Writing code is hard. Writing secure code? That’s a whole different challenge. When your developers push to production, they’re not just shipping features — they might also be unintentionally opening doors for hackers.
That’s where secure coding practices enter the picture. Most developers don’t get taught secure coding at school, so it’s important to teach them daily habits to ensure their software doesn’t fall apart when poked at by hackers.
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What Do We Mean by Secure Coding?
Secure coding means taking into account some basic principles of software security when writing and reviewing code. It includes things like:
- Validating all user input (on the frontend and before saving to a database).
- Never trusting user-provided data by default.
- Encrypting sensitive information at rest and in transit.
- Using strong authentication and access controls.
- Avoiding hard-coded secrets or exposed keys.
Baking these practices in from the beginning helps prevent attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS), and helps ensure your software — and the infrastructure it runs on — remains secure.
Ignoring these practices means that:
1. Your AppSec team will have a lot more work to do,
2. More vulnerabilities will fall through the cracks, and
3. When bugs get caught (either before or after release) your engineering teams will have to spend more time cleaning up.
TL;DR: secure coding = more secure software = less 3 a.m. wake-up calls = happier teams
OWASP: The Cheat Sheet That Helps
Let's discuss the OWASP Top 10.
OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) is not a collection of security nerds yelling on the 'net. Well, it kind of is. But it’s also a trusted resource for down-to-earth, real-world guidance on how to keep applications secure. The OWASP Foundation releases a list of the ten most common web application vulnerabilities, updated every few years. Think of it as a checklist for secure coding practices: a no-nonsense list of what to do, and more importantly, what not to do while building software.
It addresses straightforward, actionable fundamentals such as:
- Input Validation: All input should be treated as untrusted. Always validate on both the client side and server side where possible.
- Authentication and Password Management: Enforce strong passwords (both for your application’s users and for any software you use to build it), use multi-factor authentication, and don’t roll your own encryption.
- Session Management: Use cookies and timeouts to avoid session hijacking.
- Access Control: Apply the principle of least privilege. Don’t let users do more than they should.
- Error Handling and Logging: Be careful what sensitive information you log or display in error messages.
- Data Protection: Encrypt data at rest and in transit.
- Communication Security: Use TLS everywhere. No excuses.
It’s like having a template to avoid the most common traps developers fall into. Even without a background in security, using the OWASP secure coding practices can assist your team in coding smarter, quicker, and more securely — with fewer fire drills in the future.
Why Training Matters More Than Tools
There are a ton of security tools out there: scanners, firewalls, and static analysis platforms. They’re useful, sure. But they don’t fix the real problem. The real problem is not taking coding and security best practices seriously.
A developer who hasn’t been trained in secure coding will keep making the same mistakes. They’ll write vulnerable code. They’ll forget to sanitize input. They’ll leave debug endpoints exposed in production.
This is why training matters. Not just generic “watch this video” training. Not the boring slide deck. Real training. Hands-on. Engaging. Memorable.
Why Traditional Security Training Doesn’t Work
Most security training feels like it was built by someone who’s never worked within a high-speed engineering team or spoken to a developer. You sit through a 45-minute slideshow. There’s a generic image of a “hacker” in a hoodie. Maybe a kitschy cartoon character lecturing you on phishing. You fill out some obvious quiz questions and promptly forget everything.
Why does this happen? These training tools are meant to "check the box," instead of teaching anyone anything. They treat everyone the same — whether they’re a developer, designer, or HR person. They're passive, one-directional, and almost always too long. And most of them have out-of-date examples.
The result? People zone out. They see training as a chore, not as a means to an end. And that’s the problem, because real security threats don’t arrive as a cartoon vignette. They infiltrate quietly through daily behaviors, careless configs, and sloppy code.
At Anagram Security, we flipped the script. Real-world problems. Interactive puzzles. Tailored to specific roles like developers. No lectures. Just the stuff your team needs to keep threats at bay.
What Anagram Security Does Differently
Security training doesn’t need to be dull to be useful. And it doesn't need to be punitive, either.
Here’s what makes Anagram Security different:
- Bite-sized modules: Lessons take only a few minutes to complete. Perfect for busy schedules.
- Real-world challenges: Developers aren’t fixing hypothetical “demo” code. They’re working with the kinds of flaws that show up in real applications.
- Instant feedback: When someone gets it wrong, they see why and how to fix it on the spot.
- Behavior nudges: Subtle, science-backed cues that help users build lasting habits.
- Interactive puzzles: Not videos. Not quizzes. Challenges that make you think.
You come for the puzzles. You stay for the “oh wow, I didn’t know that” moments.
We're not gamifying learning just to add some flashiness. We're leveraging interactive puzzles and feedback in real time to create moments that last. Because when you figure something out, you remember it.
Security Isn’t Just Security’s Job
We know “secure coding” sounds like something the AppSec team should be responsible for. And yes, they do play a vital role. But here’s something you don’t hear enough:
Everyone who touches your product influences its security. Think about it.
- An engineer builds the product.
- A designer may decide how password resets are done — how do we balance security vs ease of use?
- A product person may focus on adding new features over prioritizing authorization checks.
- A marketer may post a landing page with an open redirect.
- And customer support? They're dealing with sensitive information daily.
When your company creates or distributes digital goods, security is teamwork. When only one department "owns" security, things fall through the cracks. But when everyone knows the basics, you begin catching problems early. And you fix them before they become bugs, breaches, or reputation-killers.
And no, we're not advocating that every team has to be security experts themselves. Simply, they must have the right knowledge and awareness to call the correct plays in their realm.
That's precisely what led us to design our training the way we did. Quick, targeted, and applicable to what people do at work. Because when security makes sense, it actually works.
Secure Coding Practices Checklist
Here is a useful secure coding practices checklist for your team:
- Are we following the OWASP recommendations for secure coding?
- Do we conduct regular code reviews?
- Are we using up-to-date, secure libraries and frameworks?
- Is developer training part of our engineering onboarding process?
- Are we using tools to catch issues early?
- Do we have security champions or dedicated security engineers?
- Can the team walk through a recent security fix or improvement?
If you have some gaps, don’t worry. Simply begin where you are now and improve from there.
The Cost of Ignoring It
Skipping secure coding standards is a bet you don’t want to place.
When a security bug hits production, it is not just a technical issue. It's a PR crisis. It's a loss of trust. It's users uninstalling your app. It's regulators knocking on your door. And it's your team frantically patching something that never should've been released to begin with.
And most of these breaches aren’t the result of highly sophisticated hacking efforts involving AI-driven malware. They’re the result of forgetting to sanitize input. Or leaving a hardcoded secret committed in a public repository. Or exposing sensitive information by just logging it onto the page in an error message.
We've seen businesses lose customer data due to a missing “if” statement. Others incur fines because they didn’t encrypt internal communications. The cost?
- Seven-figure compliance fines.
- Eight-figure brand damage.
- And countless hours wasted in clean-up mode.
Treat secure coding as investing in uptime, trust, and the well-being of your business. Much cheaper than a data breach.
Secure Code = Competitive Advantage
Here's something very few teams understand: secure code is not just protection, it’s a feature.
Customers are concerned about security, investors are concerned about risk, and regulators are paying more attention than ever. When your app is humming, your data is secure, and your team doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to security audits, it's not just good ops, it's a strategic edge.
Consider this:
- A clean security record promotes trust.
- It minimizes downtime.
- It makes your legal team happy.
- And it highlights your company's commitment to quality, down to the level of the code.
It's the kind of thing that comes into investor discussions and business transactions. Particularly when you're growing rapidly. And the best thing? You don’t have to have a big security team to get you there. You only need the appropriate mindset, some best practices, and good training tools, like Anagram Security, to shift the needle.
Secure coding doesn’t slow you down. It paves the way to quicker launches, delighted users, and fewer "oh no" moments at 2 a.m.
Securing software is not just the ethical thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.
Building a Secure Coding Culture
So, how do you turn “secure coding” from a checklist into a culture? Here’s what we recommend:
- Start with Awareness: Educate everyone, from Engineering to Marketing to DevOps, on basic security concepts.
- Level Up Your Engineers: Developers need real-world practice, not just theory.
- Integrate Security into the Development Cycle: Make security a part of your daily workflow:
- Add security checks to pull requests
- Encourage code reviews that address security as well as functionality
- Use tools (but don’t rely on them blindly)
- Include security in any onboarding trainings
- Reward Secure Behavior: Celebrate when someone catches a bug or flags a concern early. Make security a team win, not a red flag.
How Anagram Security Helps
We created Anagram Security because we were tired of training that made security feel like homework. Here’s what we offer:
Security Awareness Training
For everybody in your business. Quick, clever lessons that don’t talk down to you. Realistic examples. No tests involving cartoon hackers.
Software Developer Training
For your engineers. Hands-on exercises based on real application bugs. Practice how to track down and debug the things that actually fail in production. Not sanitized "demo code".
The best thing about both programs is that each can be done in several short minutes at a time. Not marathons, but micro-sessions with macro impact.
Wrapping It Up
Secure coding is not rocket science, but it does require the appropriate mindset, toolkit, and habits. By following secure coding practices laid out by the OWASP Foundation and leveraging Anagram Security as the ace up the sleeve, you can train your team to write code with confidence and prudence. Want to upgrade your team’s instincts without killing their vibe? Try Anagram Security—it's security training your team will actually like.
