Code & Architecture Review Fundamentals - Common Technologies
When performing code review assessments, even for simple solutions, it’s not uncommon to encounter technologies that you’re unfamiliar with. This short course provides an overview of common technology types, particularly for web applications and SaaS solutions. By familiarising yourself with these technologies, you’ll be better equipped to navigate your assessments with confidence.
Having a solid grasp of the basics of these technologies before you encounter them will give you a much greater understanding of how a solution is put together and how it functions. This, in turn, allows you to ask the right security questions, think about potential attack vectors, and identify possible areas of weakness in what you’re assessing.
Course Prerequisites
While this course is an excellent resource for those unfamiliar with common technologies used to build applications, it is not a cybersecurity course. We will discuss various technologies but won’t be covering vulnerabilities or misconfigurations that may affect them.
Additionally, this course provides a high-level overview, with specific examples where further explanation might be helpful. I may mention topics that are unfamiliar to you, but cannot explore them in detail without significantly expanding the scope of this short course. If something is new to you, you may need to conduct additional research using your preferred search engine or AI chatbot.
Buy Now
This course follows a pay what you can model, allowing you to choose a price point that works for you. We believe that education should be accessible, and this model ensures that learners from all backgrounds can benefit from the material. Once your payment has been processed via Lemon Squeezy, you’ll receive an email from CourseStack, our platform provider, to set up your account and complete your course enrolment.
For more information about our payment and platform providers, please see the following articles:
- Lemon Squeezy (payment provider)
- CourseStack (platform provider)
- Refund Policy
Course Breakdown
Overview
This section provides a quick introduction to the course material and a brief overview of the prerequisites (mentioned above).
Lessons:
- Introduction
- Why this Course?
- Course Caveats
Web Technologies
This section explores key web technologies you may encounter during assessments, including servers, proxies, firewalls, and third-party services. Understanding how these components interact with a web application is critical for identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities.
Lessons:
- Web Servers
- Web Proxies
- Firewalls
- Databases
- File Systems & Storage
- Third-Party APIs and Services
Infrastructure
In this chapter, we cover the fundamental infrastructure that supports modern applications. You’ll gain insights into operating systems, DevOps, virtualisation technologies, and cloud providers, all of which are essential for understanding the underlying platforms of the solutions you’re assessing.
Lessons:
- Operating Systems
- DevOps
- Hypervisors and Virtual Machines
- Docker and Container Orchestration Platforms
- Cloud Providers
Assessment
Before wrapping up this short course, there is a quiz to test your knowledge of the concepts covered. This ensures you’ve understood the material and are ready to apply this knowledge in real-world scenarios.
Lessons:
- Introduction
- Quiz Time
Summary
The final chapter concludes the course, providing guidance on next steps and advice on how to continue developing your expertise in this area.
Lessons:
- What Next?
- Course Summary
Any Questions?
If you have any questions about the course or need additional support, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can visit our support page for more information, or join our Discord community server where you can connect with other learners and get assistance. Click here to join the community!