DUBAI — SANS Institute, the global leader in cyber security training and certifications, invites cyber security practitioners and hackers around the world to take part in KringleCon (@KringleCon) 2019. This fun, free, seasonally-themed virtual conference features world-class speakers sharing tips and tricks on how to win the cyber battle.

Immediately following the conference SANS will host its thirteenth annual Holiday Hack Challenge. This year’s capture-the-flag (CTF) event will include new offensive and defensive challenges, featuring a variety of cutting-edge technologies, including machine learning.

KringleCon boasts an extensive line-up of speakers, including IBM Security’s Stephanie Carruthers, Black Hills Information Security’s John Strand, Ian Coldwater from Heroku/Salesforce, Dave Kennedy from TrustedSec, and Lesley Carhart from Dragos, to name a few.

“There are many unique elements to this conference and it starts with an overarching storyline,” explains Ed Skoudis (@edskoudis), director of SANS Cyber Ranges and Team-Based Training and creator of KringleCon, “A nefarious villain tries to hack the conference to cause it to be cancelled. Last year, the evil hacker locked up Santa’s castle and held conference attendees inside the castle. This year’s theme will be equally thrilling. The addition of offensive and defensive machine learning challenges is especially exciting, as we believe this to be the first time that machine learning is used in a CTF event.”

KringleCon is a unique hacker conference designed to engage a new generation of cyber professionals, and advance the skills of existing cyber security experts of all ages. Participants learn through a compilation of educational talks, demonstrations, and fun challenges that slowly ramp up in difficulty as participants test what they’ve learned during the Holiday Hack Challenge. The Holiday Hack Challenge offers a series of awards and valuable educational prizes, ranging from SANS OnDemand courses to NetWars Continuous subscriptions.

Follow @KringleCon on Twitter for speaker announcements, challenge updates, and more. To learn more about KringleCon and the SANS Holiday Hack Challenge, including previous years’ presentations and challenges, visit: https://www.holidayhackchallenge.com — SG