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Graduate Certificate Programs: Cyber Defense Operations

Designed for working InfoSec and IT professionals, the graduate certificate program in Cyber Defense Operations is a sequence of highly technical, hands-on courses that prepare you to defend and secure information assets and business systems.

Format Option: A 100% online option is available
Courses: 4
GIAC Certifications: 4
Credits: 12
Duration: 18-24 months
Total Program Cost: $22,800 USD

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Strengthen Your Technical Knowledge and Skills

Gain practical skills you can immediately apply at your job or in a new infosec role.

  • Learn the latest cybersecurity tactics to protect your organization
  • Keep your skills current for career growth and advancement
  • Earn professional GIAC certifications as you complete the program
  • Train on your schedule, to balance work and school
  • Get personalized support from a student advisor 

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED MONTHLY

The SANS.edu Advantage

Because cyber threats are constantly changing, our courses are continually updated for real-world relevance. But that's just the beginning.
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GIAC Certifications

Earn 4 industry-recognized GIAC cybersecurity certifications.

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100% Online Option Available

You have the option of completing the program through live or rewindable online courses.

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World-class Faculty

Learn the latest skills and techniques from the world's top cybersecurity practitioners.

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Pathway to a Master’s Degree

All credits earned in this program can transfer into our master’s degree program.

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SANS.edu Academic Pricing

Get SANS.edu academic pricing on SANS courses and GIAC certifications.

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Powerful Network

Make connections with some of the most talented students and teachers in the industry.

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Join an Online Info Session for Graduate Cybersecurity Programs

  • Get tips on crafting a strong application to our cybersecurity master’s degree program and information on the next steps in the admissions process. Thu, October 10, 12 pm (ET). Register here.
  • Learn more about our cybersecurity master's degree and graduate certificate programs for working professionals. Have questions? We'll answer them. Thu, October 17, 11 am (ET). Register here.
  • Explore our 9 highly technical, job-specific graduate certificate programs for working professionals. Wed, October 23 at 1 pm (ET). Register here.
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SANS.edu Named One of the Top 10 Innovators in Cybersecurity Education 

The SANS Technology Institute has been recognized as a global leader in cybersecurity education by Help Net Security, joining the ranks of top institutions like Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Oxford.

“I have a master's degree from another school, and I can tell you that SANS courses are more technical and taught by more experienced instructors. I joined the graduate certificate program in Cyber Defense Operations to advance my hands-on skills and fill the gap left by my previous program.” - Harvey Wargo, Senior Intrusion Analyst, Walmart

Learn How To:

  • Utilize a broad range of current tools and technologies in the design and implementation of security solutions deployed across organizations.
  • Identify the information assets of an enterprise, classify them by value, and determine what management and technical controls can be used to monitor and audit them effectively.
  • Develop a program for analyzing the risk to the information assets in an enterprise and determining which technical and management controls can mitigate, remove, or transfer that risk.
  • Articulate important attacker techniques, analyze the traffic that flows on networks, and identify indications of an attack, engage in penetration testing within their organization, and respond to incidents associated with these activities within their organization.

Curriculum | 12 credit hours

Through our highly technical Cyber Defense Operations courses, you will learn the essential operational techniques used to defend an enterprise and you'll have the opportunity to customize the curriculum toward your specific interests or job role. This is the curriculum order for this program.

Required Core Courses | 6 credit hours

  • SANS Course: SEC511: Cybersecurity Engineering: Advanced Threat Detection and Monitoring
    Certification: GIAC Continuous Monitoring Certification (GMON)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 6240 teaches a proactive approach to enterprise security that presumes attackers will penetrate your environment and therefore emphasizes timely incident detection. The Defensible Security Architecture, Network Security Monitoring, Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation, and Continuous Security Monitoring taught in this course - aligned with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines described in NIST SP 800-137 for Continuous Monitoring (CM) - are designed to enable you and your organization to analyze threats and detect anomalies that could indicate cybercriminal behavior.

  • SANS Course: SEC530: Defensible Security Architecture and Engineering: Implementing Zero Trust for the Hybrid Enterprise
    Certification: GIAC Defensible Security Architect Certification (GDSA)

    3 Credit Hours

    Effective security requires a balance between detection, prevention, and response capabilities. Defensible Security Architecture and Engineering is designed to help you establish and maintain a holistic and layered approach to security. You’ll explore the fundamentals of up-to-date defensible security architecture and how to engineer it, with a heavy focus on leveraging current infrastructure (and investment), including switches, routers, and firewalls. You’ll learn how to reconfigure these devices to significantly improve your organization’s prevention capabilities in the face of today's dynamic threat landscape. The course will also delve into the latest technologies and their capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Multiple hands-on labs will reinforce key points in the course and provide actionable skills you will be able to leverage immediately at work.

Elective Courses | 6 credit hours

Students select two of the following.

  • SANS Course: SEC450: Blue Team Fundamentals: Security Operations and Analysis
    Certification: GIAC Security Operations Certified (GSOC)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 4450 provides you with technical knowledge and key concepts essential for security operation center (SOC) analysts and new cyber defense team members. You will learn the stages of security operations: how data is collected, where it is collected, and how threats are identified within that data. The class dives deep into tactics for triage and investigation of events that are identified as malicious, as well as how to avoid common mistakes and perform continual high-quality analysis. You will learn the inner workings of the most popular protocols, and how to identify weaponized files as well as attacks within the hosts and data on their network.

    The course employs practical, hands-on instruction using a simulated SOC environment with a real, fully-integrated toolset that includes:

    • Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
    • An incident tracking and management system
    • A threat intelligence platform
    • Packet capture and analysis
    • Automation tools
  • SANS Course: SEC501: Advanced Security Essentials - Enterprise Defender
    Certification: GIAC Certified Enterprise Defender (GCED)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 6215 reinforces the theme that prevention is ideal, but detection is a must. Students will learn how to ensure that their organizations constantly improve their security posture to prevent as many attacks as possible. A key focus is on data protection, securing critical information no matter whether it resides on a server, in robust network architectures, or on a portable device.

    Despite an organization's best effort at preventing attacks and protecting its critical data, some attacks will still be successful. Therefore students will also learn how to detect attacks in a timely fashion through an in-depth understanding the traffic that flows on networks, scanning for indications of an attack. The course also includes instruction on performing penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and forensics.

  • SANS Course: SEC503: Network Monitoring and Threat Detection In-Depth
    Certification: GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst Certification (GCIA)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 5401 delivers the technical knowledge, insight, and hands-on training you need to defend your network with confidence. You will learn about the underlying theory of TCP/IP and the most used application protocols, such as DNS and HTTP, so that you can intelligently examine network traffic for signs of an intrusion. You will get plenty of practice learning to master different open source tools like tcpdump, Wireshark, Snort, Bro, tshark, and SiLK. Daily hands-on exercises suitable for all experience levels reinforce the course book material so that you can transfer knowledge to execution.

  • SANS Course: SEC505: Securing Windows and PowerShell Automation
    Certification: GIAC Certified Windows Security Administrator (GCWN)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 6230 shows students how to secure servers, workstations and portable devices running Microsoft Windows. Windows is the most frequent target of hackers and advanced malware. While other courses focus on detection or remediation of a compromise after the fact, the aim of this course is to substantially reduce these compromises in the first place. For scalability and automation, this course includes many hands-on labs with Group Policy and PowerShell scripting. No prior scripting experience is required. Learning at least the basics of PowerShell is an essential skill for anyone who manages Windows servers or clients in an enterprise. 

  • SANS Course: SEC599: Defeating Advanced Adversaries - Purple Team Tactics & Kill Chain Defenses
    Certification: GIAC Defending Advanced Threats (GDAT)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 6250 leverages the purple team concept by bringing together red and blue teams for maximum effect. Recognizing that a prevent-only strategy is not sufficient, the course focuses on current attack strategies and how they can be effectively mitigated and detected using a Kill Chain structure. Throughout the course, the purple team principle will be maintained, where attack techniques are first explained in-depth, after which effective security controls are introduced and implemented.

  • SANS Course: SEC595: Applied Data Science and AI/Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Professionals
    Certification: GIAC Machine Learning Engineer (GMLE)

    3 Credit Hours

    This course is squarely centered on solving information security problems. This course covers the necessary mathematics theory and fundamentals students absolutely must know to allow them to understand and apply the machine learning tools and techniques effectively. The course progressively introduces and applies various statistic, probabilistic, or mathematic tools (in their applied form), allowing you to leave with the ability to use those tools. The hands-on projects provide a broad base from which you can build your own machine learning solutions. This course teaches how AI tools like ChatGPT really work so that you can intelligently discuss their potential use by organizations and how to build effective solutions to solve real cybersecurity problems using machine learning and AI.

  • SANS Course: SEC573: Automating Information Security with Python
    Certification: GIAC Python Coder (GPYC)

    3 Credit Hours

    The ISE 6350 course teaches student in the pen testing specialization, and other students who want to use the Python programming language, how to enhance their overall effectiveness during information security engagements. Students will learn how to apply core programming concepts and techniques learned in other courses through the Python programming language. The course teaches skills and techniques that can enhance an information security professional in penetration tests, security operations, and special projects. Students will create simple Python-based tools to interact with network traffic, create custom executables, test and interact with databases and websites, and parse logs or sets of data.

  • SANS Course: SEC541: Cloud Security Threat Detection
    Certification: GIAC Cloud Threat Detection (GCTD)

    3 Credit Hours

    ISE 6655 provides hands-on-keyboard experience through 21 practical labs, covering AWS, Azure, and Microsoft 365. This course empowers your team to master cloud-native logging, threat detection, and monitoring, solving hidden, low-hanging but high ROI issues. Equip your team with the skills to necessary to enhance your organization's cloud security posture and stay ahead of potential breaches with SEC541.

Study with the best faculty in cybersecurity

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Take Your Next Step

Need more information? We’re happy to answer your questions. Join us for an info session, email info@sans.edu or call 301.241.7665.

Ready to apply? We look forward to learning about you and your career goals.

“I firmly believe, had it not been for SANS, my career would not be what it is today. My SANS education has enabled me to compete on a completely new level and given me the chance to network with industry greats.” - Steven Romero, Engineer, Chevron

“You get a lot of personal attention to get through the program because of the student advisors. They are the foundation of the SANS.edu experience.” - Christopher Hurless, Systems Engineer, Northwestern University in Qatar

Christopher Haller

SANS.edu Graduate Certificate Student Wins National Cyber League Championship

Christopher Haller beat out more than 6,000 competitors to earn the #1 individual player ranking in the Spring 2022 National Cyber League competition. See why he chose to pursue a graduate certificate at SANS.edu — and learn about his career path from the US Navy to his current role as Director of Professional Services at Centripetal Networks.

Course Delivery Options

Your mind has no borders. Why should your college? Our online and in-person course options are designed to fit your life and how you like to learn.

Join us for a free online info session to learn more.

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This Program is DoD 8140 Approved

If you're a Department of Defense (DoD) employee or contractor who wants to earn a career-focused cybersecurity degree or certificate, our DoD 8140 approved college programs can open new doors of opportunity.

US Department of Defense 8140 Cyber Workforce Qualification Program
DoD 8140 establishes baseline standards for qualifications that directly support operational needs and workforce readiness. All DoD personnel assigned to positions requiring the performance of cyberspace work are affected by DoD 8140.

  • Service members
  • DoD civilian employees (including non-appropriated fund employees)
  • Contractors
  • Foreign nationals
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Tuition

Total program cost: $22,800 USD

Tuition includes the cost of the course, textbooks, and certification tests that serve as mid-term or final exams for courses.

Get the Credit You Deserve
Students who have taken SANS training classes and have active GIAC certifications may be able to waive one course and GIAC certification into the program. See our waiver policy.



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Fund Your SANS.edu Program in Monthly Installments with No Interest

For students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents — and don’t use employer education benefits or veterans’ education benefits to fund their SANS.edu program — we offer a Tuition Payment Program (TPP) that enables eligible you to spread out the cost of your program in monthly installments with no interest.

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Finance your education, build new skills, and add value for your company — using your employer-sponsored education benefits.

If you want to get the best education in cybersecurity while you work, and your organization offers education benefits, let them help you take your next step. SANS.edu cybersecurity degree and certificate programs are designed for working professionals, and your employee benefits package may help cover the cost of pursing your goals.

Questions?

We're happy to help. Email info@sans.edu or call 301.241.7665.

About the SANS Technology Institute

Founded in 2005, the SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu) is the independent, regionally-accredited, VA-approved subsidiary of SANS, the world's largest and most trusted provider of cybersecurity training, certification, and research. Offering graduate and undergraduate programs at the cutting edge of cybersecurity, SANS.edu is strengthening the cyber workforce through a career-focused curriculum built on proven SANS courses and industry-recognized GIAC certifications.

The SANS Technology Institute is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education

(1007 North Orange Street, 4th Floor, MB #166, Wilmington, DE 19801 - 267.284.5000), an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.