News
SANS Institute Announces Training Program to Narrow Cyber Security Skills Gap in the GCC Region
October 2021 by Marc Jacob
SANS Institute has announced its upcoming online and in-person training program, SANS Gulf Region 2021, to be hosted from 6th – 25th November, 2021. The interactive event, led by industry experts, aims to build practical skills that participants can put into immediate effect. The program includes nine courses covering an extensive and immersive range of cybersecurity tactics. From standardized foundational skills, detecting and responding to threats, assessing deficiencies in an organization’s security architectures, to conducting successful penetration testing and ethical hacking projects, SANS Gulf Region 2021 offers a comprehensive training experience.
“Synchronous with the acceleration in remote work due to the pandemic, the cyber threat landscape is rapidly evolving in the GCC region. Consequently, the need for relevant and updated security increases as cybercriminals take advantage of this ongoing shift to execute attacks on vulnerable networks. By participating in and implementing learnings from regular training programs like SANS Gulf Region 2021, organizations will be better prepared to detect and prevent security breaches, even before they can escalate and disrupt workflow,” said Ned Baltagi, Managing Director – Middle East and Africa at SANS Institute.
In the latest threat intelligence report, released in August 2021 by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a provider of cybersecurity solutions globally, it was revealed that organizations in the UAE alone have experienced at least one intrusion, and on average, been targeted for attack 295 times per week in the last six months. This can be largely attributed to the cybersecurity skills gap in their workforces. The pandemic has generated a significant and relentless digitalization of the corporate world in the GCC region and, therefore, it is crucial that this gap is effectively addressed, for businesses to successfully navigate further digital transformation.
“Reskilling and upskilling employees will not only bridge the skills gap, but also go a long way in ensuring that businesses are safe from irrecoverable losses of data, repair time, and financial damage. SANS is committed to boosting the level of cybersecurity skills and the number of skilled and certified professions in the region, through our Live Online courses and In-Person training programs in 2021 and coming up in 2022,” Baltagi adds.
The program will offer practical training taught virtually by renowned cyber security practitioners, through live-streamed sessions. It will feature hands-on labs, supported by content from electronic and printed books, including several that align with GIAC certifications.
SANS Gulf Region 2021 will have classes taught in SANS’ unique In-Person Live-Stream (IPLS) setting. This training modality allows for participants to come to the training venue and train in a classroom with live support from professional Teaching Assistants, in compliance with global and local COVID regulations and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
In-Person Live Stream comes in two different formats – In-Person Live-Stream Dedicated Classroom and In-Person Live-Stream Study Hall Setting. Most of the courses for this event are set to take place in a Dedicated Classroom format, in which like-minded participants can engage face-to-face to discuss case studies, lessons learned, or explore new tools and innovative strategies. The course instructor will not be physically present, but live streamed to the classroom.
“In-Person Live-Stream also shows the flexibility SANS has demonstrated throughout the pandemic. Whilst we offer In-Person training as well as complete online training, In-Person Live-Stream aims to offer the best of both worlds by allowing students to interact together and study in a dedicated and quiet space, without the distractions from their home environment and with direct access to our world-class instructors as well as certified and knowledgeable teaching assistants,” Baltagi explains.
The instructors for the courses for the upcoming Gulf Region 2021 online event are Moses Frost for SEC588: Cloud Penetration Testing; Ovie Carroll for FOR500: Windows Forensic Analysis; Joshua Wright for SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, Exploits, and Incident Handling; Bryan Simon for SEC401: Security Essentials: Network, Endpoint, and Cloud; Mike Pilkington for FOR508: Advanced Incident Response, Threat Hunting, and Digital Forensics; Tim Medin for SEC560: Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking; Justin Searle for ICS410: ICS/SCADA Security Essentials; Eric Conrad for SEC511: Continuous Monitoring and Security Operations; and Robert M. Lee for ICS515: ICS
Visibility, Detection, and Response.
By participating in SANS Gulf Region 2021, organizations will be better prepared with a course of action to overcome even the most complex attacks, while benefiting from relevant and updated resources to protect their businesses.
Majority of the In-Person Live-Stream and simultaneous Live Online classes begin at 10AM and end at 6PM, Gulf Standard Time, except for the SEC401 and SEC511 courses which will begin at 10AM and conclude at 8PM, Gulf Standard Time.
