ISTQB Certified Tester Security Tester (CT-SEC)

The ISTQB Advanced Security course is for Technical Testers, Security Testers, Security Co-ordinators and Managers, plus testers and test managers who are serious about including security aspects into their test plans or who want to specialise.

This course is aimed at the softer-side of security testing and addresses the following key elements and how we manage them from a testing perspective through the life cycle from inception to delivery, including:

• Human lapses
• Malicious insiders
• Malicious outsiders
• Lack of adequate defenses and testing of the defenses that are in place
• Defective software in general
• A limited view of security and testing
• Placing too much trust in technology
• Security is an afterthought in most development projects
• Lack of awareness at the executive level. Everybody knows cybersecurity is a problem, but very few people know how to deal with the risks and challenges.

Module 1 – The Basis of Security Testing

• Security Risks
• Information Security Policies and Procedures
• Security Auditing and Its Role in Security Testing.

Module 2 – Security Testing Purposes, Goals and Strategies

• Introduction
• The Purpose of Security Testing
• The Organizational Context
• Security Testing Objectives
• The Scope and Coverage of Security Testing Objectives.

• Security Testing Approaches
• Improving the Security Testing Practices
• ISTQB Advanced Security Tester Certification Course.

Module 3 – Security Testing Processes

• Security Test Process Definition
• Security Test Planning
• Security Test Design
• Security Test Execution
• Security Test Evaluation
• Security Test Maintenance.

Module 4 – Security Testing Throughout the Software Lifecycle

• Role of Security Testing in a Software Lifecycle
• The Role of Security Testing in Requirements
• The Role of Security Testing in Design
• The Role of Security Testing in Implementation Activities
• The Role of Security Testing in System and Acceptance Test Activities
• The Role of Security Testing in Maintenance.

Module 5 – Testing Security Mechanisms

• System Hardening
• Authentication and Authorization
• Encryption
• Firewalls and Network Zones
• Intrusion Detection
• Malware Scanning
• Data Obfuscation
• Training.

Module 6 – Human Factors in Security Testing

• Understanding the Attackers
• Social Engineering
• Security Awareness.

Module 7 – Security Test Evaluation and Reporting

• Security Test Evaluation
• Security Test Reporting.

Module 8 – Security Testing Tools

• Types and Purposes of Security Testing Tools
• Tool Selection.

Module 9 – Standards and Industry Trends

• Understanding Security Testing Standards
• Applying Security Standards
• Industry Trends.

• A Certificate at ISTQB Foundation level must have been awarded for candidates to sit this course
• It is recommended that candidates have at least three-years testing experience before attempting the course and exam.

To qualify as an internationally-recognized Certified Advanced Level Security Tester and be issued with an ISTQB® Advanced Level Certificate, delegates must successfully pass the exam administered by the relevant National Board or Examination Provider.

The 2-hour exam contains 45 questions, of which 60% must be answered correctly for a pass to and certificate to be awarded.

If English is not your first language, you can apply for an additional time.

TSG Training will issue Pearson VUE exam voucher after the course and you can use this to sit your exam at a local test centre.

An exam consisting of 40 multiple choice questions is sat over an hour at the end of the course and (25% extra time is available for non-native speakers or those who primary business language is not English). Delegates are awarded a pass if they answer 65% of the questions correctly.

Holders of this certificate might also consider other ISTQB Advanced courses, includng

- ISTQB Test Analyst

- ISTQB Technical Test Analyst

- ISTQB Agile Technical Tester

- ISTQB Automation Engineer

- ISTQB Test Manager

Founded in 2002, ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) is a not-for-profit association comprising 47 national boards (including the UKTB) covering 71 countries worldwide.

ISTQB has defined the Advanced certification as part of their ‘Certified Tester’ scheme that, with over 240,000 certifications, has become the de facto world-wide standard for software testing qualifications.

The ‘Certified Tester’ scheme:

• provides a set of professional qualifications widely-recognised by employers, customers and peers;
• enables software suppliers to hire and train certified testers and thereby gain commercial advantage over their competitors by advertising their tester recruitment and development policies; and
• enables comparison of testing skills across different countries, testers to move across country borders more easily, and multi-national/international projects to have a common understanding of testing issues.