How to Become a Secure Programmer

The information technology sector is among the fastest-growing industries in the world. However, software and software products are evolving faster than the rate at which software security is evolving. No wonder the requirements and vacancies for a secure programmer are rising around the world. More and more IT professionals are considering secure web programming as a career due to the reputation and the scope of growth. To pursue a career as a secure web programming professional, you need to have essential and fundamental skills for developing secure and robust applications. However, the journey to becoming an expert is not easy, and we are fully aware of this fact. This is why you need the right platform to learn and achieve your desired goals.

Let’s breakdown what it takes to be a secure programmer.

How Can I Pursue a Career as a Secure Programmer?

You need to possess a few distinct qualities to become a security software developer. An enterprising individual who is ambitious, adventurous, energetic, confident, extroverted, assertive, enthusiastic, and optimistic, has a bright future as a professional in this field. Apart from all this, a security software developer should be dominant, motivated, persuasive, and artistic.

Skills Required to Progress as a Secure Web Programing Expert

Here are some skills that you will need to progress as a secure web programming expert:

1. Understanding of programming and cybersecurity

If you wish to pursue a career as a secure software programmer, you will need to understand computer programming and cybersecurity. You must have the ability to apply application security at every level of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). At the same time, knowing and staying up to date with the OWASP Top 10 and threat modeling methodologies will help you make better-informed decisions.

2. Strong cryptography skills — Application Encryption

There is always a probability that cryptography, especially encryption, is not one of the primary objectives of a secure programmer. These cases make data prone to attacks from the outside world. Encrypting data before storing it on a database, big data, or on a cloud will help secure your data.

3. Static AppSec Testing (SAST)

SAST is a set of technologies engineered to analyze the vulnerabilities in the source code before compiling it. This is also referred to as white-box testing. These methodologies help eliminate even highly complex vulnerabilities, which are not visible until you get hold of the source code.

4. Dynamic AppSec Testing (DAST)

Another similar trait that a secure programmer must possess is the ability to perform DAST, also known as black-box security testing. DAST uses methodologies to test vulnerabilities during the running state of the application. The set of technologies under this kind of testing opt for the approaches adopted by the perpetrators.

5. Soft Skills

There is no mandatory personal skill set required by an AppSec engineer; but having a few of the below-mentioned soft skills can help your security team to perform better:

◉ Oral and written communication skills: For writing comprehensive reports

◉ Teamwork: Proper interaction is the key to mitigate security risks

◉ Decision-making capability: For adopting new countermeasures for unknown attacks

◉ Analytical skills: To foresee which application vulnerability can become a major threat

How Can You Become a Secure Programmer?

You can opt to train in college or at a job as a software professional. Having prior experience in handling security threats will help you progress in this role. You can gain experience in this field by interning at a corporate cybersecurity department within a security operations center.

If you are new to programming, have just started learning python, or are a network administrator interested in programming or a professional who is working in application development and computer security, then these courses can help you:

Secure programming in C

It is one of the topmost criteria to have knowledge of secure coding with C. C programming language is so flexible and versatile that it is commonly used with a number of applications. But it is also vulnerable to exploitation due to the same reasons. This is why learning how to write a secure code is important to grow as a professional.

In this course, you will first learn about the overall security of a C application. You will then get an insight into writing a better and secure C code that can prevent pitfalls commonly found in the C language.

Furthermore, you will learn how vulnerabilities and security flaws caused by incorrect use of dynamic memory management functions can be avoided. You will also understand how to eliminate integer-related problems caused by signed integer overflows, truncation errors, and unsigned integer wrapping.

Secure programming in C++

C++ programs are usually insecure even though the language is popularly used for writing codes. There are several vulnerabilities found in the C++ code because of which hackers can exploit it. Identifying and understanding the potential errors made with C++ programs is important before you can write a secure C++ code.

This course will take you through the entire process by providing vulnerable code examples, exploiting the codes, and then demonstrating corrected code that cannot be affected by exploitation.

Python Security Microdegree

Python programming language is among the most popular languages. This is because it is easy to learn and is open source, with tons of libraries for various implementations.

In this course, you will learn about basic and intermediate Python programming like data functions, structures, object-oriented programming, etc., to provide a foundation for any programming project. You will also learn about Python’s practical use in cybersecurity like password cracking, socket programming, and cross-platform scripting.

By the end of the course, you will be able to write Python programs for general purpose applications and use Python for cybersecurity.

Web Application Penetration Testing

This course focuses on the practical side of penetration testing and the theory behind every attack. You will first learn how you can set up a lab and install the needed software for practicing penetration testing on your own machine.

This course will provide basic introductions to a website, a web server, and database, which are essential to understand how a website functions. Once the introduction is complete, you’ll learn how to exploit these components and the method of communication to carry out several powerful attacks.

By the end of this course, you’ll have a thorough understanding of launching attacks, website testing, and web applications security. The training program will make you efficient in fixing security vulnerabilities and securing websites from cyberattacks.

Source: eccouncil.org