Safelight Introduces Secure C/C++ Coding On-Demand Education for Application Developers with Free Summer Test-Drive Event

PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To bolster the security of applications coded in the C family of languages, Safelight, a leader in security education, today announced the newest addition to its on-demand courses for developers: Secure C/C++ Coding.  The highly-interactive, scenario-based course equips development teams with a deeper knowledge of application security so they can find and fix common software bugs, understand how these flaws are exploited and use coding best practices to proactively reduce software vulnerabilities.

Safelight is offering organizations an opportunity to take a unit of the new course, as well as units of two of its other popular on-demand developer courses: Application Security Fundamentals and Secure Java Coding, for free during its Summer Test- Drive beginning June 20.

"There's a lot of C and C++ code out there in legacy systems and embedded applications and many C and C++ developers may not be trained in today's secure coding practices because they learned to code at a time when application security wasn't a focus and systems weren't connected via the Internet," said Safelight Chief Executive Officer Rob Cheyne.  C and C++ languages pose tough challenges when it comes to security because applications have direct access to memory and system resources.  If developers code insecurely, they can create memory or resource corruption or open an opportunity for an attacker to run system commands on a local machine.  "Learning C/C++ is a lot like learning English in that you have to be aware of all the exceptions to the rules," continued Cheyne.  "A mistake in C/C++ typically has many more repercussions than other programming languages and there are potentially many more mistakes that can be made."

Presented in five units, Safelight's Secure C/C++ Coding course delivers deep content and opportunities to interact with multiple code examples in ways that engage students and reinforce learning.  Developers will follow pieces of code through a secure software development process learning to uncover vulnerabilities, understand their security implications and discover secure coding best practices. Lesson units include: Introduction to Secure C/C++ Coding, Memory Corruption Bugs, Design Bugs, Privacy & Secrets and Securing Code. View the Secure C/C++ Coding Course Overview for more details.

Companies can sign up to try out Safelight's Secure C/C++ Coding, Application Security Fundamentals and Secure Java Coding courses on the company's Summer Test-Drive page.  

Safelight is also offering special product pricing through August 15. Organizations can save 25 percent when they purchase up to 1,000 licenses for Safelight's Secure C/C++ Coding, Application Security Fundamentals or Secure Java Coding on-demand courses.  Organizations that register for the Test Drive by July 8 will be entered to win a paid registration to the Black Hat Briefings, August 3-4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Register at Safelight's Summer Test-Drive education page, http://safelightsecurity.com/engage/test-drive/ to qualify for the offer and for more details.

About Safelight

Safelight is a leader in security education — our integration of deep security expertise and innovative approaches to interactive learning sets us apart. We help organizations build comprehensive education programs that go beyond training to measurably shift the way employees think about the value of information and their role in protecting it. We offer a full range of instructor-led and on-demand courses for development, IT and general staff; each role-specific course is part of a larger program designed to cultivate a culture of security across the organization. Learn more at www.safelightsecurity.com.

SOURCE Safelight