In this interview, Gareth Dance, Conference Director, EMEA, SANS Institute, talks about SANS Forensics Prague 2012.

SANS Forensics Prague 2012 is a technically intense event. What can attendees expect? What type of existing knowledge is necessary in order to attend?

SANS Forensics Prague is something of a unique event as it will be our first full week long digital forensics experience. As well as the four exceptional classes, we will be kicking off the whole event with the 3rd annual European Digital Forensics and Incident Response Summit, where we will be inviting some of the leading names in the industry to present and update the community on new developments in the field.

During the week then we will also have additional events in the evenings, such as additional talks, all of which combine to make this a must attend event for anyone interested in computer forensics. We have made sure that courses are accessible to the widest audience within the digital forensics community, from our entry level forensics class, FOR408 right through to the one of the most technically challenging classes that SANS offers, FOR610. A full day-by-day breakdown of the content of each of the courses, and any prerequisites or required knowledge specific to the classes can all be found on our website.

What courses do you offer this year?

This year we are offering four tracks covering a wide spectrum of forensics topics. FOR408: Computer Forensic Investigations – Windows In-Depth is a popular course. While FOR508: Advanced Computer Forensics Analysis and Incident Response is having its European debut after being completely rewritten with all new content, exercises and challenges.


We are also offering another European debut in FOR563: Mobile Device Forensics and the line-up is completed with the technically rigorous FOR610: Reverse Engineering Malware: Malware Analysis Tools and Techniques.

Who are the trainers? How are they chosen?

One of the most exciting things about SANS Forensics Prague is the fact that 3 of the 4 instructors are the authors, or co-authors, of the classes that they are teaching. Rob Lee will be teaching FOR508, Chad Tilbury teaching FOR408 and Lenny Zeltser teaching FOR610.

In addition to these instructors, Europe’s very own Jess Garcia will be teaching the FOR563. The most important thing is that these guys are not just instructors, but also highly regarded as real world practitioners in these topics and very well known throughout the community. So you are not only getting taught cutting edge information, but the instructors are also happy to enhance the learning experience by adding their own personal experiences and “war stories”.