Secrets Scanning & Malware Detection

IntermediateFree10 modules · 24 lessons

About this course

Two of Safeguard's sharpest-edged detection engines: secrets scanning that verifies credentials are actually live before you panic, and Eagle, the malware classifier that watches package registries and container images for intentionally malicious code.

What you'll learn

Understanding Secrets Detection

Why Leaked Secrets Are a Different Problem Than CVEs
Pattern Matching and Entropy: How Detection Actually Works

Remediation and Prevention

Live Verification: Is This Secret Still Dangerous?
Git-History Purge and Pre-Push Prevention

Eagle: The Malware Engine

Eagle: Malware Detection Across Registries
Enforcement Points: Inline, Registry, CI, and Admission

Building a Secrets Program

Custom Patterns and Tuning for Your Environment
Live Verification and Prioritising by Blast Radius
Incident Runbook for a Leaked Credential

Malicious Package Taxonomy

Typosquatting, Combosquatting and Dependency Confusion
Install-Time Execution, Protestware and Maintainer Takeover
Enforcement Points: Inline, Registry, CI and Admission

Detection Coverage and Its Limits

What Entropy Misses and What Patterns Miss
Measuring the Program: Metrics That Are Not Vanity
Secrets in Containers, IaC and AI Assets

Preventing Leaks at the Source

Secret Managers, Short-Lived Credentials and Workload Identity
Pre-Push Hooks and Developer Workflow Integration
Onboarding a Legacy Repository With Years of History

Malware Response and Registry Defence

Responding to a Malicious Package in Your Build
Registry Hygiene and Internal Package Publishing
Fleet Hygiene: Developer Machines and Build Agents

Governance, Policy and the Compliance View

Writing a Secrets Policy People Actually Follow
Evidence, Audit and Demonstrating the Programme Works

Partner and Third-Party Credentials

Credentials You Did Not Issue and Cannot Rotate Alone

01Understanding Secrets Detection2 lessons

Why Leaked Secrets Are a Different Problem Than CVEs
Pattern Matching and Entropy: How Detection Actually Works

02Remediation and Prevention2 lessons

Live Verification: Is This Secret Still Dangerous?

Common questions

How much does Safeguard Academy cost?

Nothing. Every course, exam, and certificate on the catalog is free — including retakes. All you need is a free Safeguard account.

What are the prerequisites?

None. The flagship course, Safeguard Certified Practitioner, is a beginner-level course — basic familiarity with how software is built helps, but every exam question is answerable from the lessons themselves.

Git-History Purge and Pre-Push Prevention

03Eagle: The Malware Engine2 lessons

Eagle: Malware Detection Across Registries
Enforcement Points: Inline, Registry, CI, and Admission

04Building a Secrets Program3 lessons

Custom Patterns and Tuning for Your Environment
Live Verification and Prioritising by Blast Radius
Incident Runbook for a Leaked Credential

05Malicious Package Taxonomy3 lessons

Typosquatting, Combosquatting and Dependency Confusion
Install-Time Execution, Protestware and Maintainer Takeover
Enforcement Points: Inline, Registry, CI and Admission

06Detection Coverage and Its Limits3 lessons

What Entropy Misses and What Patterns Miss
Measuring the Program: Metrics That Are Not Vanity
Secrets in Containers, IaC and AI Assets

07Preventing Leaks at the Source3 lessons

Secret Managers, Short-Lived Credentials and Workload Identity
Pre-Push Hooks and Developer Workflow Integration
Onboarding a Legacy Repository With Years of History

08Malware Response and Registry Defence3 lessons

Responding to a Malicious Package in Your Build
Registry Hygiene and Internal Package Publishing
Fleet Hygiene: Developer Machines and Build Agents

09Governance, Policy and the Compliance View2 lessons

Writing a Secrets Policy People Actually Follow
Evidence, Audit and Demonstrating the Programme Works

10Partner and Third-Party Credentials1 lessons

Credentials You Did Not Issue and Cannot Rotate Alone

What happens if I fail the exam?

You can retake it after a 24-hour cooldown, as many times as you need. Retakes are free, and each attempt draws a fresh random set of questions.

How long is a certificate valid?

The Safeguard Certified Practitioner credential is valid for 24 months from issue. The expiry date is printed on the certificate and shown live on its public verification page. Renewing means passing the current exam again.