New certification: Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP)
(ISC)² announced preparations for a new certification designed to validate secure software development practices and expertise to address the increasing number of application vulnerabilities.
The Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) aims to stem the proliferation of security vulnerabilities resulting from insufficient development processes by establishing best practices and validating an individual’s competency in addressing security issues throughout the software lifecycle (SLC). It takes a holistic approach to software security.
Code-language neutral, it will be applicable to anyone involved in the SLC, including analysts, developers, software engineers, software architects, project managers, software quality assurance testers and programmers.
Subject areas covered by the CSSLP exam will include the software lifecycle, vulnerabilities, risk, information security fundamentals and compliance. Candidates must demonstrate four years of professional experience in the SLC process or three years of experience and a bachelor’s degree (or regional equivalent) in an IT discipline.
The seven domains of the CSSLP CBK, a compendium of secure software topics, are:
- Secure Software Concepts
- Secure Software Requirements
- Secure Software Design
- Secure Software Implementation/Coding
- Secure Software Testing
- Software Acceptance
- Software Deployment, Operations, Maintenance and Disposal
The first CSSLP exam is scheduled for the end of June in 2009. Currently, (ISC)² is seeking qualified professionals who meet experience and other requirements to participate in the assessment. They will become the first CSSLP holders and be asked to contribute to the exam development process and assist in other program development tasks. Applications for the CSSLP experience assessment will be accepted from Sept. 25, 2008 through March 31, 2009, with the first education seminars slated for Q1 2009.