Software Security for Developers: With Examples in Java and Spring

by Adib Saikali, Laurentiu Spilca

360 pages, Paperback

Published June 9, 2026

Reviews

[RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the growing reliance on AI-assisted coding, managing application security is more critical than ever, as humans ultimately have to own the code they are responsible for. As the authors of Software Security for Developers note early on: "While developers often focus on libraries, frameworks, and tools at the mid-level, true security stems from foundational knowledge of standards, protocols, and patterns, as well as adherence to corporate and industry security practices."

The first section provides the big picture and does a good job of explaining the high-level security vocabulary of modern software systems, which is further unraveled in subsequent chapters. The following sections move into deep cryptography primitives (AES, RSA, ECC), implementing secure transport layers (mTLS, X.509 certificates), and mastering enterprise-grade identity patterns like OAuth2, OpenID Connect (OIDC), PKCE, WebAuthn, and microservice call-chain authorization. The code examples are Java-centric, so the book will appeal more to developers familiar with the Java stack, while non-Java developers will have to put in some effort to translate the examples.

The illustrations are helpful and nicely complement the content. The comparison & matrix tables across the book, make the topics more understandable. The concise chapter summaries & exercise answers providing reasoning to commonly asked questions are good takeaways especially if you're preparing for technical interviews. While I liked the conversational tone, the writing could have been a little tighter and more engaging. Overall, the book is useful and thought-provoking, as it forces developers to stop treating security as someone else's problem (like the DevOps or SecOps teams).

[Christoph Schubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this books as a reviewer for Manning (without any monetary incentive, just pure interest in the topic) and have to say, that I really liked it!
The topic of security in software development is usually handled either to high level without clear guidance, or way too deep on a level that only experts understand.
This book goes to the right level, with practical examples on how to implement/use secure constructs based on what your use case needs. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in software development security to improve their understanding (or refresh, in case you already are an expert).

[Özay Duman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-structured, insightful, and highly practical book that explains software security in a clear and accessible way. It successfully goes beyond framework-specific details to focus on core concepts that are applicable across different languages and platforms, making it a valuable resource for developers who want to build secure applications.

[Deepak Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I found on application security which shares in-depth insights and great examples.