SANS is making its annual trip to the nation's capital for the SANS Cyber Defense Initiative 2008 at a particularly important time for the careers of security professionals. This is the year in which senior government leaders changed the rules. Under the personal direction of the Director of National Intelligence, intelligence and law enforcement agencies started unlocking evidence of massive penetrations of government and commercial organizations. The result is a massive shift in demand for security people away from those who can write reports to those who can find the flaws and attacks and actually secure systems. It is a wrenching change, but one long overdue; and SANS is the one education organization known for developing those skills now most in need.

In this uncertain economy, employers particularly value workers that can actually implement security. If you only have "soft skills", take advantage of this opportunity to begin making the change to hard skills. Pick a course and come to SANS Cyber Defense Initiative, December 10-16. You'll get the kind of hands-on, immersion training that you can put to work immediately — courses that you will love as other students do.