A Look at the SANS Sponsorship Program

ICS SECURITY IN THE FIELD

With my firm ICS Defense Force, I perform industrial control system (ICS) security assessments, incident response tasks, and incident response tabletop exercises across multiple critical infrastructure sectors, globally. Some of the sectors in which I work include oil and gas, water, electric power generation, distribution, and critical manufacturing.

It is important to describe my practical field work in this context. It allows me to meet with security teams, engineering staff, and those leading the charge of cybersecurity risk management and defense. I also meet with the decision makers, those who seek technical solutions to address their cybersecurity challenges.

The most common discussions I have with asset owners and senior leadership are about recent security threats and how best to address them using the right type of technology solutions. This is where the SANS Sponsorship Program comes in. Sponsors reaching the right audience, at the right time, with the right message.

WHAT IS THE SANS SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

SANS provides the cybersecurity training and resources our community needs to protect their organizations. Sponsors provide the tools, technology, and services organizations need to succeed in keeping their environments secure and maintaining data and system confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The SANS Sponsorship Program aligns your tools, technology, and services with the world's leading provider of cybersecurity training and certifications. Partner with us on cutting-edge research projects, in-person and virtual events, and our array of custom content to reach the right audience, job function, and decision maker.

SANS SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS | RESEARCH, CONTENT, AND EVENTS

The benefits of sponsorship include increased brand awareness, sharing your thought leadership, connecting with the SANS audience, the ability to use your sponsorship involvement as marketing collateral, and more.

People

It’s not enough to connect with an audience, it’s critical you connect with the right audience. When you know who specifically you’re connecting with, you can be certain the right people will receive your message. Decision makers, tactical users, solution administrators, etc., all the job functions and work roles you wish to be part of your network are available to you when you join the SANS Sponsorship Program. These are the people who need to understand how your technologies and services can be added to their processes to help them solve their security issues and reduce their cyber risk.

Process

It is key to understand the processes organizations currently use to tackle modern cyber threats. Invariably, those processes will integrate a technology and toolset to increase effectiveness and efficiency. The goal of these streamlined processes is to manage resources optimally and reduce cyber risks. When you join the SANS Sponsorship Program, you can show a select audience how your technology or service can add efficiency to their security processes.

Technology

The right technology to do the job sets all these pillars in motion together: the people in the different job functions, leveraging the right technology, through the application of streamlined processes. This is how to effectively manage modern cybersecurity threats and actionable practical cyber defense. Key decision makers, leaders, and practitioners alike all look for technology that is flexible, feature-rich, and can directly address their cybersecurity concerns in the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. The SANS Sponsorship Program gives your organization the chance to show a qualified audience how your technology or service can help them reach their security goals.

Reaching the Right Audience

The SANS audience is global. As a sponsor, this allows you to connect with the right sectors, companies, and job function: the key decision makers with challenges that can potentially be overcome by your technology or service. The SANS audience spans multiple industry types, roles, job functions, and company sizes. View the latest SANS audience demographics overview below.

As a sponsor, you will be positioned in front of the right audience in any of our virtual, in-person, or hybrid modalities, based on your need or preference.

Engaging with the Audience In-Person

Joining the SANS Sponsorship Program allows your organization to connect with SANS audiences in-person for in-depth conversations and building relationships through face-to-face interactions.

Engaging with the Audience Virtually

Virtual options like our Live Online events provide sponsors the ability to reach audiences in different locations across different time zones, providing the most impact and interaction for a global reach.

HIGHLIGHTS — SOME SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS

Sponsors have the option to sponsor one or more type of project. The projects can even be customized to suit the sponsor’s need. Whether you’re interested in a custom survey or research paper, SANS will work with you to meet your vision.

Custom Surveys

Reach a highly skilled community to conduct market research
Shape your go-to market strategy
Work with a SANS research analyst

White Papers

Establish your position as a thought leader in your industry
Partner with a SANS expert to create insightful content on a topic of your choice

Product Reviews

Third-party, unbiased analysis of your product or service performed by a SANS Analyst
Highlight your tool’s capabilities to an audience of highly technical cybersecurity experts

First Looks

Introduce your cutting-edge technology or service to the SANS community
Increase your brand visibility within an over-populated market

Events

SANS Summits | In-person and virtual options available
Cyber Solutions Fest | Spring/Fall 2024

Sponsorship Program Examples

As an ICS/OT subject matter expert, I have had the pleasure to be involved several projects sponsored by critical infrastructure organizations. In each case, we ensured the sponsor’s message and value reached the right audience. Here are a few examples of those projects below.

A new option within the Sponsorship program, is called First Look, here’s an example:

Here are other examples that include white papers, custom surveys, product reviews, etc.

“Whichever critical infrastructure sector you are in, from manufacturing, automotive, energy, chemical, water management, etc., you can always strengthen your foundational network security protections with purpose-built ICS firewalls and industrial-grade firewalls. The question is when and how?”

“This paper focuses on stakeholders’ current views of OT and ICS cyber defense. Based on a recent survey, the paper explores topics including actual and perceived risks, the impacts of cyber events, the challenges of implementing OT cybersecurity, and OT cyber protection goals.”

“This SANS First Look reviews PAS Cyber Integrity®, designed to address key ICS/OT security vulnerability management challenges, provide resiliency against modern ICS cyberattacks, and help ensure regulatory compliance.”

“This paper examines some of the cybersecurity challenges faced by city managers and municipalities trying to implement smart city solutions. It also highlights industry best practices, frameworks, and technologies to enable stakeholders to build the city of tomorrow.”

“Establishing a solid ICS asset inventory is essential to a resilient cyber defense program. This paper explores methods of asset identification in control system environments and highlights a prioritized approach for ICS vulnerability management.”

Read more here: Industrial Control System Resilience

A larger list of the types of sponsorship projects for IT security and ICS/OT security, including surveys, white papers, first looks, product reviews, etc., can be found here.

CONCLUSION

Sponsors can leverage the SANS Sponsorship Program to reach their community and key decision makers and communicate how their solutions effectively addresses modern real-world cybersecurity challenges.

I am excited to be the chair of the 2024 ICS Security Summit Solutions Track in June 2024. A larger list of the upcoming 2024 Sponsorship events can be found here. See you there, and/or in class where I will be teaching ICS515: ICS Visibility, Detection, and Response or ICS418: ICS Security Essentials for Managers.

Sponsors for Past and Up-Coming Events

Below you will find a list of some of our previous and current participants in the SANS Sponsorship Program:

Free Course Demos

SANS CISO Primer: 4 Cyber Trends

2024 Security Awareness Report

Security Policy Templates

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