Training
Featured Course View All Courses
Get a Free Hour of SANS Training

Experience SANS training through course previews.

Learn More
Learning Paths
FeaturedView all Focus Areas
NEW - AI Security Training
Can't find what you are looking for?

Let us help.

Contact us
Free Resources

SANS Community Benefits

Connect, learn, and share with other cybersecurity professionals

Customer Case Studies

Discover how organizations and individual cyber practitioners use SANS training and GIAC certifications

AI Risk & Readiness

Explore expert-driven guidance, training, and tools to help defend against AI-powered threats and adopt AI securely

Join the SANS Community

Become a member for instant access to our free resources.

Sign Up
For Organizations

Public Sector

Mission-focused cybersecurity training for government, defense, and education

Partnerships

Explore industry-specific programming and customized training solutions

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsor a SANS event or research paper

Interested in developing a training plan to fit your organization’s needs?

We're here to help.

Contact Us
Group Purchasing
Group Purchasing

John Hubbard

Senior InstructorConsultant at Security Operations Center (SOC)

Specialities

Cyber Defense, Cybersecurity Leadership

Connect with John

John Hubbard
Jump to:

About John Hubbard

Few instructors combine real-world security operations center (SOC) leadership, curriculum design, and frontline defense experience like John Hubbard. As a Senior Instructor at the SANS Institute, author of SANS SEC450: SOC Analyst Training – Applied Skills for Cyber Defense Operations, and co-author of SANS LDR551: Building and Leading Security Operations Centers, John translates years of frontline SOC leadership into practical lessons students can immediately apply. His courses give participants more than technical knowledge—they build the skills and judgment that ensure professionals thrive in modern security operations.

John’s path into cyber defense was fueled by a fascination with how complex systems can fail, and with how defenders can out-think attackers. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Engineering in Computer Engineering with a specialization in Information Assurance and Network Security from SUNY Binghamton, he joined the SOC of a global pharmaceutical company. Rising from analyst to U.S. SOC Manager, John helped scale global operations, lead threat hunts, tune detections, and coordinate incident responses across a vast enterprise. These real-world challenges shape the labs in his courses, where students practice the same workflows, detection engineering, and threat hunting techniques he used on the job.

John holds multiple advanced GIAC certifications spanning SOC operations, continuous monitoring, cloud threat detection, penetration testing, and malware analysis. He is also a faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute, which has been designated an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and is a multi-year winner of the National Cyber League competition. Beyond credentials, he is author of SEC450 and LDR551 and extends his impact through the Blueprint podcast, his blog, public speaking, and defensive research, fostering a global community around SOC leadership and detection engineering.

In the classroom, John is known for his clarity, energy, and hands-on teaching style. He builds environments that mimic real SOC conditions, enriching them with lessons from actual investigations. Students often praise his ability to make difficult concepts simple and engaging, while keeping labs practical and relevant — learners leave class empowered to apply SOC workflows, detection engineering, and hunting skills immediately. Away from cyber defense, he recharges by playing piano and guitar as well as exploring electronic music production and DJing, and he enjoys photography and the craft of roasting coffee. To balance these creative outlets, he stays active with CrossFit, running, and hiking. These pursuits reflect the same spirit of exploration he brings to teaching, inspiring students to approach cyber defense with creativity, persistence, and passion.

Qualification Summary

Press & Media

More From John

Students Say

  • Slide 1 of 3
    Your enthusiasm for the content is energetic.
    Karen Igo
  • Slide 2 of 3
    John Hubbard is extremely knowledgeable and has good insight into problems that people run into. I especially appreciate the practical examples he offers from his career.
    Robert WilsonUniversity of South Carolina
  • Slide 3 of 3
    I enjoy John Hubbard's teaching style. He keeps things moving briskly, but gives enough information and even has time for questions. He does a great job of staying on time, as well.
    Erick Sugimura Mammoth Hospital
Slide 1 of 0

Virtual Events

Explore content featuring this instructor’s insights and expertise.