6 November 2024 • Cyber security
The average security awareness program covers topics such as phishing, password security, and malware. But security awareness training for developers should be tailored to their role in creating secure software. Developers are directly responsible for writing code and designing systems that are resistant to attacks. Any vulnerability can be a gateway for a cybercriminal to enter your systems.
Below, we have covered the best security awareness training solutions for developers.
The 6 best security awareness training solutions for developers
1. Guardey
Guardey is a security awareness training provider that has created a program especially for developers. What sets Guardey apart from alternatives is their focus on gamification. That’s why they’re often referred to as being the Duolingo of security awareness.
First of all, a weekly Guardey challenge takes up to three minutes to complete. This makes it easy to fit into your developer’s schedule and doesn’t take too much from their focus time. During the challenges, users answer questions about a wide variety of questions. When they get it right, they make money for their fictional organization. If they don’t perform well, they lose money and their reputation tanks.
In a leaderboard, users can compare their scores to their colleagues. This adds a fun touch of friendly competition that keeps your developers engaged with the training program for a long period of time.
The training content is OWASP-based, taking into account the biggest security concerns for web application security. In the reporting section, you can easily track participation and performance.
2. Sectricity
Sectricity is a cybersecurity provider specializing in penetration testing and security awareness training for developers and others. Sectricity’s Security Awareness for Developers is a comprehensive security workshop. It also assesses developers’ security knowledge and provides instruction on developing secure code. It’s targeted at software developers from all levels and is designed to be easy to follow, even for junior developers. The training is delivered by experienced ethical hackers — experts in penetration who know all the tricks that a malicious actor might deploy.
The course and assessment cover a range of crucial topics, from injection attacks and security misconfigurations to the use of components with known vulnerabilities when developing code. The content is relevant to a range of widely used programming languages, like Python, C# and Java, and common frameworks like IBM Middleware and AWS Cloud.
Training sessions include plenty of practical examples drawn from real-world attacks, and participants get to watch simulated attacks play out live. This makes for a memorable and informative experience. Sectricity can deliver the workshop at your location or via an online learning environment.
3. Avatao
Avatao offers a range of solutions relating to security awareness training for developers, including assessments. Their security training aims to help software providers integrate cybersecurity into the development process, building a strong security culture backed up with the latest technical know-how.
As well as allowing developers to craft more secure code, the training aims to teach developers to avoid security bugs in the first instance, cutting down the time that needs to be spent fixing bugs and enabling providers to deliver secure products more rapidly. Training for compliance requirements is a feature of Avatao’s services, allowing software companies to achieve compliance with regulatory frameworks such as PCI DSS, ISO 27001 and SOC 2. Avatao offers compliance training and evaluation sessions, as well as continuous learning with annual plans.
They also hold Capture the Flag (CTF) hacking events. These are safe, ethical competitions where developers vie to break into a system and uncover a hidden file, putting themselves in the mindset of an attacker and gaining valuable hands-on experience and security insights. Avatao’s curricula cover most popular programming frameworks and languages, including newer languages like Kotlin.
4. Snyk
Snyk is a developer-focused security platform. It is designed to help application and cloud developers secure their entire application lifecycle, from the initial stages of coding to launch and operation. Snyk’s products, such as Snyk Code, Snyk Container and Snyk Open Source, are intended to identify and address vulnerabilities throughout the life-cycle of applications in the context of cloud environments.
Snyk offers various training paths, including its Security for Developers program. This is the product of a partnership with New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. The course covers topics such as insecure design, broken access control and vulnerabilities, as well as specific attacks like code injection and SQL injection attacks. It’s comprehensive and will be valuable to developers working in a variety of widely used programming languages.
The program is open to all learners, not just those enrolled at NYU; however, the latter can receive an industry badge from NYU as well as a certificate from Snyk when they complete all their assessed work. This is a free course, requiring sign-up to track progress but no payment details.
5. Secure Code Warrior
Secure Code Warrior offers a comprehensive range of products and solutions to improve security, including courses on security awareness for developers, coding labs, missions and challenges. Their range includes various assessments, venturing beyond conventional quizzes and exams.
SCW’s assessments aim to target specific security issues that may be relevant to a developer’s particular deployment project, as well as measuring skills and fulfilling regulatory compliance requirements. Assessments on offer also include competitive tournaments where developers test their code against the skills of ethical hackers, giving them a more realistic understanding of possible vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them. SCW also offers their own SCW Trust Score certification, which aims to give organizations a comprehensive assessment of the secure coding skills possessed by their developers. Other products and services available from Secure Code Warrior include instructional videos and coding walkthroughs, which are designed to explain the details of various vulnerabilities so that coders can avoid them in the future.
SCW aims to allow developers and the organizations that they work for to produce more secure applications and services, as well as reduce development times by ensuring that security bugs don’t arise and require correction later in the process. Secure Code Warrior does not have any free options and pricing is opaque; you’ll need to apply for a demo to find out how much your desired product will cost for your team. Secure Code Warrior’s main appeal is the sheer breadth of the content on offer, with just about any programming language or security topic you can think of being covered.
6. Wizer
Wizer is touted as a security awareness management solution. It started in 2019 as a free product, but now most features require a subscription. There’s still a free tier, which gives users access to the learner console and an annual training session. For the rest of the platform, you’d need to sign up for their Boost tier ($25 per user, dropping for larger groups).
Their products include an annual Secure Development Training program. Built around the OWASP 10 standard awareness document, the program consists of short video-based training sessions that are delivered monthly throughout the year. These training sessions are around 10–15 minutes long and cover topics like SQL injection attacks and prototype pollution. Wizer also offers dynamic capture-the-flag challenges, both free public versions and private tournaments arranged specifically for an organization.
CTF tournaments require a team of 15 to participate, making them an attractive group exercise for team-building. As well as dedicated security awareness training for developers, Wizer also provide more general cybersecurity training that’s relevant to staff in all roles throughout an organization. Their platform includes instructional videos, phishing simulations and quizzes. For organizations with large teams or limited time and resources, Wizer offers managed security awareness training.
The importance of security awareness training for developers
The security awareness of your developers is key to creating safe applications. With the number of data leaks quickly rising, this has become increasingly important. In the latest news, Apple grants ethical hackers with 1 million in cash if they are able to hack into their intelligence servers. A data leak can be catastrophic, with extremely high costs for the victim. That’s why Apple wouldn’t lose sleep over such a significant amount of money to help them improve their security.
Investing in the security awareness of your developers upfront can save you a lot of heartache, damage to your reputation and money down the line.
Guardey – the only fully gamified training solution for developers
Guardey creates a gamified learning experience that keeps developers engaged.
You can create a free Guardey account in three steps:
- Visit the signup page
- Enter your details (no payment details required)
- Explore Guardey’s numerous features
The free account gives you 14 days to try out our weekly security awareness challenges with your colleagues.
Want to learn more about Guardey from one of our specialists? You can schedule a demo here.
