Loss of sensitive data due to breaches has become a key cyber security concern for businesses. An estimated average of over 10.5 million records are stolen every single day one. To help Middle East organizations prepare against inevitable attack, SANS Institute will host a cyber-security training event in Dubai from January 27 to February 1, 2018. The event will feature three courses that not only help security professionals protect their organizations against attacks, but enable them to proactively mitigate malware threats and breaches in their IT systems. Alissa Torres teaches the FOR526 Memory Forensics class. She says, "There is an arms race between analysts and attackers. Modern malware and post-exploitation modules increasingly employ self-defence techniques that include more sophisticated rootkit and anti-memory analysis mechanisms that destroy or subvert volatile data. Examiners must therefore have a deeper understanding of memory internals in order to discern the intentions of attackers or rogue trusted insiders. FOR526 draws on best practices and recommendations from experts in the field to guide DFIR professionals through acquisition, validation, and memory analysis with real-world and malware-laden memory images." SANS Dubai 2018 will feature three six-day long courses, each of which addresses a critical area of incident response. SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, Exploits, and Incident Handling prepares attendees by arming them with knowledge and expertise on the same tools and techniques used by cyber criminals. By explaining commonly used exploits, the course encourages participants to think like hackers, thereby helping them uncover and address the most critical security vulnerabilities in their organization's IT environments. In line with this theme, FOR610: Reverse-Engineering Malware: Malware Analysis Tools and Techniques explores the make-up of modern malware. This deconstruction aids attendees' ability to derive threat intelligence, respond to information security incidents and fortify defences. The third and final course, FOR526: Memory Forensics In-Depth, is geared towards digital forensics teams, enabling them to uncover digital evidence and trace critical parameters of breaches. This is not only essential to helping mitigate the impact of an attack, but also prepares an organization against future attacks that would otherwise exploit similar system vulnerabilities. "2017 was a wakeup call to the Middle East IT industry with organisations taking note and ramping up their cyber defences. However, as oil prices, which largely dictate the region's economic performance, continue to remain low, security spending needs to be strategic. At SANS Dubai 2018, we will arm security professionals with the skills they need to uncover and address the most pressing cyber security issues plaguing their organizations," said Ned Baltagi, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa at SANS. A common feature of all three courses is that they will follow the classroom-style instructor-led format with emphasis on hands-on practical sessions. The event will be held at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Beach and participants can register by visiting https://www.sans.org/event/dubai-2018.
