SANS GGSC Training - Learn to Baseline the Most Ubiquitous Desktop Operating System in Existence, Windows 2000 Pro.

Target: System Administrators, Auditors, Security Officers, Security Managers responsible for Windows 2000 systems
Timeframe: This certificate is to be completed within a 10 week timeframe. The practical assignment is due at 8 weeks. The exam deadline is at 10 weeks.
 
In the information assurance and security world, being able to establish and configure systems to a minimum standard of security allows administrators and auditors to use a formal statement of minimum best practice to both secure and evaluate systems.  The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is leading the community in the creation of these standards which, once reviewed and adopted, become "Gold Standards".  The SANS Institute is creating training courses to help IT professionals understand how and why the standards are applied as well as explaining the use and interpretation of the measurement tools provided by CIS. 

This course focuses on around CIS Windows 2000 Gold Standard Template, and associated tools.  General best practices regarding the installation and configuration of Windows 2000 Pro systems are included.

SmoothPackets offers GGSC training to individuals in the Orange County area as part of SANS local mentor program.  The course is a one day event spent between lecture, discussion, and lab.  We guarantee you will be prepared for the certification exam, but more importantly, you will gain the skills to easily secure your Windows 2000 desktops on an enterprise level.

This course is limited to 15 students per session.  Please make arrangements to attend as early as possible.

SANS GSEC Training - GIAC Security Essentials Certification

Level: Foundational
Renewal: Every two years
Target: Security Professionals that want to fill the gaps in their understanding of technical information security; System, Security, and Network Administrators that want to understand the pragmatic applications of the CBK; managers that want to understand information security beyond simple terminology and concepts; anyone new to information security with some background in information systems and networking.

GIAC Security Essentials Certification graduates have the knowledge, skills and abilities to incorporate good information security practice in any organization. The GSEC tests the essential knowledge and skills required of any individual with security responsibilities within an organization.

This is the definitive hacking fundamentals course.  Strongly influenced by Sun Tzu's teachings of "Know thy enemy", this course blends the theoretical with the practical in all areas relevant to Information Security.  Course materials include TCP/IP protocol theory, Policy and Procedure development, Cryptography, Windows Security, and Unix Security.

SmoothPackets offers the GSEC course in the Orange County area as part of the SANS local mentor program.  The course lasts for 11 sessions, once per week, for between 2 and 3 hours per evening.  Our version is heavily lab oriented, so a laptop is necessary to enjoy the full benefits.  You will have an opportunity to perform the attack and defense techniques your course materials describe.  Our course will put you well on your way towards completing the GSEC certification, and you will find the practical experience and skills you develop to be of immediate use in your real-life administrative duties.

This course is limited to 15 students per session.  Please make arrangements to attend as early as possible.

SANS/FBI Top 20 Hit List - A Pragmatic Approach to Securing Your System against the Top 20 Vulnerabilities

Two years ago, the SANS Institute and the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) released a document summarizing the Ten Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities. Thousands of organizations used that list, and the expanded Top Twenty, which followed a year later, to prioritize their efforts so they could close the most dangerous holes first. The vulnerabilities that led to all three examples above - the Solar Sunrise Pentagon incident, and the Code Red and NIMDA worms - are on that list.

SmoothPackets offers a two-day course that goes through the SANS/FBI Top 20 vulnerability list item for item.  The days are evenly divided between the top 10 Windows and top 10 UNIX vulnerabilities.  The methodology is to describe the vulnerability, demonstrate its use, and present a solution.  The course is heavily lab oriented and requires a notebook computer.  You will have the opportunity to try the vulnerabilities against live systems first-hand.  This course was designed to meet a growing need to bring system administrators up to speed on the vulnerabilities that threaten their systems the most.  It is not an official SANS certification course, and must be registered directly through SmoothPackets.

The cost per student is $980.00  This course is limited to 6 students per session.  Please make arrangements to attend as early as possible.