Secure Coding


Overview#

Practices that prevent vulnerabilities during software development. Includes input validation, dependency management, and threat modeling.


Core objectives#

  • Establish shared definitions of Secure Coding for security, engineering, and leadership teams.
  • Connect Secure Coding activities to measurable risk reduction and resilience goals.
  • Provide onboarding notes so new team members can quickly understand how Secure Coding works here.

Implementation notes#

  • Identify the primary owner for Secure Coding, the data sources involved, and the systems affected.
  • Document the minimum viable process, tooling, and runbooks that keep Secure Coding healthy.
  • Map Secure Coding practices to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, or CIS Controls.

Operational signals#

  • Leading indicators: early warnings that Secure Coding might degrade (e.g., backlog growth, noisy alerts, or missed SLAs).
  • Lagging indicators: realized impact that shows Secure Coding failed or needs investment (e.g., incidents, audit findings).
  • Feedback loops: retrospectives and metrics reviews that tune Secure Coding continuously.

  • Align Secure Coding with defense-in-depth planning, threat modeling, and disaster recovery tests.
  • Communicate updates to stakeholders through concise briefs, dashboards, and internal FAQs.
  • Pair Secure Coding improvements with tabletop exercises to validate expectations.