Course Outline
Security Foundations & Shared Responsibility for Government
- Overview of cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and the role of application security in each model
- The shared responsibility model and specific examples delineating customer versus provider responsibilities for government operations
- Establishment of security baselines and configuration standards, including adherence to CIS benchmarks and provider best practices for government environments
Identity, Access Management & Zero Trust for Government
- Fundamentals of cloud IAM: roles, policies, groups, and the principle of least privilege in a government context
- Implementation of federation, single sign-on, and multi-factor authentication in government cloud environments
- Principles of Zero Trust for cloud applications and network segmentation patterns tailored for government use
Secure Infrastructure & Platform Hardening for Government
- Techniques for hardening virtual machines, container hosts, and managed services using prescriptive checklists for government compliance
- Key management and encryption strategies (at-rest and in-transit), including KMS concepts and secrets management for government applications
- Network controls, security groups, WAF basics, and the protection of service endpoints in government cloud infrastructures
Secure Software Development in the Cloud for Government
- Secure SDLC concepts and “shift-left” practices: linting, SAST, dependency scanning, and SCA integration tailored for government projects
- Secure coding patterns and common pitfalls, with a focus on OWASP Top Ten vulnerabilities mapped to cloud contexts relevant to government applications
- Management of secrets in code and environment variables; supply chain considerations including dependencies and CI/CD runners for government systems
Application Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations for Government
- Web application threats: broken access control, injection, misconfigurations, cryptographic failures, and their cloud-specific manifestations in government applications
- API security measures: authentication, rate limiting, schema validation, and API gateway controls for government services
- Runtime protections: WAF tuning, RASP concepts, and container runtime defenses for government cloud environments
Testing, Scanning, and Continuous Assessment for Government
- Methods for SAST, DAST, IAST, dependency scanning, and interpreting and triaging results in a government context
- Cloud posture and configuration assessment: CSPM/CNAPP tools, benchmarking, and automated compliance checks tailored for government regulations
- Designing continuous monitoring systems: logging, telemetry, SIEM integration, and alerting (examples include CloudTrail, Azure Monitor, GCP Logging) for government use
Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Management for Government
- Planning safe cloud penetration tests: provider rules-of-engagement, scoping, and legal considerations specific to government agencies
- Common cloud attack paths and hands-on vulnerability exploitation demonstrations in controlled environments for government training
- Remediation workflows, patching strategies, and vulnerability tracking with KPIs for government systems
Data Security & Privacy in the Cloud for Government
- Data classification, encryption architectures, and tokenization patterns for government data
- DBaaS and storage security: access controls, backups, and secure snapshots tailored for government requirements
- Privacy and compliance considerations: data residency, GDPR basics, and contractual controls relevant to government agencies
Designing Secure Cloud-Native Applications for Government
- Microservices, service meshes, and secure communication patterns (mTLS, mutual authentication) for government applications
- Container and Kubernetes security essentials: image hardening, scanning, and runtime policies tailored for government environments
- Serverless security considerations: least privilege, event injection, and cold-start implications specific to government use cases
Incident Response, Audit & Governance for Government
- Incident detection and response in cloud environments: development of playbooks, forensics, and evidence collection procedures for government agencies
- Audit and third-party assessment processes: penetration tests, security reviews, and certification mapping specific to government standards
- Governance strategies, policy automation, and methods for measuring security posture over time in government operations
Capstone Lab: Secure an Example Cloud Application for Government
- Baseline review: conduct a cloud configuration scan and application SAST/DAST scans tailored to government standards
- Implement fixes: enforce IAM least-privilege, encryption, and CI/CD security gating for government applications
- Validate improvements and produce a remediation and monitoring roadmap for ongoing government compliance
Summary and Next Steps for Government
Requirements
- An understanding of general software development concepts for government applications.
- Experience with at least one programming language or web stack.
- Familiarity with basic networking and operating system concepts.
Audience
- Developers
- Managers
- IT and security professionals
Testimonials (1)
Azure web security, it was more what i was expecting, the penetration testing i would never do in my job