Security by Design (SbD) - Professional Program
Learn the DARES™ method from the Mastering Security by Design book, practice through a practical (non-heavy) course, then validate with the SbD CPL via a capstone.
Security by Design — Pro Bundle
$1,149 USD
Payment options available
A complete path to practice and proof. Includes the SbD Course (Fundamentals & Advanced), the Mastering Security by Design ebook (course material), and SbD CPL evaluation via a capstone portfolio (assigned project).
Includes:
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Course access
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Course eBooks
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CPL Cyber Capstone (1 attempt)
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Plus, a lifetime ISAU membership
What will I Learn?
Security by Design Program
Description
ISAUnited’s Security by Design Program is the flagship training path of the School of Engineering Cyber Defense, built for professionals who want to stop reacting to security problems and start engineering secure systems from the first design decision. This program develops The Implementer—the Security by Design professional who can turn intent into execution, guide teams through defensible design choices, and keep risk visible from concept to operations.
Students learn a disciplined, repeatable method for translating business goals into measurable security requirements, applying threat and design analysis to real architectures, and placing controls where they belong using clear models, trust boundaries, interfaces, dependencies, and failure domains. You will also strengthen how you communicate decisions across engineering teams, document trade-offs with purpose, and produce evidence that stands up to review—so security becomes a built-in design constraint that reduces rework, accelerates delivery, and raises system resilience.
The program is delivered in two progressive parts, Fundamentals and Advanced, so you can start applying Security by Design immediately, then scale your capability into tooling, verification and validation, organizational adoption, and leadership. If you are a security practitioner, engineer, architect, or aspiring technical leader who wants practical methods that work in real projects, this program provides the structure and engineering mindset to build security in, not bolt it on.
Field of study: Cybersecurity — Security by Design
Program level: Certified Professional
Pathway: Certified Security by Design Professional (CSbDP) License
Delivery format: 100% online (self-paced) with technical instructor support
Pace: ≤30 days (typical 3–4 weeks)
Prerequisites (included): Cybersecurity Essentials are required for this program, see below.
Credits: 40 CPEs
Exam: Cyber Capstone Portfolio
Mastering Security by Design (ebook included)
The official course text and Source of Truth for SbD. It maps directly to the DARES™ lifecycle and D10S, and is used in knowledge checks and the CPL Capstone Portfolio.
Edition: First Edition 2025
ISBN: 979-8-218-65004-9
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Practical cybersecurity models
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Helps you turn goals into measurable acceptance criteria
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Guides “shippable by default” with simple CI/CD gate policies
What will I take?
BASIC Courses
CORE Courses
SBD450
Course: Security by Design Advanced
Field: Security by Design
An advanced course in security by design, organized into four modules that deepen review level practice: design models and boundaries, decision quality and trade-offs, delivery guardrails, and validation with executive proof. Covers how to draw system views that reveal boundaries, interfaces, and failure points; place protections deliberately; keep a clear decision record; set a definition of done with simple build and release checks; and present evidence that shows risk has been reduced.
SBD455
Course: DARES Method (Define-Architect-Realize-Evaluate-Sustain)
Field: Security by Design
An applied method course is organized around five phases: Define, Architect, Realize, Evaluate, and Sustain. Covers how to set measurable acceptance criteria, make design choices and record trade-offs, add delivery guardrails and simple evidence, run validation and note residual risk, and establish an operating rhythm with clear owners and practical metrics.
What is the Exam?
Certified Professional License (CPL) - Cyber Capstone Portfolio
Description
A focused, real-world scenario that lets you prove mastery through a concise, defensible submission. The Cyber Capstone is a solo, written, remote, and time-boxed to two weeks (10 business days) from assignment. Earlier submission is acceptable. There are no multiple-choice tests and no interviews.
What you will complete
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Artifact 1: Project Brief and Scope
Define the problem, project scope, requirements, technical specifications, assumptions, constraints, and risk context. -
Artifact 2: High-Level Architecture and System Context
Present the system context, trust boundaries, major components, entry surfaces, and initial control direction. -
Artifact 3: Detailed Deployment and Threat Analysis
Show the deployment design and placement of defensible engineering mechanisms, supported by Technical Adversarial and Defensible Analysis. -
Artifact 4: Detection and Response Strategy
Provide the monitoring approach, detection logic, incident-response considerations, and operational-readiness plan. -
Artifact 5: Defensible Design and Residual Risk Briefing
Summarize the final defensible decisions, tradeoffs, residual risk, and supporting rationale in a concise presentation deck with speaker notes.
How it is evaluated
Your submission is evaluated using the ISAUnited Defensible Capability Score, a two-section scoring model based on written deliverables only.
Section 1 - Technical Artifact Evaluation (Pass or Fail), scores the submitted capstone artifacts across the Define, Design, Deploy, Detect, and Defend phases for technical completeness, correctness, traceability, and defensibility.
Section 2 - Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities (SKA) Capability Profile (Professional Capability) evaluates how you performed through the capstone by assessing disciplined practice, reasoning quality, judgment, and communication across seven capability dimensions, with evidence references tied to the submitted artifacts.
Outcome
Successful completion satisfies the Capstone requirement for the ISAUnited Certified Professional License in your selected track.
What Do I Get?
Your Professional License - Certified Security by Design Professional (CSbDP)
This is the license you earn when you pass the SbD CPL evaluation (included in the Pro Bundle). The evaluation is capstone-based—no multiple-choice exams. A successful review adds your name to the ISAUnited public registry.
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Designation: Certified Security by Design Professional (CSbDP)
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Credentialing: Digital certificate + verifiable License ID/issue date
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The Certified Professional License is valid for a three-year term.
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Renewal requires 60 Continuing Professional Education credits
