Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Malware and Memory Forensics Training in 2022!

Over the last few months, we have received many questions about when our Malware and Memory Forensics training would return to in-person learning. Given that a new year is nearly here, and the rate of inquiries has continued to increase, we wanted to document our plans going forward in a publicly available blog post, as opposed to only fielding questions individually.

Virtual Course Remains Available


We would like to start by saying that our course is currently available in virtual format to students across the globe. We announced this availability earlier this year, and since then have had many students successfully complete the course. 

Our online course is self-paced and includes the full material (pre-recorded lectures, copies of the slides, labs, lab guide, etc.) given and presented in the normal 5-day course. Students also have direct access to the instructors through a private Slack channel on the Volatility Foundation’s Slack server. The self-paced format of the course has received very positive feedback, particularly as students have benefited from being able to message and screen share with instructors for help and have the ability to re-listen to lectures to reinforce learning:
"The class is one of the most technical courses I've taken. The Labs provided real world examples and make you think of various aspects of incident response (Network, Disk, File, Memory Forensics). I would recommend this class for incident responders, defenders, and those looking to get a better understanding of memory forensics. I've taken other Level 600/Advanced classes from other vendors and this is right up there with the content and quality." ~ Carlos M.
"I don't say it lightly: this is the best course I've ever taken. The instructors are incredibly fast (and helpful) to answer any questions about the subject, be it directly related to a module or on a real life scenario. It's also not about running plugins blindly. The course has taught me priceless information on Windows Internals, why certain suspicious activities in memory are suspicious in the first place and, best of all, showed me a structured analysis framework I can apply to all my future investigations." ~ Alexandre S.
"I have waited five years to finally attend, participate in and complete this excellent course. I wasn't disappointed. Very relevant, very in depth and has left with me with the skills and enthusiasm to seek out and explore more." ~ Matthew K.

Plans for Public, In-Person Training


As for in-person, public trainings, we are currently evaluating offering these in the Summer or Fall of 2022. We decided against hosting the training in Spring 2022 given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, including restrictions on travel from governments and companies, as well as constantly changing local regulations—particularly in cities we have historically held training events. Our aim is to return to in-person training as soon as the uncertainty clears and as the pandemic allows. 

Private, In-Person Training Beginning in 2022


We will be available for private trainings starting in 2022 within the United States. At this time, this seems the most reasonable option given that a single organization would control the pandemic-related parameters of the training. If your company is interested in a private, in-person training, please contact us. Private trainings can be customized, including modifying the number of days or focusing the course on the areas most critical to the particular organization’s success and goals. 

Keep in Touch!


We hope this update addresses any questions you may have, but if not then please let us know. We also hope to be back presenting at conferences in-person next year along with being able to host our training at public events. 

-- The Volatility Team