Person & Virtual
Registration:
About Core NetWars: The most comprehensive and AI-forward cyber range in the NetWars portfolio. Designed for practitioners across multiple disciplines, Core NetWars combines emerging AI security challenges with real-world cyber scenarios to strengthen the technical skills most needed for today's threats. It is the only range that qualifies for the annual Core NetWars Tournament of Champions!
Computer Requirements: Internet-based
Recommended For: All infosec practitioners of any level. It is recommended, but not required, that students have a basic or foundational knowledge of information technology and technical topics.
Disciplines: Cybersecurity 101, Cyber Defense, Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, Incident Response, Cloud Computing, and AI.
Example Topics:
Interactive Scenario: SANS students are deployed to BLOCCORP, a global media giant built on toys, streaming, gaming, and AI. As strange activity spreads across its infrastructure, they uncover compromised systems, vulnerable AI models, rogue IoT devices, and reckless automation. Can they expose BLOCCORP’s hidden agenda and stop its AI-driven ambitions before the damage is done?
In-Person & Virtual
Registration:
About Core NetWars: The most comprehensive and AI-forward cyber range in the NetWars portfolio. Designed for practitioners across multiple disciplines, Core NetWars combines emerging AI security challenges with real-world cyber scenarios to strengthen the technical skills most needed for today's threats. It is the only range that qualifies for the annual Core NetWars Tournament of Champions!
Computer Requirements: Internet-based
Recommended For: All infosec practitioners of any level. It is recommended, but not required, that students have a basic or foundational knowledge of information technology and technical topics.
Disciplines: Cybersecurity 101, Cyber Defense, Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, Incident Response, Cloud Computing, and AI.
Example Topics:
Interactive Scenario: SANS students are deployed to BLOCCORP, a global media giant built on toys, streaming, gaming, and AI. As strange activity spreads across its infrastructure, they uncover compromised systems, vulnerable AI models, rogue IoT devices, and reckless automation. Can they expose BLOCCORP’s hidden agenda and stop its AI-driven ambitions before the damage is done?
In-Person & Virtual
Anyone in the infosec industry for 5 minutes has had a training lecture on encryption. The vast majority have walked away scratching their head. Encryption seems like a seriously complicated subject, and it is, but only if you are building a new algorithm. The types and understanding are not. They just haven’t been presented properly. You have heard of symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hashing. But what are they under the hood, and where do you use each of them?
You will leave this presentation absolutely understanding all three, as well as non-repudiation. We will go through where each is used, and when and how they all get used together. Encryption is everywhere. We need to understand what is happening and be able to explain it.
As an added bonus, we will actually be doing the math behind the Diffie-Hellman key exchange BY HAND, just to show that it is not a scary and mysterious as people think. Given that you perform the Diffie-Hellman key exchange many times every day, it is a good idea to understand it and know where it is happening.
In-Person & Virtual
Advance your operational leadership skills through scenarios built around the Operational Cybersecurity Executive triad: Vulnerability Management, Security Operations, and Defensive Controls. Collaborate with peers, tackle real-world challenges, and engage in strategic discussions supporting core concepts from:
In-Person & Virtual
Strengthen your leadership skills through scenarios built around the Transformational Cybersecurity Leader triad: Technology, Strategy, and Culture. Collaborate with peers, tackle complex decisions, and engage in strategic discussions supporting core concepts from:
In-Person & Virtual
DNS architecture is vital to the security of our networks. It’s an essential part of providing users access to internet websites or other services, and by design provides proxied access to external DNS systems—which makes it a perfect target for attackers looking to establish command-and-control, exfiltrate data, or control what IP addresses our users are actually talking to.
Fortunately, we can architect DNS and the related infrastructure to provide a robust, sustainable, and securable service, including limiting an attacker’s movement, limiting the impact of a compromise, and monitoring for attempted or successful intrusions. In this talk we’ll discuss the key elements and benefits of a defensible DNS architecture, starting with general architecture principles and then diving into specific techniques.
In-Person & Virtual
Registration:
About Core NetWars: The most comprehensive and AI-forward cyber range in the NetWars portfolio. Designed for practitioners across multiple disciplines, Core NetWars combines emerging AI security challenges with real-world cyber scenarios to strengthen the technical skills most needed for today's threats. It is the only range that qualifies for the annual Core NetWars Tournament of Champions!
Computer Requirements: Internet-based
Recommended For: All infosec practitioners of any level. It is recommended, but not required, that students have a basic or foundational knowledge of information technology and technical topics.
Disciplines: Cybersecurity 101, Cyber Defense, Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, Incident Response, Cloud Computing, and AI.
Example Topics:
Interactive Scenario: SANS students are deployed to BLOCCORP, a global media giant built on toys, streaming, gaming, and AI. As strange activity spreads across its infrastructure, they uncover compromised systems, vulnerable AI models, rogue IoT devices, and reckless automation. Can they expose BLOCCORP’s hidden agenda and stop its AI-driven ambitions before the damage is done?
In-Person & Virtual
Registration:
About Core NetWars: The most comprehensive and AI-forward cyber range in the NetWars portfolio. Designed for practitioners across multiple disciplines, Core NetWars combines emerging AI security challenges with real-world cyber scenarios to strengthen the technical skills most needed for today's threats. It is the only range that qualifies for the annual Core NetWars Tournament of Champions!
Computer Requirements: Internet-based
Recommended For: All infosec practitioners of any level. It is recommended, but not required, that students have a basic or foundational knowledge of information technology and technical topics.
Disciplines: Cybersecurity 101, Cyber Defense, Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, Incident Response, Cloud Computing, and AI.
Example Topics:
Interactive Scenario: SANS students are deployed to BLOCCORP, a global media giant built on toys, streaming, gaming, and AI. As strange activity spreads across its infrastructure, they uncover compromised systems, vulnerable AI models, rogue IoT devices, and reckless automation. Can they expose BLOCCORP’s hidden agenda and stop its AI-driven ambitions before the damage is done?
In-Person & Virtual
We have all heard of the blockchain. But what is it? We have all heard of Bitcoin, but, “I can’t invest in something I can’t hold”. What gives it value? How is it calculated? And how anonymous is it, really? All of these questions and more will be answered in this fast paced, but easy to understand lecture on what the blockchain is, how it is calculated, how a bitcoin gets mined or created, and how traceable it is.
In-Person & Virtual
Registration:
About DFIR NetWars: Focused on digital forensics, incident response, threat hunting, and malware analysis, this tool-agnostic approach covers everything from low-level artifacts to high-level behavioral observations.
Computer Requirements: Laptop/desktop-based
Recommended For: Experienced Digital Forensic Analysts, Forensic Examiners, Media Exploitation Examiners, Malware Analysts, Incident Responders, Threat Hunters, Security Operations Center (SOC) Analysts, Law Enforcement Officers, Federal Agents, Detectives, and Cyber Crime Investigators.
Disciplines: Digital Forensics, Incident Response.
Example Topics:
Interactive Scenario: As a DFIR specialist, you are provided with evidence files from a series of mysterious compromised systems and conventional computing environments. Your mission? Use your DFIR skills to shed light on attack vectors, indicators of compromise, and other evidence needed to resolve the incident.
In-Person & Virtual
Registration:
About DFIR NetWars: Focused on digital forensics, incident response, threat hunting, and malware analysis, this tool-agnostic approach covers everything from low-level artifacts to high-level behavioral observations.
Computer Requirements: Laptop/desktop-based
Recommended For: Experienced Digital Forensic Analysts, Forensic Examiners, Media Exploitation Examiners, Malware Analysts, Incident Responders, Threat Hunters, Security Operations Center (SOC) Analysts, Law Enforcement Officers, Federal Agents, Detectives, and Cyber Crime Investigators.
Disciplines: Digital Forensics, Incident Response.
Example Topics:
Interactive Scenario: As a DFIR specialist, you are provided with evidence files from a series of mysterious compromised systems and conventional computing environments. Your mission? Use your DFIR skills to shed light on attack vectors, indicators of compromise, and other evidence needed to resolve the incident.
In-Person & Virtual