The growing importance of cyber security in Saudi Arabia was highlighted at the very start of this year when an estimated ten high-profile government and private sector enterprises were targeted by the destructive Shamoon 2 malware. SANS Institute, the global leader in information security training, aims to arm organizations in the Kingdom with the knowledge and skills needed to prevent and mitigate the impact of such cyber-attacks by hosting a set of instructor-led classroom trainings in Riyadh slated on May 6-11, 2017. Each of four courses at SANS Riyadh prepares students to take the associated globally renowned GIAC certification exams. ‘SANS Riyadh 2017' will feature four courses, covering cyber security essentials as well as in-depth hands-on trainings on the key topics of network forensics and analytics, hacker tools and techniques, and penetration testing and ethical hacking. "Cyber security is a hot topic in Saudi Arabia as the country has been the epicenter of multiple large-scale politically and financially motivated attacks," explained Ned Baltagi, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa at SANS. "Now for the first time, organizations in the Kingdom will be able to avail of our expertly-led world-class cyber security courses at a SANS Training Event. We have specifically designed the trainings to tackle real-world scenarios so attendees will be prepared to handle the complex cyber challenges that have plagued the country in recent years." With the rise in advanced persistent threats, it is almost inevitable that organizations will be targeted. SEC401: Security Essentials Bootcamp Style will teach attendees how to develop effective security metrics, analyze and assess cyber risk, and create robust security programs anchored on the tried and tested Prevent-Detect-Respond strategy. As human behavior is a key element in both the manner in which attacks are carried out and their success rate, SANS has included the courses SEC560: Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking and SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, Exploits, and Incident Handling to address the various challenges associated with this factor. SEC560 will teach attendees to uncover and remedy flaws in their organization's IT infrastructure while SEC504 will familiarize them with the tools and techniques that hackers commonly leverage to carry out their attacks. Finally, as no security systems can today offer a 100% safety guarantee, FOR572: Advanced Network Forensics and Analysis will provide attendees with the critical skills needed to mount efficient and effective post-incident response investigations. Armed with this, they will be able to handle intrusion incidents, data theft cases, employee misuse scenarios, and also engage in proactive adversary discovery, all of which are essential to pinpointing and addressing the cause of the attack. The instructors for the courses include Philip Hagen who has worked in IT security since 1998, Hidayath Ullah Khan who holds CISSP, GCIH, GPEN, GSEC, GHD certifications and has over 20 years' experience in Information Security, Steve Armstrong whose distinguished 23+ career includes serving in the UK Royal Air Force, and Erik Van Buggenhout who, in addition to being an instructor at SANS, is also the head of technical security services at nViso. "SANS is delighted to bring this unique combination of cyber security trainings to Riyadh" said Van Buggenhout. He added "from our vast catalogue of cyber security trainings, we selected courses ranging from Security Essentials to Incident Handling, Penetration Testing and Digital Forensics. I would personally like to invite attendees to my Penetration Testing course, where I will explain in-depth hacking concepts and techniques and share my experiences from 9 years in the field as a penetration tester." — SG
