This curriculum spans the breadth of software security responsibilities in a large-scale technical organisation, comparable to the structured rollout of a multi-quarter security transformation program across engineering, operations, and governance teams.
Module 1: Security Governance and Risk Management Alignment
- Establishing security review checkpoints in the SDLC that align with enterprise risk appetite without delaying release velocity.
- Defining ownership of security controls across development, operations, and product teams using RACI matrices.
- Integrating third-party risk assessments into vendor onboarding for software components and SaaS tools.
- Mapping security KPIs (e.g., mean time to remediate vulnerabilities) to executive dashboards for board-level reporting.
- Conducting annual risk treatment planning to prioritize security initiatives based on threat modeling and audit findings.
- Implementing exception management processes for temporary control waivers with expiration and oversight mechanisms.
Module 2: Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC) Integration
- Embedding security gates in CI/CD pipelines using automated policy enforcement (e.g., SAST scan failure blocking merge).
- Standardizing threat modeling templates for new features and major refactors using STRIDE or PASTA frameworks.
- Requiring security sign-off from designated architects before production deployment of high-risk services.
- Configuring IDE plugins for real-time secure coding feedback without disrupting developer workflow.
- Enforcing mandatory security training completion before granting access to production environments.
- Managing secure coding standards updates across polyglot codebases with language-specific rule sets.
Module 3: Identity, Access, and Secrets Management at Scale
- Designing least-privilege role definitions for cloud workloads using identity federation and just-in-time access.
- Rotating long-lived API keys and service account credentials using automated secrets management tools.
- Implementing conditional access policies for administrative access based on device compliance and location.
- Auditing privileged access sessions across hybrid environments with session recording and anomaly detection.
- Integrating identity providers with application-level authorization using claims-based access control.
- Managing secrets sprawl in configuration files and environment variables through centralized vault enforcement.
Module 4: Infrastructure and Cloud Security Configuration
- Enforcing secure baseline configurations for virtual machines and containers using infrastructure-as-code templates.
- Implementing network segmentation for microservices using service mesh policies or cloud firewall rules.
- Automating compliance checks for cloud resources against CIS benchmarks using policy-as-code tools.
- Managing encryption key lifecycles for data at rest and in transit with key rotation and access logging.
- Configuring immutable logging and monitoring for critical infrastructure changes to prevent tampering.
- Hardening container images by minimizing OS packages, scanning for vulnerabilities, and running as non-root.
Module 5: Vulnerability and Patch Management Operations
- Prioritizing vulnerability remediation based on exploit availability, asset criticality, and exposure surface.
- Coordinating patching windows for business-critical systems with minimal service disruption.
- Integrating vulnerability scanner outputs into ticketing systems with automatic assignment to responsible teams.
- Managing false positives in static analysis tools through rule tuning and suppression workflows with approval trails.
- Tracking open vulnerabilities across multiple environments (dev, staging, prod) with centralized dashboards.
- Establishing SLAs for remediation based on CVSS scores and business impact assessments.
Module 6: Incident Response and Forensic Readiness
- Defining escalation paths and communication protocols for security incidents involving software systems.
- Preserving forensic artifacts (logs, memory dumps, container states) during incident triage with chain-of-custody procedures.
- Conducting post-incident reviews to update detection rules and prevent recurrence in development practices.
- Simulating software supply chain attacks in tabletop exercises to test detection and containment capabilities.
- Configuring centralized logging with retention policies that support forensic investigation requirements.
- Integrating incident response runbooks into SOAR platforms for automated containment actions.
Module 7: Third-Party and Supply Chain Risk Mitigation
- Requiring software bills of materials (SBOMs) from vendors and internal teams for dependency transparency.
- Automatically scanning open source components for known vulnerabilities and license compliance risks.
- Enforcing contractual security requirements for third-party developers and outsourced code delivery.
- Monitoring public repositories for accidental exposure of proprietary code or credentials.
- Validating software integrity through code signing and binary attestation in deployment pipelines.
- Assessing supplier security posture through standardized questionnaires and audit reports (e.g., SOC 2).
Module 8: Security Metrics, Reporting, and Continuous Improvement
- Defining and tracking defect escape rates from development to production to improve testing efficacy.
- Measuring time-to-detect and time-to-respond for security events across application layers.
- Conducting architecture review retrospectives to refine security patterns and anti-patterns.
- Aligning security audit findings with roadmap items to demonstrate risk reduction over time.
- Benchmarking security performance against industry peers using standardized maturity models.
- Updating security controls based on red team findings and penetration test results with remediation tracking.