Security Audits in Application Development

Description

What does the Security Audits in Application Development course cover?

Security Audits in Application Development is covered here in 10 modules: Defining Audit Scope and Objectives, Regulatory and Compliance Alignment, Secure Development Lifecycle Integration and 7 more. The outline lists 80 specific topics, opening with selecting which applications to audit based on data sensitivity, regulatory exposure, and business criticality. and closing with updating governance policies based on recurring issues identified across audits..

How do you approach Security Audits in Application Development step by step?

The work is sequenced in 10 stages. It starts with Defining Audit Scope and Objectives, moves through Regulatory and Compliance Alignment and Secure Development Lifecycle Integration, and ends at Reporting, Remediation, and Governance Oversight. Each stage carries its own topic list, so the sequence is followed rather than summarised.

What is in Module 1 of the Security Audits in Application Development course?

Module 1 is Defining Audit Scope and Objectives. It works through selecting which applications to audit based on data sensitivity, regulatory exposure, and business criticality., determining whether the audit will be code-centric, process-centric, or compliance-driven., negotiating access boundaries with development teams to avoid disrupting active sprints. and 5 more. It sets the vocabulary the remaining 9 modules build on.

How is the Security Audits in Application Development course delivered?

The Security Audits in Application Development course is fully self-paced with immediate online access after enrolment. Access does not expire and future updates are included at no cost. It can be taken on any device, and a certificate of completion is issued by The Art of Service when you finish.

How much does the Security Audits in Application Development course cost?

The Security Audits in Application Development course is $351 as a one time payment. There is no subscription, no per seat licence and no hidden fee. Enrolment carries a 30 day satisfied or refunded guarantee, so it can be assessed in full before you commit.

More answers: what you get with every course, refund policy, all help answers.

This curriculum spans the breadth of a multi-phase security audit engagement, covering the technical, procedural, and governance activities performed during real-world application security assessments across the SDLC.

Module 1: Defining Audit Scope and Objectives

Selecting which applications to audit based on data sensitivity, regulatory exposure, and business criticality.
Determining whether the audit will be code-centric, process-centric, or compliance-driven.
Negotiating access boundaries with development teams to avoid disrupting active sprints.
Aligning audit objectives with existing SDLC governance frameworks such as ISO 27001 or NIST.
Deciding whether to include third-party dependencies in the audit scope.
Establishing criteria for severity classification of findings (e.g., critical, high, medium).
Documenting stakeholder expectations for audit deliverables, including report formats and timelines.
Identifying integration points with existing DevOps toolchains to minimize manual overhead.

Module 2: Regulatory and Compliance Alignment

Mapping application data flows to GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA requirements based on user residency and data type.
Assessing whether encryption-at-rest is implemented for databases containing regulated data.
Verifying that audit logs capture sufficient detail for forensic investigations under SOX or PCI-DSS.
Determining if data retention policies are enforced in application logic and database configurations.
Reviewing consent management mechanisms in user-facing applications for compliance with privacy laws.
Validating that third-party SDKs do not introduce compliance risks through data sharing.
Assessing whether application roles and permissions adhere to least privilege as required by regulatory standards.
Documenting compliance gaps and prioritizing remediation based on enforcement risk and audit frequency.

Module 3: Secure Development Lifecycle Integration

Embedding security checkpoints at each phase of the SDLC, from requirements to production deployment.
Integrating SAST tools into CI/CD pipelines with fail conditions for critical vulnerabilities.
Defining thresholds for blocking builds based on vulnerability severity and exploitability.
Coordinating with product owners to schedule security gates without delaying releases.
Training developers on interpreting and remediating security findings from automated tools.
Establishing feedback loops between auditors and engineering leads for recurring issues.
Documenting exceptions for vulnerabilities accepted under risk acceptance protocols.
Ensuring threat modeling is performed for new features involving authentication or data processing.

Module 4: Static and Dynamic Application Security Testing

Selecting SAST tools based on language support, false positive rates, and integration capabilities.
Configuring DAST scanners to authenticate as a test user to access protected application paths.
Validating that SAST rulesets are tuned to suppress known false positives in legacy code.
Running DAST scans against staging environments that mirror production configurations.
Correlating SAST and DAST results to identify exploitable code paths with high risk.
Reviewing scan reports for evidence of insecure deserialization or XXE vulnerabilities.
Assessing tool coverage gaps, such as client-side JavaScript or configuration files.
Archiving scan results with timestamps for audit trail and trend analysis.

Module 5: Threat Modeling and Risk Assessment

Conducting STRIDE-based threat modeling sessions for new microservices or APIs.
Identifying trust boundaries between components in distributed systems.
Documenting data flow diagrams that reflect actual runtime interactions, not idealized designs.
Assigning risk scores based on exploit likelihood and business impact of compromise.
Validating that identified threats have corresponding mitigations in design or code.
Updating threat models when architecture changes, such as cloud migration or API exposure.
Using attack trees to evaluate the feasibility of privilege escalation scenarios.
Presenting risk findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders using consistent scoring.

Module 6: Identity, Access, and Session Management

Auditing session timeout configurations in web applications for compliance with policy.
Verifying that OAuth scopes are strictly enforced and not over-provisioned.
Checking for hardcoded API keys or credentials in source code or configuration files.
Assessing the implementation of MFA for administrative access to application backends.
Reviewing role-based access control (RBAC) logic for horizontal and vertical privilege escalation.
Validating that JWT tokens are signed, not tampered with, and have short expiration times.
Testing for insecure direct object references (IDOR) in REST API endpoints.
Confirming that password reset mechanisms do not expose account existence or allow brute force.

Module 7: Secure Configuration and Deployment Practices

Reviewing container images for non-root user enforcement and minimal package installation.
Validating that environment variables do not expose secrets in logs or error messages.
Checking that TLS 1.2+ is enforced and weak cipher suites are disabled in web servers.
Assessing whether infrastructure-as-code templates follow security baselines (e.g., CIS benchmarks).
Verifying that debug modes and admin interfaces are disabled in production deployments.
Reviewing WAF rule configurations for protection against OWASP Top 10 threats.
Confirming that database connections use encrypted channels and connection pooling.
Ensuring that logging levels do not inadvertently expose sensitive data in production.

Module 8: Incident Response and Audit Logging

Verifying that authentication failures, access denials, and admin actions are logged.
Assessing log retention periods against incident investigation and compliance requirements.
Confirming that logs are immutable and protected from tampering or deletion.
Testing log aggregation systems to ensure events from all application tiers are collected.
Validating that log entries include sufficient context (e.g., user ID, IP, timestamp).
Reviewing alerting rules for suspicious patterns such as mass data exports or brute force.
Conducting tabletop exercises to test detection and response to simulated breaches.
Mapping logging capabilities to MITRE ATT&CK techniques for adversary emulation.

Module 9: Third-Party and Supply Chain Risk

Scanning open-source dependencies for known vulnerabilities using SBOMs and tools like Snyk.
Assessing the security posture of API providers integrated into the application.
Reviewing vendor contracts for security obligations and audit rights.
Validating that software bills of materials (SBOMs) are generated and maintained.
Checking for outdated or unmaintained libraries with no active security support.
Enforcing policies on minimum patch levels for critical dependencies.
Monitoring public vulnerability databases for new disclosures affecting used components.
Requiring security questionnaires or audits for vendors with access to sensitive data.

Module 10: Reporting, Remediation, and Governance Oversight

Structuring audit reports to separate technical findings from business risk summaries.
Assigning ownership for each finding to specific teams or individuals for remediation.
Tracking remediation progress using integrated issue tracking systems like Jira.
Scheduling retesting windows to validate that fixes are effective and complete.
Presenting aggregated findings to governance committees with trend analysis over time.
Defining SLAs for remediation based on vulnerability severity and exposure.
Archiving audit artifacts in a secure repository with controlled access.
Updating governance policies based on recurring issues identified across audits.