If 2025 is the year you commit to building or expanding a secure software program, you’re not alone—and you’re not starting from scratch. Forward-thinking companies are adopting secure-by-design frameworks that embed security into every layer of development, from the first line of code to the final product release. With the right strategy, training, and tools, you can build a development culture that puts security front and center—without slowing innovation.
Led by CISA—America’s cyber defense agency—alongside 20+ international cybersecurity organizations, the Secure by Design initiative offers a roadmap for building security into every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). This isn’t just about applying a few best practices. It’s about a cultural and operational shift where security becomes a shared, top-down priority.
The core idea? Security shouldn’t be something users have to bolt on after the fact. Instead, it should be baked in from the very beginning, with leadership buy-in, dedicated resources, and team-wide collaboration—from planning through deployment and beyond.
CISA’s guide, Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Secure-by-Design Software, outlines three key principles that define a secure-by-design approach:
1. Own customer security outcomes. The burden of security should not fall solely on your users. Software manufacturers should integrate protective measures directly into their product by adopting best practices including application hardening, features management and application default settings.
The How: integrate security features by default, eliminate known vulnerabilities and provide secure defaults.
2. Embrace radical transparency and accountability. There’s a natural reluctance to publicly expose details on how software is developed and maintained. Sharing information and strategies with the community can help arm defenders against adversarial threats more effectively. CISA is encouraging the industry to accept some discomfort and embrace transparency to accelerate software security evolution.
The How: Establish a vulnerability disclosure program, publish security metrics, engage with the community and share updates with customers to demonstrate a commitment to security
3. Lead from the top. Build organizational structures that prioritize security and ensure that leadership encourages a security-first culture to drive progress in this area.
The How: CISA recommends establishing reward systems tied to improving customer security, providing regular updates to the board of directors and creating customer councils.
The guide offers tactical advice to convert these principles into everyday practice. It’s actionable, strategic, and essential reading for any security-minded organization.
Incorporating CISA secure-by-design principles into development processes and benchmarking their progress, helps software manufacturers prioritize security as a core business requirement and reduce exploitable flaws. Goals in the secure-by-design pledge include enhancing multi-factor authentication, strengthening passwords, improving security patches, publishing vulnerability disclosure policies, transparency in publishing vulnerabilities, and sharing evidence of intrusions.
You might be ready to implement secure-by-design principles, but does your team have the skillset needed to make this a reality? You’ll need to assess the knowledge level across your development team and empower them with comprehensive role-based training to implement the CISA recommendations. That’s where CMD+CTRL comes in. We’ve helped many companies implement secure-by-design strategies to improve their security posture.
Our Base Camp skills development platform includes:
CMD+CTRL provides role-based learning paths, realistic simulations, and detailed insights to help organizations implement and maintain secure software development practices. Our extensive catalog of courses includes curriculum that aligns directly with CISA’s Secure by Design principles:
1. Ownership of Customer Security Outcomes
2. Radical Transparency and Accountability
3. Leadership and Organizational Structure
By leveraging CMD+CTRL's comprehensive training offerings, organizations can effectively implement CISA's Secure by Design principles, fostering a security-first culture throughout the software development lifecycle. We can help you select specific courses tailored to your organizational needs.
Once you establish a training program, take your commitment to security a step further by signing the Secure by Design Pledge. This voluntary commitment signals that your organization is serious about secure software. The pledge includes seven key goals—like enabling MFA, reducing default passwords, and publishing clear vulnerability disclosures—that align with broader industry best practices. So far, hundreds of companies—including giants like Microsoft and Google—have taken the pledge to demonstrate their commitment to software security.
Whether you're just starting or scaling up, 2025 is your opportunity to turn secure software from a checkbox into a business advantage. Adopt Secure by Design principles, train your teams, and create a culture of accountability and excellence. Contact us to learn how CMD+CTRL can help you make security a core part of your software DNA.