OpenSSF updates its Creating Safe Software program course with new interactive labs


The Open Supply Safety Basis (OpenSSF) is updating its Creating Safe Software program (LFD121) course with new interactive studying labs that present builders with extra hands-on studying alternatives. 

LFD121 is a free course provided by OpenSSF that takes about 14-18 hours to finish. Any pupil who passes the ultimate examination will get a certificates that’s legitimate for 2 years.  

The course is damaged down into three elements. The primary half covers the fundamentals of safe software program improvement, like tips on how to implement safe design ideas and tips on how to safe the software program provide chain. Half two covers implementation of these fundamentals after which half three winds up with safety testing and likewise covers extra specialised matters like risk modeling, fielding, and formal strategies for verifying that software program is safe. 

The brand new interactive labs are usually not required for finishing the course, however do improve the expertise, OpenSSF defined. The labs launch straight within the net browser, which means no further software program wants downloading. 

Every lab includes working by means of a selected process, resembling validating enter of a easy knowledge kind. “Studying tips on how to do enter validation is vital,” mentioned David Wheeler, director of open supply provide chain safety, at OpenSSF. “Attackers are *repeatedly* attacking applications, so builders must study to validate (verify) inputs from potential attackers in order that it’s a lot tougher for attackers to malicious inputs right into a program.”

Every lab features a basic objective, background on the problem, and details about the precise duties. College students will work by means of a pre-written program that has some areas that can should be stuffed in by the coed. 

In response to Wheeler, the objective of all the labs isn’t to study particular applied sciences, however to study core ideas about writing safe software program. For instance, within the enter validation lab, the coed solely wants to repair one line of code, however that line of code is the one which does the validation, and subsequently, is critically vital. 

“In reality, with out the enter validation line to be crafted by the consumer, the code has a vulnerability (particularly a ‘cross-site scripting vulnerability’),” mentioned Wheeler.

College students also can get assist all through the lab by requesting context-specific hints that take note of the place they’re caught. Wheeler defined that the hints assist college students progress by means of the labs even when they’re not accustomed to the actual programming language used within the lab. 

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