Cybersecurity is still a topic ignored by most people. Unfortunately, this also applies to businesses, especially the small ones — they consider protecting their digital assets a secondary issue and don’t invest in cybersecurity enough in the early days.
But even if you are aware of the consequences of unprotected systems, some things might slip between your fingers. According to a study by Keeper Security and the Ponemon Institute, 54% of cybersecurity incidents are caused by an employee's negligence. The same study reports that over 50% of small and medium businesses report a ransomware attack — and 53% of the affected businesses were hit by such attacks even more than once in a year.
How does this translate into money? Ponemon Institute informed that the average cost caused by damage or theft of digital assets already exceeds 1 million dollars.
The numbers spell it out — if you haven’t yet, it’s time to invest in cybersecurity.
How to do it the right way? Hire cybersecurity engineers.
Why hire cybersecurity engineers?
Most experienced software developers understand the basics of cybersecurity — but they are not able to implement them on a larger scale. Cybersecurity engineers, on the other hand, are fully dedicated to designing a system that protects your business from all types of cyberthreats, from malware to targeted hacker attacks.
To better understand the role of a cybersecurity engineer, it’s best to review the most common job responsibilities of such an expert. These include:
- Working with product developers to design systems that protect your digital products from cyberattacks.
- Running manual tests (including controlled hacking) to check the system’s vulnerabilities.
- Writing and maintaining scripts and automated tests that regularly check the cybersecurity system’s efficiency.
- Troubleshooting current cybersecurity problems.
- Delivering training on cybersecurity to other employees.
- Working with system administrators on improving the cybersecurity of local networks and devices (e.g. intranet).
- Helping IT teams across the company in implementing new technologies and products to make sure they are aligned with the company’s cybersecurity policies.
The must-have hard skills for a cybersecurity engineer
When you hire cybersecurity engineers, pay very close attention to their resume/portfolio and carefully review their skills. Remember — without the right skill set, your new hire might not be able to protect your company truly well!
What are the most important technical skills that every cybersecurity engineer should have?
- Proficiency with relevant programming languages
Many would say the core to effective cybersecurity engineering is Python. The language allows cybersecurity engineers to automate a number of the most routine tasks, such as regular security tests. There are also numerous ready-to-go Python cybersecurity libraries, helping security experts swiftly take care of all your cybersecurity needs, from malware analysis to port and network scanning.
Of course, the more languages your candidate knows, the better for you. You should especially consider the technologies already used at your company. For example, if your product is a robust web app, you might want to hire cybersecurity engineers experienced in JavaScript and the language that powers your back-end.
Experience with additional scripting languages, such as Perl or Shell, is also useful.
- Versatile cybersecurity experience
Hacks can happen everywhere — your digital product may be differently vulnerable on the mobile, on the web, and on the server-side. The key to success in cybersecurity is to have a broad knowledge of all the possible systems and devices your business makes a mark on.
- Ethical hacking
Have you ever read a story of a hacker hired by a huge corporation he managed to hack? Yes, these situations are one in a million but they do sometimes happen. Enterprises are sometimes even giving money prizes to hackers who manage to break into their system and inform them about it.
All this is because the best way to test your security is to try to hack it. To make sure your system is really well protected, you should hire cybersecurity engineers who are aware of all the hacker tricks used to break into IT systems and are able to use them ethically to help your business stay vigilant.
- Knowledge of database management
Databases are one of the most common targets of hacker attacks. For the best protection of your digital assets, remember to hire cybersecurity engineers who are experienced with the databases and database tools you are already using at your company.
- Understanding of network architecture
Cybersecurity engineers are also responsible for securing your local networks (including intranet). They often work closely with system administrators to understand the system in place and provide top-notch security of your locally stored data.
- Bonus skill: experience with blockchain
Blockchain is the new trend in cybersecurity, providing unrivaled privacy and security of transactions. While it’s not a solution that every business will significantly benefit from, there are industries for which it can be a true game-changer. Even if you are not planning to include blockchain in your tech stack just now, it might be a future-proof solution for you to hire a cybersecurity engineer with experience in the technology. Or, if you are already sure you want to invest in blockchain, you can also hire specialized blockchain developers.
The crucial soft skills of cybersecurity engineers
As cybersecurity engineers work very closely with many professionals across the whole company, they need to be able to cooperate with others effectively. To guarantee thriving teamwork at your company, hire cybersecurity engineers with the following soft skills:
- Approachability
To be always ready to take into consideration others’ requests and concerns.
- Accountability
To be always ready to admit one’s mistakes and learn from them — not an easy thing in a role so highly focused on protecting company’s most valuable assets.
- Desire to learn new things
To always look for new cybersecurity solutions and be one step ahead of hackers.
Top cybersecurity engineer job interview questions
Job interviews for the cybersecurity engineer might significantly differ between companies depending on the company’s needs, currently utilized technologies, and exact requirements for the candidate. To make sure you hire the right people, consult your needs with another cybersecurity expert, a software consultant, or an IT project manager – and let them assist you during the interview.
Some of the typical questions asked during cybersecurity engineer job interviews include:
- Does TLS use symmetric or asymmetric encryption? How is the encryption used?
- What are the differences between Diffie-Hellman and RSA?
- Explain forward secrecy.
- ECB vs CBC — what's the difference?
- What is SQL injection?
- How would you design a distributed botnet?
- What is threat modeling? How is it useful?
- What is buffer overflow? How does it work?
- How can you protect yourself against CSRF?
- How does traceroute work?
Finding the perfect fit
Skills, especially the technical ones, are incredibly important in the world of cybersecurity. But when you plan to hire cybersecurity engineers, you should also consider how well the candidates fit your company — sometimes such a match may significantly increase the efficiency of everyone's work.
Consider especially the following two areas of company fit…
- Industry fit
Some industries experience specific types of cyberattacks more often than others. A cybersecurity engineer who previously worked within your business vertical already understands the most common threats for companies like yours and is able to plan the right strategy to tackle them faster.
- Company culture fit
Just like soft skills, company culture match highly impacts how well your employees are satisfied and how well they cooperate with each other. For the best results, consider the most important values that your business is driven by and hire cybersecurity engineers who share them. Think of areas like the preferred type of management, preferred work environments (startup vs enterprise), or experience with diverse teams.
Who else will you need?
When you hire cybersecurity engineers, you can leverage their knowledge to protect your digital assets. However, to achieve the best results, these experts often have to work in close cooperation with specialists in other disciplines, such as front-end and back-end developers or data scientists.
If you want to hire any of such experts fast and efficiently, get in touch with our consultants at Ideamotive. We run a best-in-class network of IT talents from all specialties, including cybersecurity engineers and blockchain developers. After you get in touch with us, we will carefully review your unique needs and company profile and connect you only with the talents that truly match your requirements.
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