The SANS Institute (officially the Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies) is a private U.S. for-profit company founded in 1989 that specializes in information security and cybersecurity training. Topics available for training include cyber and network defenses, penetration testing, incident response, digital forensics, and audit. The information security courses are developed through a consensus process involving administrators, security managers, and information security professionals. The courses cover security fundamentals and technical aspects of information security. The Institute has been recognized for its training programs and certification programs. SANS stands for SysAdmin, Audit, Network and Security.