• Classroom
  • Online, Instructor-Led

DISA’s Application Security and Development STIG, in conjunction with the associated checklist, provides a comprehensive listing of requirements and needs for improving and maintaining the security of software applications and systems within the Department of Defense. This course fills in the context, background, and best practices for fulfilling those requirements and needs. As with all of our courses, we maintain tight synchronization between the latest DISA releases and our materials. A key component to our coverage of DISA’s Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGS), this course is a companion course with several developer-oriented courses and seminars

Application Security and Development (STIG) is a lab-intensive, hands-on application security training course essential for developers, designers, architects, QA, Testing, and other personnel who need to deliver secure applications within the DOD. In addition to teaching basic programming skills, this course digs deep into sound processes and practices that apply to the entire software development lifecycle.

In this course, students thoroughly examine best practices for defensively coding web applications, including XML processing, rich interfaces, and both RESTful and SOAP-based web services. Students will repeatedly attack and then defend various assets associated with fully-functional web applications and web services. This hands-on approach drives home the mechanics of how to secure web applications in the most practical of terms.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand potential sources for untrusted data
  • Understand the consequences for not properly handling untrusted data such as denial of service, cross-site scripting, and injections
  • To test web applications with various attack techniques to determine the existence of and effectiveness of layered defenses
  • Prevent and defend the many potential vulnerabilities associated with untrusted data
  • Understand the vulnerabilities of associated with authentication and authorization
  • To detect, attack, and implement defenses for authentication and authorization functionality and services
  • Understand the dangers and mechanisms behind Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and Injection attacks
  • To detect, attack, and implement defenses against XSS and Injection attacks
  • Understand the concepts and terminology behind defensive, secure, coding
  • Understand the use of Threat Modeling as a tool in identifying software vulnerabilities based on realistic threats against meaningful assets
  • Perform both static code reviews and dynamic application testing to uncover vulnerabilities in Java-based web applications
  • Design and develop strong, robust authentication and authorization implementations within the context of JEE
  • Understand the fundamentals of XML Digital Signature and XML Encryption as well as how they are used within the web services arena
  • To detect, attack, and implement defenses for both RESTful and SOAP-based web services and functionality
  • Understand techniques and measures that can used to harden web and application servers as well as other components in your infrastructure
  • Understand and implement the processes and measures associated with the Secure Software Development (SSD)
  • Acquire the skills, tools, and best practices for design and code reviews as well as testing initiatives
  • Understand the basics of security testing and planning
  • Work through a comprehensive testing plan for recognized vulnerabilities and weaknesses

Framework Connections

The materials within this course focus on the NICE Framework Task, Knowledge, and Skill statements identified within the indicated NICE Framework component(s):