Codebashing

Codebashing, established in London in 2015, operates as a specialized training platform focused on educating software developers in secure coding practices. The company was founded by Gyan Chawdhary, who serves as the CTO, and John Yeo, the CEO. Chawdhary, active in the Application Security (AppSec) community, identified that traditional computer-based training methods were not engaging for developers, which led to the creation of Codebashing's interactive, hands-on platform.

In July 2017, the firm was acquired by Checkmarx, a prominent player in application security testing solutions, to integrate proactive training into the development lifecycle. This acquisition was a strategic move to empower developers by delivering continuous, context-sensitive, and bite-sized training, addressing the industry-wide challenge of security skills. Before its acquisition, Codebashing had secured seed funding from investors including K1 Investment Management and CyLon.

The core of Codebashing's business is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that provides gamified, interactive lessons on application security. This approach allows developers to learn by taking on a 'hacker's hat' in simulated scenarios, making the training more engaging and effective than traditional methods. The platform offers brief, five-minute lessons designed to fit seamlessly into a developer's fast-paced workflow without causing significant disruption. The business generates revenue through license-based pricing for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises. Its clientele includes major organizations across the technology, retail, and financial sectors, such as Microsoft, Fitbit, and Sky.

The service delivers language-specific security courses that can be customized and assigned by security managers. A key feature is its ability to provide just-in-time training; when Checkmarx's static application security testing (SAST) tool identifies a vulnerability, it links the developer directly to a relevant Codebashing lesson. This integration provides immediate context and guidance on how to remediate the issue and prevent its recurrence. The platform provides dashboards and analytics for management to track team progress and identify knowledge gaps. By teaching developers to think with a security mindset from the start, Codebashing aims to reduce the introduction of vulnerabilities, thereby saving development time and resources.

Keywords: secure coding training, application security education, AppSec, DevSecOps, developer training, cybersecurity e-learning, gamified training, vulnerability remediation, SAST integration, interactive learning, developer security awareness, Checkmarx, shift left security, secure software development lifecycle, code security, developer-first security, security champion, corporate security training, hands-on security training, risk reduction