SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, and Incident Handling
SEC504Offensive Operations
Renewing Your SANS Security Awareness Professional (SSAP) – Two Easy Steps
You will need to renew your SSAP every four years, a process we've worked hard to keep as simple as possible to ensure it helps you grow your career.
Authored byLance Spitzner
The SANS Security Awareness Professional (SSAP) is the industry standard in demonstrating expertise in managing human risk, with over 1,000 security professionals holding the credential. Based on the SANS MGT433 Managing Human Risk course, the SSAP credential demonstrates expertise in not only engaging, training, and securing an organization’s workforce but aligning also those efforts with their security operations team and the fundamentals of risk management.
To maintain your SSAP you will need to renew it every four years. Below we explain the renewal process. We have worked hard to keep this process as simple as possible and ensure it helps grow your career and opportunities.
Can I renew the SSAP? | Absolutely. To maintain your SSAP you will need to renew it every four years. |
How do I renew the SSAP? | Renewing is a two-step process. The requirements are:
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Where do I sign up? | Once you register for and attend any SANS Summit and are within two years of your credential’s expiration date, your SANS portal account will automatically be updated with a link to complete your renewal registration. Make sure you use the same email address to register for the SANS Summit as you did for the SSAP exam. |
What is a SANS Summit? | SANS hosts over 13 security summits every year on numerous security topics such as cyber threat intelligence, incident response, cloud, blue teaming, critical infrastructure, security leadership and of course the annual Security Awareness Summit. Each event is one to two days and draws together expert practitioners from around the world to share their lessons learned. Almost any of these events you can attend for free virtually. |
Why would I want to attend a SANS Security Summit? | Security Awareness is no longer just about engagement, it is also about aligning with your leadership’s security priorities and enabling your organization to better manage human risk. To do this effectively, security awareness professionals need to grow their understanding of security fundamentals to include what cyber threat intelligence is and how to leverage it, how to partner with your security operations center (SOC), the role you play in responding to a breach, or how to better communicate to and support senior leadership and your security team. By developing new security skills, not only will you be a far more effective security leader but you will grow your reputation, career opportunities, and compensation. |
Where can I find my renewal date? | The expiration date is displayed on your SSAP Digital Badge record. Log into your Credly dashboard to view your digital badge. |
What if I already attended a SANS Summit since I took the exam? | If you have attended a SANS Summit since earning your SSAP credential then you are already halfway there. Once you are within two years of your credential’s expiration date, your SANS portal account will be automatically updated with a link to complete your renewal registration. |
My SSAP Credential Has Expired, What Should I Do? | Please reach out to info@sans.org to review the options available. |
Questions | For any questions about the renewal process reach out to info@sans.org. |
Meet the expert
Lance Spitzner
Senior InstructorLance revolutionized cyber defense by founding the Honeynet Project. Over the past 25 years, he has helped 350+ organizations worldwide build resilient security cultures, transforming human risk management into a cornerstone of modern cybersecurity.
Read more about Lance Spitzner