SANS Technology Institute

What you'll study

The curriculum combines SANS courses with their corresponding GIAC exams and is organized as core plus electives totaling 12 credits.

• Required core (6 credits): ISE 6502: Cloud Security Tactical Defense (SEC502 + GCLD) and ISE 6612: Cloud Security Controls and Mitigations (SEC510 + GPCS).
• Electives (6 credits — choose two): options include ISE 6509 Enterprise Cloud Forensics and Incident Response (FOR509 + GCFR); ISE 6549 Cloud Security Architecture (SEC549 + GCAD); ISE 6595 Applied Data Science and AI/Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Professionals (SEC595 + GMLE); ISE 6615 Defending Web Applications Security Essentials (SEC522 + GWEB); ISE 6630 Cloud Penetration Testing (SEC588 + GCPN); ISE 6650 Cloud Security and DevSecOps Automation (SEC540 + GCSA); and ISE 6655 Cloud Security Threat Detection (SEC541 + GCTD).

Key skills emphasized include cloud architecture and shared-responsibility analysis, identity/access/configuration security, cloud threat detection and incident response, and risk assessment across cloud services and workloads. Classes are hands-on with labs and align to GIAC exams.

Entry requirements

Admissions require professional experience and a current information-security or related role. Applications are accepted monthly; apply by the 15th of any month, receive a decision within 30 days, and you may start courses as soon as one month after admission.

Career prospects

The program reports a median salary of $155,100 USD based on reported earnings from graduates. Coursework and included GIAC certifications are intended to prepare students for operational cloud-security roles involving risk assessment, control implementation, incident response, and threat detection in real-world cloud deployments.

Scholarships & funding angle

SANS.edu offers academic pricing on SANS courses and GIAC certifications for program participants. The program's NSA designation and DoD 8140 alignment may be relevant for candidates seeking government or defense-sector funding pathways; prospective students should consult SANS.edu for specific scholarship and funding opportunities.