Security for a day

SANS Canberra 2009

The folks from SANS are back again to the capital city. Four tracks are being run this time

504: Hacker Techniques, Exploits and Incident Handling – John Strand

508: Computer Forensics, Investigation, and Response – Rob Lee

401: Security Essentials Boot Camp – Mark Hofman

560: Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking – Bryce Galbraith

Having dropping Mark with a large bar tab, forcing John to talk for two hours despite jet lag and sleep deprivation, attempting to point out the Southern Cross to Bryce in a cloud covered night sky and being randomly lasered in the back of the head by Rob, I can honestly say this should be a great and highly entertaining group of instructors to get in Canberra.

Shearwater are managing the conference again, so expect a smooth, well oiled event.

My biggest hope to to drop one more round of shots on Mark’s unsuspecting bar tab, er, be able to take the 560 or 508 tracks this time round.

All joking aside, SANS training and instructors blows away any of the competition when it comes to relevant, skills based security training. These guy’s day jobs keep them in contact with the real world and they pass on that knowledge and skills over the six days of training.

With a less than cheery outlook on the job market, having real skills and the confidence to use them, rather than page filling training is going to make the difference in front of an interviewer or at the next review with your boss.

Yes, the training isn’t cheap and the SANS brand isn’t as well known as the CISSP, but the skills and knowledge gained from the training is undeniable.

The certification may not be as widely recognized, but when it is, the other person knows you’ve earn it on your own merits. No braindumps, crash courses or parrot learning to get you over the SANS line, only hard work and UNDERSTANDING the material.

That makes the difference to me.