SANS Institute

The SANS Institute is a private U.S. company that specializes in internet security training. It was founded in 1989 and provides computer security training, professional certification through Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC), and a research archive - the SANS Reading Room. It also operates the Internet Storm Center, an Internet monitoring system staffed by a global community of security practitioners. The trade name SANS (deriving from SysAdmin, Audit, Networking, and Security) belongs to the for-profit Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies.

SANS training

When originally organized in 1989, SANS Conferences functioned like traditional technical conferences showcasing technical presentations. By the mid-1990s, SANS evolved into a more commercial format offering events which combined training with tradeshows and vendor-oriented marketing. As of 2008 SANS offers computer and internet security courses in a variety of formats including a virtual classroom (SANS vLive), online training and assessments (SANS OnDemand) and live training via Community SANS, a Local Mentor Program, and the original Conference format. Free webcasts and email newsletters (@Risk, Newsbites, Ouch!) have been developed in conjunction with security vendors. The actual content behind SANS training courses and training events remain "vendor-agnostic." Vendors cannot pay to offer their own official SANS course, although they can teach a SANS "hosted" event via sponsorship.

Certifications related to SANS training courses are offered by SANS-operated GIAC.

SANS Technology Institute

As of 2008 SANS has branched out into the SANS Technology Institute, a degree-granting educational organization based on SANS training. SANS continues to offer free security content via the SANS Technology Institute Leadership Lab and IT/Security related leadership information.

Publications

SANS instructors have contributed to many security-oriented books, such as:

• Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software (ISBN 978-0321477897)
• Blogging for Business (ISBN 978-1419536458)
• Hackers Beware: The Ultimate Guide to Network Security (ISBN 0-7357-1009-0)
• Hiding in Plain Sight : Steganography and the Art of Covert Communication (ISBN 0-471-44449-9)
• Inside Network Perimeter Security: The Definitive Guide to Firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Routers, and Intrusion Detection Systems (ISBN 0-7357-1232-8)
• IT Ethics Handbook (ISBN 1931836140)
• Linksys WRT54G Ultimate Hacking (ISBN 978-1597491662)
• Malware: Fighting Malicious Code (ISBN 0-13-101405-6)
• Counter Hack Reloaded: A Step-by-Step Guide to Computer Attacks and Effective Defenses (2nd Edition) (ISBN 0-13-148104-5)
• Know Your Enemy: Learning about Security Threats (2nd Edition) (ISBN 978-0321166463)
• Network Intrusion Detection (ISBN 0-7357-1265-4)
• Network Intrusion Detection: An Analyst's Handbook (ISBN 0-7357-1008-2)
• Snort Intrusion Detection and Prevention Toolkit (ISBN 978-1597490993)
• Demopoulos, Ted (2007). What no one ever tells you about-- blogging and podcasting : real-life advice from 101 people who successfully leverage the power of the blogosphere. Chicago, IL: Kaplan. ISBN 978-1-4195-8435-0. 

See also

• Computer security
• Information security
• Information Security Forum
• Internet Storm Center
• Information security management system (ISMS)
• IT risk

External links

• SANS Institute
• SANS Internet Storm Center
• SANS Technology Institute
• GIAC Security Certification
• SANS Security Blogs
• SANS Computer Forensics
• SANS IT Audit
• SANS Institute trade name information from Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation