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Secure coding training is a type of software development training that focuses on teaching developers how to write code that is secure and less susceptible to cyberattacks. The goal of secure coding is to create software designed with security in mind rather than trying to patch vulnerabilities after they have been discovered.
The Vulnerability Patching Crisis is a severe problem that organizations must address. By addressing it, organizations can reduce their risk of cyberattacks and data breaches. With the right approach, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with the vulnerability patching crisis and ensure the security of their systems and data.
By providing developers with secure coding training, organizations can reduce the risk of data breaches and other security incidents caused by vulnerable software. This type of training is essential in finance, healthcare, and government industries, where data security is a critical concern.
Developers must prioritize security from the beginning with Shift Left, integrating it into the planning phase of the DevOps timeline. Code should be written with security in mind and tested with security-focused unit tests. Secure coding training is imperative to avoid vulnerabilities and test for them.
Read The Full Article: How Secure Coding Training Fits Into The Shift Left Movement
Most developers are not security experts, nor do they need to be in order to do their jobs effectively. However, developers do need a certain level of knowledge about security and vulnerability management to fight against the growing number of vulnerabilities that reach production code.
The notion that secure coding training hinders developer productivity is a dangerous misconception. Investing in quality training leads to robust, secure software, which can save substantial time and resources in the long run.
When calculating the cost of deploying secure coding training for your team, you also have to take into account the cost of not deploying secure coding training—the cost of insecure code in your product. Sure, your team may be able to create and push code out quickly, but a single bug found after release can trigger an entire cycle of patching, testing, and redeployment.
In a 2024 Study on Secure Coding Training, 54 percent of respondents suffered a security incident due to an unpatched vulnerability, and only 11 percent of organizations believe they can effectively patch vulnerabilities in a timely manner.
Security vulnerabilities aren't just a theoretical risk. They lead to real-world problems:
Compliance Oversight—Regulatory bodies enforcing GDPR or HIPAA can levy hefty fines for data protection failures caused by insecure code.
By shifting left and prioritizing secure coding practices, vulnerabilities are addressed proactively, reducing costly rework and the negative consequences of potential security incidents. Modern secure coding training, when designed and delivered effectively, empowers developers to write more secure code and do so with greater efficiency.
Bug bounty programs and secure coding training are both crucial for application security. However, while bug bounty programs are reactive, secure coding training is a proactive approach that helps prevent vulnerabilities.
Ultimately, a comprehensive approach that combines secure coding training and bug bounty programs can help organizations improve application security.
Tools are helpful but can't fix the root cause of vulnerabilities. Developers should write secure code initially, and code scanning tools should only supplement secure coding efforts.
After reviewing the data, EMA believes the best approach to secure software development is a combination of code reviews, code scanning tools, and a stronger emphasis on continuous, third-party training.
Continuous secure coding training is essential for consistent and robust security. It should be ongoing throughout the year to keep developers updated with the latest security practices and ingrains secure coding as a natural part of their workflow, enhancing the organization's overall security posture.
This proactive approach empowers developers to embed security directly into the development workflow, preventing common vulnerabilities. It minimizes errors caused by oversight or tight deadlines by consistently reinforcing best practices, making secure coding a core habit rather than a disruptive afterthought.
By taking a proactive stance, this approach dramatically reduces the likelihood and impact of software vulnerabilities, ultimately saving substantial costs associated with post-deployment remediation.
Secure coding training is vital in secure software development. Traditional methods don't engage developers, leading to poor security understanding, so let's look at 3 keys to successful secure coding training:
Gamification - Make learning fun and engaging with gamification. Think points, badges, and leaderboards to turn security training into a friendly competition amongst developers.
Microlearning - Developers are more likely to retain information when it's presented in microlearning approaches, where developers can consume short bursts of security training throughout the day ensure regular knowledge reinforcement.
Realistic Environments - Since developers live and breathe code, give them the opportunity to practice with hands-on, realistic environments. This way, developers can see how secure coding directly protects your applications.
Online secure coding training provides powerful advantages for truly embedding security within your SDLC because it goes far beyond the simple delivery of information.
It's particularly effective because it offers scalability, enabling organizations to train a large, geographically dispersed developer workforce without logistical hurdles.
The self-paced nature of online learning empowers developers to integrate training into their busy schedules, revisiting concepts as needed for deeper understanding. Gamification and interactive modules transform training from a chore into an engaging experience, leading to better knowledge retention. Hands-on labs and simulated environments let developers safely experiment with attacks and defenses, solidifying security principles in ways lectures alone can't.
A measurable increase in a learner’s knowledge after completing training is an essential component of any successful education program. After all, the point of investing time and resources into employee education is to make a positive shift towards improved performance. Measurable knowledge gain is one way to prove your program’s effectiveness and value.
At Security Journey, we call this knowledge gain learning swing.
Read The Full Article: Learning Swing: Measuring Knowledge Gain in Secure Coding Training Programs
The Security Journey learning swing is measured by “before and after” learner self-assessment on an individual lesson basis. Using a five-point scale, learners rate their knowledge of the topic before and after they complete each lesson. The difference between the before and after ratings is the learning swing. Learning swing can be expressed numerically or as a percentage increase.
Improved security knowledge across all SDLC roles means safer, more secure applications are delivered the first time around, with less developer time devoted to fixing critical code errors after the fact.
We are currently in an application security dilemma that stems from growing security concerns, pressure on development teams, and a lack of structured security training. This dilemma is affecting organizations and is why application security has not improved over the last decade.
This video will review the business impact of an application security risk and the cost of secure coding training and show how you can calculate the ROI of secure coding training.
Budgeting can be a dreaded task when it comes to determining how invested your organization is in your application security. While some may perceive secure coding training as an expense, it's actually an investment that can save your organization money in the long run.
These resources come in a variety of formats, including online tutorials that break down complex concepts into manageable steps, basic guides that provide a foundational understanding of secure coding principles, and open-source tools that allow developers to experiment with secure coding techniques in a practical setting.
While these free resources may not offer the in-depth coverage provided by comprehensive paid programs, they can be a valuable starting point. By introducing developers to core secure coding concepts, such as input validation and memory management, these resources can help build a strong foundation of security awareness.
Overall, while free resources can be a helpful starting point for learning about secure coding, they should not be relied upon as the sole source of training. For a more comprehensive and effective learning experience, it's recommended to supplement free resources with paid training programs and support from experienced professionals.
The pricing structure for our secure coding training is transparent and flexible, allowing for customization based on the number of licenses required.
Here's an overview of the pricing:
Contact our team to explore the available secure coding training options and pricing plans. Our team can assist you in selecting the training program that best suits your organization's requirements and budget.
To build truly secure applications, it's crucial to align secure coding training with the vulnerabilities outlined in the OWASP Top 10. Doing so ensures developers have the knowledge to prevent potential security breaches, ultimately leading to a more robust and protected web landscape.
This way, organizations can strategically allocate resources and focus training efforts on the most significant risk areas. Aligning training with the OWASP Top 10 leads to a multitude of benefits.
This way, organizations can strategically allocate resources and focus training efforts on the most significant risk areas. Aligning training with the OWASP Top 10 leads to a multitude of benefits.
This approach minimizes errors caused by oversight or tight deadlines by consistently reinforcing best practices. Developers integrate secure coding into their natural workflow, transforming it into a core habit rather than a disruptive afterthought.
The PCI DSS is a set of security requirements that organizations must meet when storing, processing, or transmitting cardholder data. The PCI DSS is designed to help organizations protect cardholder data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction. Many updates and new requirements in PCI DSS v4.0 can be met with continuous secure coding training for your SDLC.
Secure coding training typically covers topics such as common software vulnerabilities, secure coding best practices, and how to use security tools and techniques to find and fix software vulnerabilities. It may also cover specific programming languages and frameworks and how to write secure code in those contexts.
PCI DSS v4.0 6.2.2 states:
“Software development personnel remain knowledgeable about secure development practices; software security; and attacks against the languages, frameworks, or applications they develop. Personnel are able to access assistance and guidance when required.”
This means that software development personnel are trained annually on:
More specific guidelines have been given in PCI DSS v4.0 on how developers should be trained. The training guidelines (stated above) can be easily achieved when you partner with a secure coding training partner for a continuous secure coding training program.
In-house secure coding training consists of training content developed and deployed by internal company employees. This can be done by creating content from scratch or pulling individual modules from learning platforms across the internet.
There are some benefits for organizations that are building their secure coding training in-house, including:
While having in-house training professionals for secure coding can be useful, creating training content internally has drawbacks. Internal trainers may lack expertise in secure coding, leading to missing content or requiring assistance from security experts. Additionally, creating training without security experts can result in an incomplete curriculum and inconsistent delivery quality that's challenging to maintain.
Read the Full Article: 3 Reasons Why Homegrown Secure Coding Training Falls Short
A secure coding training vendor is a company that provides training content on secure coding practices to developers and other software professionals. Most secure coding training vendors have a library of content on their own platform that organizations pay to have access to.
There are some benefits for organizations that hire a secure coding training vendor, including:
Choosing the right secure coding training platform requires careful consideration. To help you with this critical decision, here's a breakdown of the most essential factors to evaluate:
Do you want specific questions for decision-makers to ask? Read the full article: Finding the Right Secure Coding Training Platform: A Checklist for Decision-Makers
While we know that the training content itself is incredibly important, enterprise vendor selection processes are often looking for features that are about more than just the content:
Do you want to learn more about accessibility, integrations, and security? Read the full article: Essential Features for Your Secure Coding Training Platform: A Checklist for Admins
Choosing the right secure coding training provider is crucial to ensure that your learners are engaged and meeting their goals. This checklist includes:
Do you want to learn more about essential functionalities for secure coding training learners? Read the full article: Essential Learner Features for Your Secure Coding Training Platform
Security team leaders have told us that a successful rollout of Secure Coding Training software reflects positively on the team overseeing the operation. One of the main metrics by which they're measured is the completion rate. So how do you get developers to not only login but also take and complete their training, which ultimately helps reduce vulnerabilities in your code?
The insights we’ve gained from working with hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of developers can be distilled into the following list of approaches:
Security Journey provides a range of secure coding training materials that meet SOC2, WCAG accessibility, and SCIM user management standards. Our training program includes more than 1,000 lessons covering 45 programming languages, top technologies, and frameworks.
We engage your team with podcast-style videos and five different types of interactive lessons. Our content is designed to be technically thorough and aims to develop security champions. By incorporating our coding lessons, development teams can increase their knowledge by up to 85%.
