Practice : Secure Code Training
Purpose and Strategic Importance
Secure Code Training equips developers with the knowledge and mindset needed to identify and prevent security vulnerabilities before they reach production. It closes the gap between intent and implementation, enabling teams to build software that is resilient, trustworthy, and compliant by design.
By embedding security into engineering education, organisations improve their risk posture, reduce costly rework, and foster a culture of shared responsibility for security outcomes.
Description of the Practice
- Secure Code Training includes hands-on, role-specific learning on topics like OWASP Top 10, secure design patterns, threat modelling, and secure libraries.
- Delivery formats include e-learning platforms, labs (e.g. HackEDU, Secure Code Warrior), internal academies, workshops, and CTF challenges.
- Training is continuous, contextual, and adapted to frameworks, languages, and risk exposure.
- Teams track learning completion, apply insights to projects, and embed training into onboarding.
How to Practise It (Playbook)
1. Getting Started
- Assess current developer knowledge and identify key risk areas by role or team.
- Choose or build a secure coding curriculum aligned with your tech stack.
- Deliver initial awareness sessions and secure coding basics.
- Integrate training into onboarding and professional development plans.
2. Scaling and Maturing
- Provide interactive, contextual labs (e.g. secure code reviews, live exploit demos).
- Tailor content for backend, frontend, mobile, and cloud engineering roles.
- Offer opt-in advanced tracks (e.g. API security, secure CI/CD, cryptography).
- Measure training effectiveness through assessments, bug trends, and feedback loops.
- Make training visible - celebrate champions, gamify progress, and reward growth.
3. Team Behaviours to Encourage
- Share secure coding tips and patterns in code reviews and retros.
- Normalise asking security questions during refinement or pairing sessions.
- Embed secure design thinking into architectural decisions.
- Foster a learning culture that sees security as a skill, not a blocker.
4. Watch Out For…
- One-time training with no reinforcement or follow-through.
- Generic, non-actionable content that feels disconnected from daily work.
- Compliance-only mindsets that treat training as a checkbox.
- Failing to track behaviour change or improvement over time.
5. Signals of Success
- Developers apply secure coding practices consistently and confidently.
- Fewer security defects are introduced and triaged during development.
- Teams are engaged in learning, sharing, and improving secure code.
- Security is seen as a core competency - not an external dependency.
- Secure code training becomes a standard part of engineering excellence.