Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) Training Course

Description

This course equips participants with the knowledge and practical skills required to integrate security into every phase of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It focuses on secure design principles, threat modeling, secure coding practices, vulnerability management, security testing, DevSecOps integration, and compliance with international security standards. Participants will learn how to build secure, resilient, and compliant software systems from planning through deployment and maintenance.

Target Groups

Software developers and engineers
System architects and solution designers
DevOps and DevSecOps engineers
QA and software testers
Cybersecurity professionals
IT project managers
Product managers and system owners
Risk and compliance officers
Public and private sector IT teams

Course Objectives

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

Understand principles of secure software development lifecycle
Integrate security into all SDLC phases
Apply secure coding standards and best practices
Identify and mitigate common software vulnerabilities
Conduct threat modeling and risk assessments
Implement secure testing and validation methods
Strengthen application security in DevOps environments
Align software development with security frameworks and standards
Improve incident prevention and response readiness
Build secure-by-design software systems

Course Modules

Module 1: Introduction to Secure SDLC

Overview of SDLC models (Waterfall, Agile, DevOps)
Security challenges in modern software development
Shift-left security principles
Security responsibilities across SDLC stages
Introduction to application security risks

Module 2: Secure Requirements and Planning

Security requirements gathering
Risk-based planning approaches
Compliance and regulatory requirements
Security user stories and acceptance criteria
Defining security objectives early

Module 3: Secure System Design and Architecture

Secure architecture principles
Defense-in-depth strategy
Authentication and authorization design
Data protection and encryption design
Secure design patterns

Module 4: Threat Modeling and Risk Analysis

Threat modeling techniques (STRIDE, attack trees)
Identifying system vulnerabilities
Risk assessment methodologies
Attack surface analysis
Prioritizing security risks

Module 5: Secure Coding Practices

Input validation and output encoding
Memory management and error handling
Secure API development
Common coding vulnerabilities
Coding standards and guidelines

Module 6: Application Security Standards and Frameworks

Secure development guidance from OWASP
Top vulnerabilities in OWASP Top 10
Secure SDLC guidance from NIST Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF)
Alignment with ISO security standards (e.g., secure software engineering principles)

Module 7: Secure Testing and Validation

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
Penetration testing fundamentals
Security test automation
Vulnerability scanning and remediation

Module 8: DevSecOps and Continuous Security Integration

Integrating security into CI/CD pipelines
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) security
Container and cloud security basics
Automated security checks and monitoring
Secure deployment practices

Module 9: Vulnerability Management and Incident Prevention

Vulnerability identification and classification
Patch management and remediation workflows
Security monitoring and logging
Incident prevention strategies
Security response integration in SDLC

Module 10: Capstone Project and Case Studies

Designing a full Secure SDLC implementation plan
Case studies of major software security breaches
Simulation: vulnerability assessment and mitigation exercise
DevSecOps pipeline security implementation project
Emerging trends: AI-assisted secure coding, autonomous vulnerability detection, real-time security testing platforms, and intelligent SDLC security orchestration systems