BS120: CSAF Distribution – From Scratch To Publication

Agenda:

The training considers the new revision 2.1 of the CSAF standard.
If the new version has already been released at the time of the training and the necessary tools are available, we will work hands-on with exercises based on revision 2.1.
If the release is still pending, you will receive an exclusive preview of the planned enhancements and their significance for practical implementation.

Objectives:

In the workshop BS120 CSAF Distribution – From Scratch To Publication, you will learn how to:

• Set up end-to-end distribution of CSAF documents – from the publisher side to the consumer side
• Understand and use the roles CSAF Publisher, CSAF Trusted Provider, and CSAF Aggregator in theory and practice
• Deploy your own CSAF provider (CSAF server) that hosts security advisories (including directory structure and metadata such as provider-metadata.json)
• Operate a CSAF Management System that automatically retrieves advisories from multiple sources
• Use available open-source tools for CSAF distribution
• Apply best practices for the secure and reliable operation of a CSAF distribution infrastructure

Target audience:

The workshop BS120 CSAF Distribution – From Scratch To Publication is aimed at experienced CSAF users and technical specialists responsible for publishing or aggregating security advisories:

• IT security engineers and system administrators who want to provide CSAF advisories internally or publicly
• Developers and DevOps engineers who implement automated processes for distributing security information
• Members of CERT teams or security departments who consolidate various advisory sources
• Product security managers driving CSAF integration into existing vulnerability management systems

Prerequisites:

To participate in the workshop BS120 CSAF Distribution – From Scratch To Publication, you should have:

• Knowledge of the CSAF standard (e.g. participation in the courses BS100 CSAF Writing Boot Camp (For Beginners) or BS110 The CSAF Writers' Guild – Advancing Your Experience)
• Basic programming skills in Python (important for practical exercises and script development)
• Proficiency in using command-line tools and basic experience in operating web services
• Very good command of English, as the workshop is conducted in English

Description:

The workshop BS120 CSAF Distribution – From Scratch To Publication focuses on the distribution and automated retrieval of CSAF security information in large-scale environments. After having learned how to create CSAF documents, you will now learn how to effectively publish and retrieve them.

The main emphasis is on the roles and components of CSAF distribution: CSAF Publisher, CSAF Trusted Provider, and CSAF Aggregator. You will first learn the theoretical concepts of these roles and understand how a CSAF repository is structured. Afterwards, all participants will jointly implement an end-to-end distribution in practice – from creating a CSAF file, providing it on a server, to automated retrieval by an aggregator. This exercise will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the CSAF ecosystem and the technical requirements for hosting and making CSAF documents available within your own organization.

The workshop BS120 CSAF Distribution – From Scratch To Publication is highly practice-oriented and provides you with the necessary know-how to build a CSAF distribution service from scratch and automatically deliver security advisories to the target audience.

Other Info:

The course language and course materials are in English.