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Latest Cyber Defense News & Updates

SEC495: Leveraging LLMs: Building and Securing RAG, Contextual RAG, and Agentic RAG
Course
SEC495: Leveraging LLMs: Building & Securing RAG, Contextual RAG, and Agentic RAG™
Is your organization seeking to create useful AI solutions? Has your organization struggled to get the project off the ground? SEC495 will supercharge your efforts to build a Large Language Model (LLM) based solution for internal and customer facing applications. More importantly, this fully hands-on class walks you through how to build effective Retrieval Augmented Generation solutions (RAG) that leverage LLMs while also protecting against prompt injection and implementing access controls based on information sensitivity levels.
SEC547 Defending Product Supply Chains SEC547 Defending Product Supply Chains
Course
SEC547: Defending Product Supply Chains™
SEC547 teaches the skills needed to defend against modern supply chain attacks, which can easily bypass traditional perimeter-based defenses. The course covers essential supply chain risk management strategies through real-world case studies and 13 hands-on labs. Students will learn to identify and mitigate risks associated with unvalidated technologies, counterfeit hardware, and software vulnerabilities. By the end, participants will gain industry best practices to secure their organization's technology acquisitions and increase overall resilience against supply chain threats.

Featured Cyber Defense Courses & Certifications

SEC450: Blue Team Fundamentals: Security Operations and Analysis™
Certification:

  • GSOC
SEC530: Defensible Security Architecture and Engineering: Implementing Zero Trust for the Hybrid Enterprise™
Certification:

  • GDSA
SEC497: Practical Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)™
Certification:

  • GOSI
New
SEC547: Defending Product Supply Chains™
SEC503™: Network Monitoring and Threat Detection In-Depth™
Certification:

  • GCIA
Major Update
SEC511: Cybersecurity Engineering: Advanced Threat Detection and Monitoring™
Certification:

  • GMON
SEC406: Linux Security for InfoSec Professionals™
SEC595: Applied Data Science and AI/Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Professionals™
Certification:

  • GMLE
New
SEC673: Advanced Information Security Automation with Python™
SEC555: Detection Engineering and SIEM Analytics™
Certification:

  • GCDA
SEC501: Advanced Security Essentials - Enterprise Defender™
Certification:

  • GCED
Major Update
SEC587: Advanced Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Gathering and Analysis™
    See All Cyber Defense Courses & Certifications
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    Cyber Defense Certifications

    Cyber defenders play an essential role in securing the enterprise. Defending against attacks is only possible with the right skill set - and confidence in your abilities as an all-around defender and those of your team. GIAC's Cyber Defense certifications span the entire defense spectrum and are focused in two areas: cyber defense essentials and blue team operations. Whether your needs are beginner-level, advanced, or for a specialized area of defense, GIAC has the credentials you need to keep your organization safe from the latest threats.

    Learn More
    Graduate Certificate Program in Cyber Defense Operations

    Graduate Certificate Program in Cyber Defense Operations

    Gain hands-on knowledge in the applied technologies and operational techniques needed to defend and secure information assets and business systems.
    • Designed for working InfoSec and IT professionals
    • Highly technical 12-credit-hour program
    • Includes 4 industry-recognized GIAC certifications
    Learn More

    Secure Your Fortress: Building Robust and Resilient Defenses for 2025

    April 23 | Live Online | Free | 7 CPEs Designed for cybersecurity professionals at all levels, this event equips you with the tools you need to overcome today’s toughest challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s emerging threats. Tune in as SANS instructors and authors discuss their expert perspectives, share actionable insights, and conduct live demonstrations of proven strategies. Secure your spot today and master the techniques that will define cybersecurity success in 2025.
    Join for Free

    Learn Blue Team Skills With These Experts

    “Attackers are smart, but that doesn’t mean their job should be easy – with a properly designed defensive strategy and a team that’s trained up and ready for action, any organization can significantly raise the bar on would-be attackers and repel disruptive cyberattacks.” - John Hubbard, Curriculum Lead
    John Hubbard is a SANS Senior Instructor in the Cyber Defense curriculum

    John Hubbard

    Senior Instructor
    John Hubbard is a Security Operations Center (SOC) consultant and speaker, a Senior SANS instructor, and course author of both SEC450: Blue Team Fundamentals and LDR551: Building and Leading Security Operations Centers.
    Learn More
    View All Instructors Become an Instructor

    More Free Cyber Defense Resources

    About SANS Cyber Defense

    SANS Cyber Defense focuses on actionable techniques to better defend organizations through a collection of training courses, certifications, and a myriad of community initiatives.

    Specifically emphasizing cyber security, a defender's focus is to defend the organization from cyber-attacks. Through development and implementation of security controls, verification of the controls' effectiveness, and continuous monitoring and improvement, cyber defenders strengthen an organization's capabilities against potential attacks.

    Our SANS Cyber Defense curriculum provides intensive, immersion training designed to help you and your staff master the practical steps necessary for defending systems and applications against the most dangerous threats. Our courses are full of important and immediately useful techniques that you can put to work as soon as you return to your office. The curriculum has been developed through a consensus process involving industry-leading engineers, architects, administrators, developers, security managers, and information security professionals. 

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