"To be the best, learn from the best"

Whelp, full disclosure, this is an accidental article as I intended to write a post (read blurb) about my experience as a SANS Technology Institute Facilitator only to learn there is a character limit in place for LinkedIn posts'. Hmmm, I wonder how many articles are born out of the surprise realization of a character limitation, (very clever LinkedIn). I've had so much fun this week, as such, I will not delay sharing my thoughts to labor over the fear of publishing an article on LinkedIn... so, here it goes. My first LinkedIn article!

SANS Technology Institute Instructor Kenneth G. Hartman delivered on the SANS tagline, “To be the best, learn from the best.” Over this past week, I had the privilege of serving as a SANS Facilitator for the SEC545 Cloud Security Architecture and Operations course at SANS New York City 2019 conference. My favorite thing about the SANS conference aside from EVERYTHING was the opportunity to do hands on labs including a Cloud CTF! Who knew there was such a thing? The SEC545 five day course was engaging, rich with labs, and provided a wealth of resources to share with my colleagues as we continue honing our cyber security craft. 

Quote of the week: “DevOps is a cultural change, as well as, a set of tools.” Kenneth G. Hartman 

In addition to learning how to implement cloud security on both AWS and Azure (separate book included), this week has provided me the opportunity to interact with some of the greatest minds in the cyber security space. It was such a pleasure to discuss security with attendees that had traveled from as far away as Germany to attend the sold out event.

Expanding the squad…as facilitators, we started out the week as strangers with so many commonalities the least of which was cybersecurity, as such, we are leaving as friends, mentors, mentees and allies! Many thanks to SANS' Senior Meeting Planner, Molly Desmond, for providing a collaborative space for us to grow and engage with each other during our daily morning briefs (including the one 6 AM brief, all other briefs started at 8 AM). 

Gavin D., Sandy J., Eric Cajigal Delgado, Franklin Henriquez, Juan Camacho, Ziyad Alshehri, Mauricio Valdivieso, Mishi Deo, Molly Desmond, Kenneth G. Hartman, James Forrest, Reuben Williams, Lorezelle Shey Y., Janak Patel and Ashwin Venkat: It was my absolute pleasure to meet each and everyone one of you! Until we meet again, be well and secure the universe. 

Last but never least, I want to thank Steve Hart, Head of Product Security - SAS and Hugh Howard, Cyber Security Regional Manager - SANS for nourishing my growth with this amazing opportunity! I am grateful for your leadership and mentorship.

What’s Next:

All right ladies now let’s get in formation (in my Beyonce voice):

SANS Raleigh Women's CONNECT - Tuesday, September 17th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm 

I can’t wait to see you all there! Click here for more info on this free event: https://www.sans.org/event/raleigh-2019/bonus-sessions/19050