Making moves with NIST: Our human-led position on the future of cyber defense
The recent cybersecurity Executive Order from the Biden Administration has certainly got the security industry talking, especially those who are looking to win over developers to the importance of applying secure coding best practices in their day-to-day work. For the first time, developers who are working on software in use by the federal government must have verified security skills, as well as adherence to new, evolved guidelines.
This marks a positive change in the cyber defense status quo, and finally makes adequate upskilling of developers part of the conversation. While these policies are US government-centric, they offer a global opportunity for organizations to address and upgrade current security standards, everything from developers to security analysis of software supply chains.
NIST recently sought public comment to inform their next updates to HIPAA legislation, among others, and this was an unmissable opportunity for us to pool our company expertise into positioning papers that can help inform a safer, and more effective, human-led approach to cybersecurity that will help organizations leverage their teams for greater outcomes.
As an expert-driven organization, we are fortunate to have some of the most dedicated and accomplished cybersecurity professionals working with us, including Ph.D. candidate Pieter de Cremer, and Dr. Brian Chess, who is part of our Technical Advisory Board. The three of us put our heads together to formally submit positioning papers to NIST, calling out ways our approach to developer upskilling and preventative security at the software creation stage could positively impact cybersecurity standards going forward.
A secure development pathway, paved for developers
Vulnerability scanning tools, monitoring and other forms of security automation are increasingly prevalent, and they feature in both the new Executive Order, as well as within NIST guidelines. They are an increasingly essential part of a modern security program, but history and the present show that scanning tools in particular certainly find vulnerabilities in software with ever-increasing efficiency, yet this alone has no effect on reducing them, or, indeed, improving security from the start.
A cumbersome tech stack that is distracting and slows down the developer workflow is one of the fundamental reasons that developers disengage with security and view it in a negative light. However, if developers had a paved pathway for secure development, one that was customized to suit not just the technology, but also languages, frameworks, and project-specific development objectives, then embedding security into the development process from the beginning - with as little disruption to their productivity as possible - is an ideal that would result in significant reduction in common vulnerabilities over time.
To read our NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
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Certification framework for secure development practices: The (current) missing link
To date, there is no formal certification to verifying secure coding skills and best practices. This has been an industry oversight for a long time, and it’s our position that this is essential for the future of improved cyber defense and secure development.
We know there are many forms of security training targeting developers, but if the volume of large-scale data breaches, cyberattacks, and poor quality code out there is any indication, it’s not creating security-aware developers, and they are not being equipped with the knowledge to make a dent in a problem that is only getting worse.
Developer upskilling requires tools and education that is day-job relevant, contextual, bite-sized (yet frequent), and allows them to build upon existing knowledge in the languages and frameworks they actually use. Generic training does not suffice, and this needs to be made abundantly clear in legislation and industry bodies such as NIST.
The NICE Framework is more than suitable to build out comprehensive certification guidelines that actively use methodologies that work, and are of most interest and relevance to developers, and their work. Aligning with this recognized institutional framework helps to standardize practices that truly make a difference, and provides more concrete pathways for organizations to follow.
To read our second NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
The people factor in cybersecurity is often forgotten, and it’s time we worked towards human solutions for human problems such as recurrent common vulnerabilities. Decades-old bugs should no longer trip us up, but it will take the backing of global governments to change the status quo and provide measurable, positive impact.
Are you ready to certify your developers? You’ve come to the right place. Check out our Learning Platform today.
The recent cybersecurity Executive Order from the Biden Administration has certainly got the security industry talking, especially those who are looking to win over developers to the importance of applying secure coding best practices in their day-to-day work.
Matias Madou, Ph.D. is a security expert, researcher, and CTO and co-founder of Secure Code Warrior. Matias obtained his Ph.D. in Application Security from Ghent University, focusing on static analysis solutions. He later joined Fortify in the US, where he realized that it was insufficient to solely detect code problems without aiding developers in writing secure code. This inspired him to develop products that assist developers, alleviate the burden of security, and exceed customers' expectations. When he is not at his desk as part of Team Awesome, he enjoys being on stage presenting at conferences including RSA Conference, BlackHat and DefCon.
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demo
Matias Madou, Ph.D. is a security expert, researcher, and CTO and co-founder of Secure Code Warrior. Matias obtained his Ph.D. in Application Security from Ghent University, focusing on static analysis solutions. He later joined Fortify in the US, where he realized that it was insufficient to solely detect code problems without aiding developers in writing secure code. This inspired him to develop products that assist developers, alleviate the burden of security, and exceed customers' expectations. When he is not at his desk as part of Team Awesome, he enjoys being on stage presenting at conferences including RSA Conference, BlackHat and DefCon.
Matias is a researcher and developer with more than 15 years of hands-on software security experience. He has developed solutions for companies such as Fortify Software and his own company Sensei Security. Over his career, Matias has led multiple application security research projects which have led to commercial products and boasts over 10 patents under his belt. When he is away from his desk, Matias has served as an instructor for advanced application security training courses and regularly speaks at global conferences including RSA Conference, Black Hat, DefCon, BSIMM, OWASP AppSec and BruCon.
Matias holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Ghent University, where he studied application security through program obfuscation to hide the inner workings of an application.
The recent cybersecurity Executive Order from the Biden Administration has certainly got the security industry talking, especially those who are looking to win over developers to the importance of applying secure coding best practices in their day-to-day work. For the first time, developers who are working on software in use by the federal government must have verified security skills, as well as adherence to new, evolved guidelines.
This marks a positive change in the cyber defense status quo, and finally makes adequate upskilling of developers part of the conversation. While these policies are US government-centric, they offer a global opportunity for organizations to address and upgrade current security standards, everything from developers to security analysis of software supply chains.
NIST recently sought public comment to inform their next updates to HIPAA legislation, among others, and this was an unmissable opportunity for us to pool our company expertise into positioning papers that can help inform a safer, and more effective, human-led approach to cybersecurity that will help organizations leverage their teams for greater outcomes.
As an expert-driven organization, we are fortunate to have some of the most dedicated and accomplished cybersecurity professionals working with us, including Ph.D. candidate Pieter de Cremer, and Dr. Brian Chess, who is part of our Technical Advisory Board. The three of us put our heads together to formally submit positioning papers to NIST, calling out ways our approach to developer upskilling and preventative security at the software creation stage could positively impact cybersecurity standards going forward.
A secure development pathway, paved for developers
Vulnerability scanning tools, monitoring and other forms of security automation are increasingly prevalent, and they feature in both the new Executive Order, as well as within NIST guidelines. They are an increasingly essential part of a modern security program, but history and the present show that scanning tools in particular certainly find vulnerabilities in software with ever-increasing efficiency, yet this alone has no effect on reducing them, or, indeed, improving security from the start.
A cumbersome tech stack that is distracting and slows down the developer workflow is one of the fundamental reasons that developers disengage with security and view it in a negative light. However, if developers had a paved pathway for secure development, one that was customized to suit not just the technology, but also languages, frameworks, and project-specific development objectives, then embedding security into the development process from the beginning - with as little disruption to their productivity as possible - is an ideal that would result in significant reduction in common vulnerabilities over time.
To read our NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
Certification framework for secure development practices: The (current) missing link
To date, there is no formal certification to verifying secure coding skills and best practices. This has been an industry oversight for a long time, and it’s our position that this is essential for the future of improved cyber defense and secure development.
We know there are many forms of security training targeting developers, but if the volume of large-scale data breaches, cyberattacks, and poor quality code out there is any indication, it’s not creating security-aware developers, and they are not being equipped with the knowledge to make a dent in a problem that is only getting worse.
Developer upskilling requires tools and education that is day-job relevant, contextual, bite-sized (yet frequent), and allows them to build upon existing knowledge in the languages and frameworks they actually use. Generic training does not suffice, and this needs to be made abundantly clear in legislation and industry bodies such as NIST.
The NICE Framework is more than suitable to build out comprehensive certification guidelines that actively use methodologies that work, and are of most interest and relevance to developers, and their work. Aligning with this recognized institutional framework helps to standardize practices that truly make a difference, and provides more concrete pathways for organizations to follow.
To read our second NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
The people factor in cybersecurity is often forgotten, and it’s time we worked towards human solutions for human problems such as recurrent common vulnerabilities. Decades-old bugs should no longer trip us up, but it will take the backing of global governments to change the status quo and provide measurable, positive impact.
Are you ready to certify your developers? You’ve come to the right place. Check out our Learning Platform today.
The recent cybersecurity Executive Order from the Biden Administration has certainly got the security industry talking, especially those who are looking to win over developers to the importance of applying secure coding best practices in their day-to-day work. For the first time, developers who are working on software in use by the federal government must have verified security skills, as well as adherence to new, evolved guidelines.
This marks a positive change in the cyber defense status quo, and finally makes adequate upskilling of developers part of the conversation. While these policies are US government-centric, they offer a global opportunity for organizations to address and upgrade current security standards, everything from developers to security analysis of software supply chains.
NIST recently sought public comment to inform their next updates to HIPAA legislation, among others, and this was an unmissable opportunity for us to pool our company expertise into positioning papers that can help inform a safer, and more effective, human-led approach to cybersecurity that will help organizations leverage their teams for greater outcomes.
As an expert-driven organization, we are fortunate to have some of the most dedicated and accomplished cybersecurity professionals working with us, including Ph.D. candidate Pieter de Cremer, and Dr. Brian Chess, who is part of our Technical Advisory Board. The three of us put our heads together to formally submit positioning papers to NIST, calling out ways our approach to developer upskilling and preventative security at the software creation stage could positively impact cybersecurity standards going forward.
A secure development pathway, paved for developers
Vulnerability scanning tools, monitoring and other forms of security automation are increasingly prevalent, and they feature in both the new Executive Order, as well as within NIST guidelines. They are an increasingly essential part of a modern security program, but history and the present show that scanning tools in particular certainly find vulnerabilities in software with ever-increasing efficiency, yet this alone has no effect on reducing them, or, indeed, improving security from the start.
A cumbersome tech stack that is distracting and slows down the developer workflow is one of the fundamental reasons that developers disengage with security and view it in a negative light. However, if developers had a paved pathway for secure development, one that was customized to suit not just the technology, but also languages, frameworks, and project-specific development objectives, then embedding security into the development process from the beginning - with as little disruption to their productivity as possible - is an ideal that would result in significant reduction in common vulnerabilities over time.
To read our NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
Certification framework for secure development practices: The (current) missing link
To date, there is no formal certification to verifying secure coding skills and best practices. This has been an industry oversight for a long time, and it’s our position that this is essential for the future of improved cyber defense and secure development.
We know there are many forms of security training targeting developers, but if the volume of large-scale data breaches, cyberattacks, and poor quality code out there is any indication, it’s not creating security-aware developers, and they are not being equipped with the knowledge to make a dent in a problem that is only getting worse.
Developer upskilling requires tools and education that is day-job relevant, contextual, bite-sized (yet frequent), and allows them to build upon existing knowledge in the languages and frameworks they actually use. Generic training does not suffice, and this needs to be made abundantly clear in legislation and industry bodies such as NIST.
The NICE Framework is more than suitable to build out comprehensive certification guidelines that actively use methodologies that work, and are of most interest and relevance to developers, and their work. Aligning with this recognized institutional framework helps to standardize practices that truly make a difference, and provides more concrete pathways for organizations to follow.
To read our second NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
The people factor in cybersecurity is often forgotten, and it’s time we worked towards human solutions for human problems such as recurrent common vulnerabilities. Decades-old bugs should no longer trip us up, but it will take the backing of global governments to change the status quo and provide measurable, positive impact.
Are you ready to certify your developers? You’ve come to the right place. Check out our Learning Platform today.
Matias Madou, Ph.D. is a security expert, researcher, and CTO and co-founder of Secure Code Warrior. Matias obtained his Ph.D. in Application Security from Ghent University, focusing on static analysis solutions. He later joined Fortify in the US, where he realized that it was insufficient to solely detect code problems without aiding developers in writing secure code. This inspired him to develop products that assist developers, alleviate the burden of security, and exceed customers' expectations. When he is not at his desk as part of Team Awesome, he enjoys being on stage presenting at conferences including RSA Conference, BlackHat and DefCon.
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DownloadSecure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
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Matias Madou, Ph.D. is a security expert, researcher, and CTO and co-founder of Secure Code Warrior. Matias obtained his Ph.D. in Application Security from Ghent University, focusing on static analysis solutions. He later joined Fortify in the US, where he realized that it was insufficient to solely detect code problems without aiding developers in writing secure code. This inspired him to develop products that assist developers, alleviate the burden of security, and exceed customers' expectations. When he is not at his desk as part of Team Awesome, he enjoys being on stage presenting at conferences including RSA Conference, BlackHat and DefCon.
Matias is a researcher and developer with more than 15 years of hands-on software security experience. He has developed solutions for companies such as Fortify Software and his own company Sensei Security. Over his career, Matias has led multiple application security research projects which have led to commercial products and boasts over 10 patents under his belt. When he is away from his desk, Matias has served as an instructor for advanced application security training courses and regularly speaks at global conferences including RSA Conference, Black Hat, DefCon, BSIMM, OWASP AppSec and BruCon.
Matias holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Ghent University, where he studied application security through program obfuscation to hide the inner workings of an application.
The recent cybersecurity Executive Order from the Biden Administration has certainly got the security industry talking, especially those who are looking to win over developers to the importance of applying secure coding best practices in their day-to-day work. For the first time, developers who are working on software in use by the federal government must have verified security skills, as well as adherence to new, evolved guidelines.
This marks a positive change in the cyber defense status quo, and finally makes adequate upskilling of developers part of the conversation. While these policies are US government-centric, they offer a global opportunity for organizations to address and upgrade current security standards, everything from developers to security analysis of software supply chains.
NIST recently sought public comment to inform their next updates to HIPAA legislation, among others, and this was an unmissable opportunity for us to pool our company expertise into positioning papers that can help inform a safer, and more effective, human-led approach to cybersecurity that will help organizations leverage their teams for greater outcomes.
As an expert-driven organization, we are fortunate to have some of the most dedicated and accomplished cybersecurity professionals working with us, including Ph.D. candidate Pieter de Cremer, and Dr. Brian Chess, who is part of our Technical Advisory Board. The three of us put our heads together to formally submit positioning papers to NIST, calling out ways our approach to developer upskilling and preventative security at the software creation stage could positively impact cybersecurity standards going forward.
A secure development pathway, paved for developers
Vulnerability scanning tools, monitoring and other forms of security automation are increasingly prevalent, and they feature in both the new Executive Order, as well as within NIST guidelines. They are an increasingly essential part of a modern security program, but history and the present show that scanning tools in particular certainly find vulnerabilities in software with ever-increasing efficiency, yet this alone has no effect on reducing them, or, indeed, improving security from the start.
A cumbersome tech stack that is distracting and slows down the developer workflow is one of the fundamental reasons that developers disengage with security and view it in a negative light. However, if developers had a paved pathway for secure development, one that was customized to suit not just the technology, but also languages, frameworks, and project-specific development objectives, then embedding security into the development process from the beginning - with as little disruption to their productivity as possible - is an ideal that would result in significant reduction in common vulnerabilities over time.
To read our NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
Certification framework for secure development practices: The (current) missing link
To date, there is no formal certification to verifying secure coding skills and best practices. This has been an industry oversight for a long time, and it’s our position that this is essential for the future of improved cyber defense and secure development.
We know there are many forms of security training targeting developers, but if the volume of large-scale data breaches, cyberattacks, and poor quality code out there is any indication, it’s not creating security-aware developers, and they are not being equipped with the knowledge to make a dent in a problem that is only getting worse.
Developer upskilling requires tools and education that is day-job relevant, contextual, bite-sized (yet frequent), and allows them to build upon existing knowledge in the languages and frameworks they actually use. Generic training does not suffice, and this needs to be made abundantly clear in legislation and industry bodies such as NIST.
The NICE Framework is more than suitable to build out comprehensive certification guidelines that actively use methodologies that work, and are of most interest and relevance to developers, and their work. Aligning with this recognized institutional framework helps to standardize practices that truly make a difference, and provides more concrete pathways for organizations to follow.
To read our second NIST positioning paper in full, download it now:
The people factor in cybersecurity is often forgotten, and it’s time we worked towards human solutions for human problems such as recurrent common vulnerabilities. Decades-old bugs should no longer trip us up, but it will take the backing of global governments to change the status quo and provide measurable, positive impact.
Are you ready to certify your developers? You’ve come to the right place. Check out our Learning Platform today.
Table of contents
Matias Madou, Ph.D. is a security expert, researcher, and CTO and co-founder of Secure Code Warrior. Matias obtained his Ph.D. in Application Security from Ghent University, focusing on static analysis solutions. He later joined Fortify in the US, where he realized that it was insufficient to solely detect code problems without aiding developers in writing secure code. This inspired him to develop products that assist developers, alleviate the burden of security, and exceed customers' expectations. When he is not at his desk as part of Team Awesome, he enjoys being on stage presenting at conferences including RSA Conference, BlackHat and DefCon.
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demoDownloadResources to get you started
DigitalOcean Decreases Security Debt with Secure Code Warrior
DigitalOcean's use of Secure Code Warrior training has significantly reduced security debt, allowing teams to focus more on innovation and productivity. The improved security has strengthened their product quality and competitive edge. Looking ahead, the SCW Trust Score will help them further enhance security practices and continue driving innovation.
Resources to get you started
Deep Dive: Navigating the Critical CUPS Vulnerability in GNU-Linux Systems
Discover the latest security challenges facing Linux users as we explore recent high-severity vulnerabilities in the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS). Learn how these issues may lead to potential Remote Code Execution (RCE) and what you can do to protect your systems.
Deep Dive: Navigating the Critical CUPS Vulnerability in GNU-Linux Systems
Discover the latest security challenges facing Linux users as we explore recent high-severity vulnerabilities in the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS). Learn how these issues may lead to potential Remote Code Execution (RCE) and what you can do to protect your systems.
Coders Conquer Security: Share & Learn - Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-site scripting (XSS) uses the trust of browsers and ignorance of users to steal data, take over accounts, and deface websites; it's a vulnerability that can get very ugly, very quickly. Let's take a look at how XSS works, what damage can be done, and how to prevent it.
