Introduction

In today’s digital-first world, security is no longer an afterthought—it’s a critical component of the software development process. With increasing threats and sophisticated cyberattacks, building secure software is more important than ever. The Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) is an essential framework that integrates security best practices into each phase of the software development process, from planning and design to coding, testing, and deployment.

This 5-day Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) training course equips participants with the knowledge and practical skills to incorporate security into every aspect of the software development lifecycle. Attendees will learn how to identify, prevent, and address security risks, vulnerabilities, and threats at each phase of SDLC using industry standards, tools, and techniques. From secure coding practices and threat modeling to penetration testing and secure deployment, this course offers a comprehensive guide to building secure, robust software.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Understand Secure SDLC Principles: Learn the importance of integrating security throughout the SDLC to build secure software from the ground up.
2. Identify Security Risks and Threats: Gain skills in recognizing security risks, vulnerabilities, and potential threats during design and development.
3. Implement Secure Coding Practices: Master secure coding standards and techniques to avoid common security vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows.
4. Use Threat Modeling: Learn how to identify, assess, and mitigate potential security threats in software applications using threat modeling tools and frameworks like STRIDE.
5. Perform Security Testing and Static Analysis: Learn how to perform static application security testing (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), and penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities.
6. Integrate Security in DevOps (DevSecOps): Understand how to integrate security practices into CI/CD pipelines to ensure security throughout the development lifecycle.
7. Prepare for Secure Software Deployment: Learn best practices for secure software deployment, including hardening servers, encryption, and access control mechanisms.
8. Follow Compliance Standards: Understand industry standards and regulations (e.g., OWASP Top 10, GDPR, PCI-DSS) for ensuring secure software development.

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:

• Software Developers and Engineers looking to integrate security into their coding practices and improve software security.
• Security Professionals who want to understand the software development lifecycle and integrate security practices into development processes.
• DevOps Engineers and CI/CD Practitioners who want to embed security into automation pipelines and enhance the security of the deployment process.
• QA/Test Engineers interested in learning how to incorporate security testing techniques into the software testing process.
• Project Managers and Product Owners who want to understand the importance of security in software development and advocate for secure development practices.
• Security Architects and System Administrators looking to learn how to secure applications and ensure secure deployment practices.
• Compliance and Risk Managers who need to ensure their organization’s development practices comply with security standards and regulations.

Day 1: Introduction to Secure SDLC and Security Principles

Session 1: Introduction to Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

• What is SDLC? The traditional SDLC vs. Secure SDLC
• The need for integrating security in SDLC: Security risks, cyberattacks, and compliance requirements
• Phases of Secure SDLC: Requirements, Design, Development, Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
• Overview of security standards: OWASP, NIST, ISO/IEC 27001

Session 2: Security Risk Management and Threat Modelling

• Identifying security risks and understanding common vulnerabilities
• Security risk assessment frameworks (e.g., CVSS, STRIDE, DREAD)
• The role of threat modeling in secure software design
• Tools for threat modeling: Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool, OWASP Threat Dragon
• Case studies: Common vulnerabilities (e.g., SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting)

Session 3: Secure Coding Practices

• Principles of secure coding: Least privilege, defense in depth, and fail-safe defaults
• Common coding vulnerabilities: SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), Buffer Overflow
• Secure coding guidelines: OWASP Secure Coding Practices, SANS Top 25
• Input validation, data sanitization, and output encoding techniques
• Secure handling of authentication and authorization mechanisms

Hands-On Exercises:

• Review and fix vulnerable code snippets (e.g., SQL Injection, XSS).
• Build a basic secure authentication system (e.g., password hashing and salting).

Day 2: Secure Design and Threat Modeling

Session 1: Secure Design Principles

• Security in the design phase: Identifying security requirements early
• Design patterns for security: Secure communication, authentication, authorization, and data protection
• The importance of secure software architecture: Data flow diagrams (DFD), security layers, and security controls

Session 2: Threat Modeling Methodologies and Tools

• Introduction to STRIDE (Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, Elevation of Privilege)
• How to apply STRIDE in practice: Identifying threats during the design phase
• DREAD framework for risk assessment: Damage, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected users, Discoverability
• Creating a threat model document: Key components and best practices

Session 3: Secure Software Architecture and Data Protection

• Designing for secure communication (TLS/SSL, encryption at rest and in transit)
• Secure handling of sensitive data (PII, credit card information)
• Secure storage mechanisms: Password storage, data encryption, tokenization
• Implementing access control: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)

Hands-On Exercises:

• Create a threat model for a sample application (e.g., e-commerce site).
• Identify security weaknesses in the architecture of a sample application.

Day 3: Secure Coding and Static Code Analysis

Session 1: Secure Coding Techniques and Best Practices

• Best practices for coding securely in common languages (Java, Python, C#, JavaScript)
• Secure handling of input validation and output encoding
• Managing authentication and session security (OAuth, JWT, multi-factor authentication)
• Secure file handling and resource management
• Managing third-party libraries and dependencies securely

Session 2: Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

• What is SAST? How does it help detect vulnerabilities in source code?
• Common SAST tools: Checkmarx, SonarQube, Veracode, Fortify
• Integrating SAST into the development pipeline
• Interpreting SAST results: False positives, true positives, and remediation

Session 3: Common Vulnerabilities and How to Fix Them

• OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities: Detailed analysis and secure coding strategies
  • Injection attacks (SQL Injection, Command Injection)
  • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
  • Security misconfigurations and broken authentication
• Hands-on code review: Identifying and fixing OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities

Hands-On Exercises:

• Use a SAST tool (e.g., SonarQube) to scan a vulnerable application for issues.
• Fix common security vulnerabilities in a sample web application.

Day 4: Security Testing and Penetration Testing

Session 1: Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

• What is DAST? The role of DAST in finding vulnerabilities in running applications
• DAST tools overview: OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, Acunetix
• Manual testing vs automated DAST: Best practices
• Using DAST for penetration testing: Identifying runtime vulnerabilities

Session 2: Penetration Testing Fundamentals

• What is penetration testing and how does it differ from vulnerability scanning?
• The penetration testing process: Planning, information gathering, exploitation, post-exploitation
• Common penetration testing tools: Metasploit, Burp Suite, Kali Linux, Wireshark
• Reporting and remediating findings from penetration tests

Session 3: Continuous Security Testing in CI/CD

• Integrating security testing into CI/CD pipelines: Automating SAST, DAST, and penetration testing
• Tools for automated security testing in CI/CD: Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI, GitHub Actions
• Best practices for incorporating security checks into continuous delivery

Hands-On Exercises:

• Use OWASP ZAP to perform dynamic security testing on a sample web application.
• Conduct a penetration test on a vulnerable machine using Metasploit or Kali Linux.

Day 5: Secure Deployment, Monitoring, and Incident Response

Session 1: Secure Software Deployment Practices

• Principles of secure deployment: Hardening servers, patching vulnerabilities
• Deployment strategies: Zero trust, defense in depth, and secure network configurations
• Deploying securely to cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Best practices for securing containerized applications (Docker, Kubernetes)

Session 2: Secure Monitoring and Logging

• Importance of security monitoring: Detecting intrusions and vulnerabilities
• Tools for security monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, Splunk
• Setting up secure logging: Centralized logging, log analysis, and alerting
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems for real-time threat detection

Session 3: Incident Response and Post-Deployment Security

• Developing an incident response plan: Detect, contain, eradicate, and recover
• Security patch management and vulnerability management
• Security audits and compliance checks post-deployment
• Preparing for post-breach activities: Forensics and legal implications

Hands-On Exercises:

• Set up a basic monitoring solution for an application (using ELK or Splunk).
• Simulate a security breach and walk through the incident response process.

Course Delivery Method:

• Format: Instructor-led live sessions with a mix of lectures, case studies, hands-on labs, and group discussions.
• Materials: Course slides, sample code, security testing tools, and access to online repositories for exercises.
• Prerequisites: Familiarity with basic software development, application testing, and an understanding of web application architecture. Previous experience with security testing tools is beneficial but not required.