SANS Technology Institute president recognised for three decades of advancing cybersecurity education, penetration testing and hands-on threat defence training.

BETHESDA, Maryland — Ed Skoudis, president of the SANS Technology Institute, has been named to the Cyber Security Hall of Fame Class of 2026 in recognition of his contributions to cybersecurity education, practical training and offensive security.

Skoudis joins four other industry leaders — Rob Joyce, Amit Yoran, Steve Ryan and Richard Seewald — in the latest class of inductees. The recognition highlights his three-decade effort to transform offensive security from a largely experience-driven craft into a structured discipline that can be taught, measured and continually improved.

Larry Letow, co-founder and chair of the Cyber Security Hall of Fame, described Skoudis as one of the industry’s influential educators, practitioners and innovators, noting his impact on how cybersecurity professionals learn, practise and prepare to defend against threats.

Building a foundation for practical cybersecurity training

Over the course of his career, more than 40,000 students and professionals have taken courses authored by Skoudis. He developed two prominent SANS courses, SEC504: Hacker Tools, Techniques, and Incident Handling and SEC560: Enterprise Penetration Testing.

In 2008, he founded the SANS Penetration Testing Curriculum, which has since grown into the world’s largest penetration testing training programme, according to SANS Institute.

Skoudis also founded Counter Hack, a consultancy and cyber range company responsible for developing NetWars, a hands-on cyber training platform used by military units, government agencies and commercial organisations.

The team also created CyberCity, an urban cyber warfare simulator used to train U.S. Cyber Command operators. Another notable initiative is the SANS Holiday Hack Challenge, a free cybersecurity learning experience that has attracted hundreds of thousands of participants over more than two decades.

From government security to real-world incident response

Beyond education, Skoudis has contributed to cybersecurity assessments and investigations involving government networks and major data breaches.

His work has included testing the security viability of the U.S. government’s Trusted Internet Connection architecture at the White House’s request, demonstrating attacker techniques before the United States Senate and serving as an expert witness in more than 100 cyber breach cases over 25 years.

He has also delivered keynote presentations at RSA Conference for more than 15 years and authored or co-authored four books on cybersecurity.

In 2015, the Military Cyber Professionals Association inducted him into its Order of Thor for his contributions to cybersecurity training for U.S. military personnel.

Leading the next generation of cybersecurity professionals

Skoudis became president of the SANS Technology Institute in 2021, succeeding SANS founder Alan Paller, who was inducted into the Cyber Security Hall of Fame in 2024.

Under Skoudis’ leadership, SANS Technology Institute has maintained accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. In June 2022, the U.S. National Security Agency designated the institution a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.

SANS Institute CEO James Lyne said Skoudis’ lasting contribution lies in building the training environments, courses and challenges that enable others to develop practical cybersecurity skills and perform under pressure.

In response to the recognition, Skoudis credited his colleagues at SANS, the hacker community and his students, describing the honour as a reflection of decades of collective effort across the cybersecurity profession.

Induction ceremony set for December

The Cyber Security Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be formally inducted at a ceremony and dinner on 10 December 2026 at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in Hanover, Maryland.

Further details about the event are available at cybersecurityhalloffame.org.