Why secure code is the new success metric in software development
In the last few years, many things have been sacrificed on the altar of speed-to-market—things like network security, terabytes of sensitive customer data and priceless brand reputations. Intense pressure to accelerate the release of new features and functions has led to complex, distributed teams focused on rapid development, with little awareness of the vulnerabilities they could create or the enormous risks. More than ever before, a new way of working is required. So in 2020, Secure Code Warrior engaged with Evans Data Corp. to conduct primary research* into developers' and their managers’ attitudes towards secure coding, secure code practices, and security operations (Download your copy of the whitepaper here).
Performance Indicators for project success – where does security fit?
Developers and managers think having secure code is important – but just not nearly as important as other factors. When we asked developers and managers about the most critical priorities in the software development process:
- 76% nominated application performance
- 62% picked features and functionality
- And a little over 50% selected secure code
Compared to other performance indicators for project success, secure coding currently comes in a distant third.
At present – and perhaps unsurprisingly – developers judge a project's success on performance indicators that only assess the code after the project is finished.
However, when asked about how this might change in the future, the picture flips on its head. How organizations approach security as a metric for success is changing. Secure coding is becoming a greater priority.
When asked about the most critical priorities for measuring project success in the future, 79% of those surveyed agree that secure coding will increase in importance. What’s striking is that a more significant percentage see security's importance in the future increasing more than that of any other performance indicator. Awareness of secure coding is growing, as is a movement to ‘shifting left’. By its very nature, the practice of secure coding means considering security much earlier in the SDLC. It means actively building security in as software as is written, from the start, instead of leaving this to later.
As CIOs strive to make their organizations more agile, secure coding capabilities will become a vital innovation weapon. CIOs and CISOs should think carefully about whether their development teams are the first line of risk or their first line of defense.
This insight has critical implications for how organizations train their developers. Teams need to learn about recently identified vulnerabilities and learn in their own languages/frameworks. In short, they need to understand how to locate, identify and fix known vulnerabilities in code in the context they work in every day.
As champions of change in secure coding, Secure Code Warrior takes a human-led approach that actively engages developers to learn and build their secure coding skills. If you'd like to see the potential impact on your teams' ability to start left and ship secure code faster without compromising security, book a demo now.
*Shifting from reaction to prevention: The changing face of application security. Secure Code Warrior and Evans Data Corp. 2020
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In the last few years, many things have been sacrificed on the altar of speed-to-market—things like network security, terabytes of sensitive customer data and priceless brand reputations.
Secure Code Warrior makes secure coding a positive and engaging experience for developers as they increase their skills. We guide each coder along their own preferred learning pathway, so that security-skilled developers become the everyday superheroes of our connected world.
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
Secure Code Warrior makes secure coding a positive and engaging experience for developers as they increase their skills. We guide each coder along their own preferred learning pathway, so that security-skilled developers become the everyday superheroes of our connected world.
This article was written by Secure Code Warrior's team of industry experts, committed to empowering developers with the knowledge and skills to build secure software from the start. Drawing on deep expertise in secure coding practices, industry trends, and real-world insights.
In the last few years, many things have been sacrificed on the altar of speed-to-market—things like network security, terabytes of sensitive customer data and priceless brand reputations. Intense pressure to accelerate the release of new features and functions has led to complex, distributed teams focused on rapid development, with little awareness of the vulnerabilities they could create or the enormous risks. More than ever before, a new way of working is required. So in 2020, Secure Code Warrior engaged with Evans Data Corp. to conduct primary research* into developers' and their managers’ attitudes towards secure coding, secure code practices, and security operations (Download your copy of the whitepaper here).
Performance Indicators for project success – where does security fit?
Developers and managers think having secure code is important – but just not nearly as important as other factors. When we asked developers and managers about the most critical priorities in the software development process:
- 76% nominated application performance
- 62% picked features and functionality
- And a little over 50% selected secure code
Compared to other performance indicators for project success, secure coding currently comes in a distant third.
At present – and perhaps unsurprisingly – developers judge a project's success on performance indicators that only assess the code after the project is finished.
However, when asked about how this might change in the future, the picture flips on its head. How organizations approach security as a metric for success is changing. Secure coding is becoming a greater priority.
When asked about the most critical priorities for measuring project success in the future, 79% of those surveyed agree that secure coding will increase in importance. What’s striking is that a more significant percentage see security's importance in the future increasing more than that of any other performance indicator. Awareness of secure coding is growing, as is a movement to ‘shifting left’. By its very nature, the practice of secure coding means considering security much earlier in the SDLC. It means actively building security in as software as is written, from the start, instead of leaving this to later.
As CIOs strive to make their organizations more agile, secure coding capabilities will become a vital innovation weapon. CIOs and CISOs should think carefully about whether their development teams are the first line of risk or their first line of defense.
This insight has critical implications for how organizations train their developers. Teams need to learn about recently identified vulnerabilities and learn in their own languages/frameworks. In short, they need to understand how to locate, identify and fix known vulnerabilities in code in the context they work in every day.
As champions of change in secure coding, Secure Code Warrior takes a human-led approach that actively engages developers to learn and build their secure coding skills. If you'd like to see the potential impact on your teams' ability to start left and ship secure code faster without compromising security, book a demo now.
*Shifting from reaction to prevention: The changing face of application security. Secure Code Warrior and Evans Data Corp. 2020
In the last few years, many things have been sacrificed on the altar of speed-to-market—things like network security, terabytes of sensitive customer data and priceless brand reputations. Intense pressure to accelerate the release of new features and functions has led to complex, distributed teams focused on rapid development, with little awareness of the vulnerabilities they could create or the enormous risks. More than ever before, a new way of working is required. So in 2020, Secure Code Warrior engaged with Evans Data Corp. to conduct primary research* into developers' and their managers’ attitudes towards secure coding, secure code practices, and security operations (Download your copy of the whitepaper here).
Performance Indicators for project success – where does security fit?
Developers and managers think having secure code is important – but just not nearly as important as other factors. When we asked developers and managers about the most critical priorities in the software development process:
- 76% nominated application performance
- 62% picked features and functionality
- And a little over 50% selected secure code
Compared to other performance indicators for project success, secure coding currently comes in a distant third.
At present – and perhaps unsurprisingly – developers judge a project's success on performance indicators that only assess the code after the project is finished.
However, when asked about how this might change in the future, the picture flips on its head. How organizations approach security as a metric for success is changing. Secure coding is becoming a greater priority.
When asked about the most critical priorities for measuring project success in the future, 79% of those surveyed agree that secure coding will increase in importance. What’s striking is that a more significant percentage see security's importance in the future increasing more than that of any other performance indicator. Awareness of secure coding is growing, as is a movement to ‘shifting left’. By its very nature, the practice of secure coding means considering security much earlier in the SDLC. It means actively building security in as software as is written, from the start, instead of leaving this to later.
As CIOs strive to make their organizations more agile, secure coding capabilities will become a vital innovation weapon. CIOs and CISOs should think carefully about whether their development teams are the first line of risk or their first line of defense.
This insight has critical implications for how organizations train their developers. Teams need to learn about recently identified vulnerabilities and learn in their own languages/frameworks. In short, they need to understand how to locate, identify and fix known vulnerabilities in code in the context they work in every day.
As champions of change in secure coding, Secure Code Warrior takes a human-led approach that actively engages developers to learn and build their secure coding skills. If you'd like to see the potential impact on your teams' ability to start left and ship secure code faster without compromising security, book a demo now.
*Shifting from reaction to prevention: The changing face of application security. Secure Code Warrior and Evans Data Corp. 2020
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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.
View reportBook a demo
Secure Code Warrior makes secure coding a positive and engaging experience for developers as they increase their skills. We guide each coder along their own preferred learning pathway, so that security-skilled developers become the everyday superheroes of our connected world.
This article was written by Secure Code Warrior's team of industry experts, committed to empowering developers with the knowledge and skills to build secure software from the start. Drawing on deep expertise in secure coding practices, industry trends, and real-world insights.
In the last few years, many things have been sacrificed on the altar of speed-to-market—things like network security, terabytes of sensitive customer data and priceless brand reputations. Intense pressure to accelerate the release of new features and functions has led to complex, distributed teams focused on rapid development, with little awareness of the vulnerabilities they could create or the enormous risks. More than ever before, a new way of working is required. So in 2020, Secure Code Warrior engaged with Evans Data Corp. to conduct primary research* into developers' and their managers’ attitudes towards secure coding, secure code practices, and security operations (Download your copy of the whitepaper here).
Performance Indicators for project success – where does security fit?
Developers and managers think having secure code is important – but just not nearly as important as other factors. When we asked developers and managers about the most critical priorities in the software development process:
- 76% nominated application performance
- 62% picked features and functionality
- And a little over 50% selected secure code
Compared to other performance indicators for project success, secure coding currently comes in a distant third.
At present – and perhaps unsurprisingly – developers judge a project's success on performance indicators that only assess the code after the project is finished.
However, when asked about how this might change in the future, the picture flips on its head. How organizations approach security as a metric for success is changing. Secure coding is becoming a greater priority.
When asked about the most critical priorities for measuring project success in the future, 79% of those surveyed agree that secure coding will increase in importance. What’s striking is that a more significant percentage see security's importance in the future increasing more than that of any other performance indicator. Awareness of secure coding is growing, as is a movement to ‘shifting left’. By its very nature, the practice of secure coding means considering security much earlier in the SDLC. It means actively building security in as software as is written, from the start, instead of leaving this to later.
As CIOs strive to make their organizations more agile, secure coding capabilities will become a vital innovation weapon. CIOs and CISOs should think carefully about whether their development teams are the first line of risk or their first line of defense.
This insight has critical implications for how organizations train their developers. Teams need to learn about recently identified vulnerabilities and learn in their own languages/frameworks. In short, they need to understand how to locate, identify and fix known vulnerabilities in code in the context they work in every day.
As champions of change in secure coding, Secure Code Warrior takes a human-led approach that actively engages developers to learn and build their secure coding skills. If you'd like to see the potential impact on your teams' ability to start left and ship secure code faster without compromising security, book a demo now.
*Shifting from reaction to prevention: The changing face of application security. Secure Code Warrior and Evans Data Corp. 2020
Table of contents
Secure Code Warrior makes secure coding a positive and engaging experience for developers as they increase their skills. We guide each coder along their own preferred learning pathway, so that security-skilled developers become the everyday superheroes of our connected world.
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
AI Coding Assistants: A Guide to Security-Safe Navigation for the Next Generation of Developers
Large language models deliver irresistible advantages in speed and productivity, but they also introduce undeniable risks to the enterprise. Traditional security guardrails aren’t enough to control the deluge. Developers require precise, verified security skills to identify and prevent security flaws at the outset of the software development lifecycle.
Secure by Design: Defining Best Practices, Enabling Developers and Benchmarking Preventative Security Outcomes
In this research paper, Secure Code Warrior co-founders, Pieter Danhieux and Dr. Matias Madou, Ph.D., along with expert contributors, Chris Inglis, Former US National Cyber Director (now Strategic Advisor to Paladin Capital Group), and Devin Lynch, Senior Director, Paladin Global Institute, will reveal key findings from over twenty in-depth interviews with enterprise security leaders including CISOs, a VP of Application Security, and software security professionals.
Resources to get you started
Setting the Standard: SCW Releases Free AI Coding Security Rules on GitHub
AI-assisted development is no longer on the horizon — it’s here, and it’s rapidly reshaping how software is written. Tools like GitHub Copilot, Cline, Roo, Cursor, Aider, and Windsurf are transforming developers into co-pilots of their own, enabling faster iteration and accelerating everything from prototyping to major refactoring projects.
Close the Loop on Vulnerabilities with Secure Code Warrior + HackerOne
Secure Code Warrior is excited to announce our new integration with HackerOne, a leader in offensive security solutions. Together, we're building a powerful, integrated ecosystem. HackerOne pinpoints where vulnerabilities are actually happening in real-world environments, exposing the "what" and "where" of security issues.
Revealed: How the Cyber Industry Defines Secure by Design
In our latest white paper, our Co-Founders, Pieter Danhieux and Dr. Matias Madou, Ph.D., sat down with over twenty enterprise security leaders, including CISOs, AppSec leaders and security professionals, to figure out the key pieces of this puzzle and uncover the reality behind the Secure by Design movement. It’s a shared ambition across the security teams, but no shared playbook.
Developer-driven coding.
Securely.
Contact us today and make software security an intrinsic part of your development process.
