reviews
Technological advancements have massively changed the way businesses operate. Businesses now increasingly rely on multi-cloud and edge-computing infrastructure for better speed, accessibility, and storage. Companies are also moving to distributed workforce model where employees access enterprise software remotely and online.
These shifting trends call for advanced security systems that are robust enough to protect these decentralized computer systems and distributed workforce. With almost 50% of small businesses having experienced a cyber attack, cybersecurity remains the top concern for companies across all industries. The global cybersecurity market is expected to reach $300 billion by 2027.
Whether you are an enterprise CEO or CTO looking to secure your network and software platforms or a business owner planning to invest in the lucrative cybersecurity software market, you need expert cybersecurity developers to help you develop a robust and secure software solution.
The popularity of cybersecurity among enterprises makes it difficult to find and hire experienced cybersecurity professionals. However, with the right guidance, you can partner with expert cybersecurity developers for your project.
You might opt for freelance platforms to quickly hire software developers for cybersecurity software development, however, this is a very risky option. We suggest you partner with dedicated developers from a credible software development company such as DevTeam.Space that has extensive experience in cybersecurity. We will discuss this in detail shortly.
First, you need to know the general skills requirements for cybersecurity developers so that you can make the right hiring decisions.
Primary Cybersecurity Developer Skills
The primary skills of a security software developer include the following:
- Sound knowledge of JavaScript and HTML to code websites secure from cross-site scripting and other cyber attacks;
- Proficiency in C programming language to implement reverse engineering and figure out vulnerabilities in a software application;
- Expertise in Python programming language to write security scripts and automate software security analysis;
- Experience using software development frameworks such as ASP.Net, Angular, Django, etc., to efficiently code software applications using extensive libraries, ready-to-use templates, etc.;
- Knowledge of full-stack development using common tech stacks such as MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js), MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js,), LAMP (Linux, Apache Server, MySQL, and Python), etc.;
- Knowledge of common cybersecurity frameworks, like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ISO/IEC 27001 and 27002, CIS Critical Security Controls, IASME Governance, etc.;
- Knowledge of authentication protocols such as multifactor authentication and password management;
- Experience in backup and recovery;
- Familiarity with endpoint security via DNS maintenance, managed detection/response, persistence detection, etc.;
- Experience in network security and monitoring using tools like security information and event management (SIEM), etc.;
- Experience in information security via email security, data loss prevention (DLP), etc.
Cyber security developers should have the following software development skills too:
- Expertise in data modeling and management via SQL and NoSQL database systems like PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.;
- Knowledge of software development lifecycle and methodologies such as agile, waterfall, etc.;
- Experience using software development frameworks such as scrum, test-driven programming, etc.,
- Knowledge of software engineering processes and object-oriented programming;
- Familiarity with concepts such as concurrency, multithreading, etc.;
- Knowledge of DevOps practices such as task automation, continuous testing, continuous integration, etc.
Other Cybersecurity Development Skills
You need cyber security developers with the following additional skills too:
1. Knowledge of Cloud Computing
Get a complimentary discovery call and a free ballpark estimate for your project
Trusted by 100x of startups and companies like
You need developers with expertise in cloud infrastructure. Developers should be familiar with various cloud computing architectures such as public, private, and hybrid. They should also have expertise in using cloud services such as platform-as-a-service, software-as-a-service, etc., for software security such as access control, DDoS prevention, data encryption, etc., and application development such as data storage, networking, hosting, etc.
2. Experience using Security Tools and Technologies
You require developers with extensive experience in software security and associated tools. You need developers with a thorough understanding of cybersecurity techniques like intrusion detection, content filtering, spam detection, application firewalls, etc.
These developers should also be experts in using cybersecurity tools like Cisco Meraki for perimeter security, Microsoft Azure DLP for phishing, Backupify for disaster recovery, etc.
3. API Development
You need developers skilled in API design and development for easy application development and maintenance. APIs help a security software developer build modular and secure software systems where threat intrusions in one module do not affect the working of other modules.
You need developers with knowledge of various API protocols like SOAP, REST, JSON, RPC, etc., and query languages like GraphQL. Your developer should also be proficient in API development tools like Postman, Amazon API Gateway, etc.
4. Software Testing
You require developers with extensive knowledge of software application testing. Developers need expertise in unit testing, integration testing, penetration testing, etc., to ensure secure software that meets all functional and non-functional requirements.
Your developers should be skilled in SAST (Static Analysis Security Testing) and DAST (Dynamic Analysis Security testing) to perform code reviews before compilation and during run time. You require experienced developers who can efficiently perform code reviews and detect bugs on time.
5. Good Communication and Teamwork skills
Good cybersecurity developers need certain soft skills, some of which include the following:
- Communication Skills: Good verbal and written communication skills help developers explain complex technical concepts to other developers and stakeholders.
- Teamwork: You require developers who collaborate easily with other team members and fit in seamlessly in your cross-functional team culture.
- Commitment: You need developers motivated to build secure software using the latest technologies. They should be dedicated to overcoming all the challenges of technological advancements, industry regulations, etc.
- Empathy: Cybersecurity professionals need to be empathetic to user needs to build software that protects user data and privacy. They need to understand users’ perspectives, and empathy helps here.
How to Find the Best Cybersecurity Developer?
Now that you are familiar with the skills requirements for cybersecurity developers, you need to start the hiring process which includes the following steps:
1. Decide on the hiring platform:
You need to choose the right hiring platform to build the right team. Hourly-based part-time freelancers might be suitable for simple software development, however, a cybersecurity software solution requires highly-skilled developers.
The reason for this is that you cannot assess the skills and experience of freelancers accurately. Freelance marketplaces do not offer a thorough screening process. Freelancers often work on multiple projects simultaneously and cannot dedicate their entire time and effort to your project. Project management also gets difficult with part-time freelance developers.
Complex software projects like cybersecurity software development call for a dedicated team of developers. We suggest you partner with credible software development companies like DevTeam.Space and hire software developers from them.
All developers at DevTeam.Space are vetted for their skills and expertise. They have experience developing software solutions for a range of industries. Hiring developers from companies like these means that you can rest assured that top-quality talent is working on your cybersecurity project.
Hire expert cybersecurity software developers for your next project
1,200 top developers
us since 2016
All our developers also follow an AI-powered agile development process that makes project management easier for you via features like task assignments, and daily/weekly updates.
We assign dedicated account managers who are senior developers to help manage our developers and dev teams. They are able to work with your PM and use their extensive experience to help you to adopt the right development approach and to stay clear of potential roadblocks, etc. We also sign an NDA with our onboarding clients so your intellectual property is safe at all times.
It is strongly advisable that you hire motivated, managed, and experienced developers from software development companies like DevTeam.Space for your cybersecurity solution development project.
2. Interview the shortlisted candidates:
You have selected your hiring platform, posted your requirements, and received several applications from interested candidates. Now, you need to shortlist developers’ profiles based on their skills and experience in the cybersecurity domain and call them for an interview.
You need to assess the technical experience of any potential developers in regard to working with cybersecurity solutions. To do this, you can ask them questions about implementing application security, complex development scenarios, common software vulnerabilities, etc. Look for precise answers and not just general cybersecurity blanket information.
You can also mention your cybersecurity project requirements and ask how would they meet certain specifications. Candidates should mention the cybersecurity frameworks, development tools, etc., and offer solutions and insights in their answers.
3. Explain your project in detail to the new developers:
Now that you have hired your cybersecurity developers, the next step is to onboard them. You need to set up communication channels, arrange meetings, and introduce your new developers to the other team members.
You also need to provide them access to the required documentation, code repositories, and development tools.
Explain to your new developers your project in detail, including project objectives and goals. Set up a project plan, assign tasks, and establish accountability. A smooth onboarding process will help your new hires to integrate seamlessly into your project team and contribute to the success of your cybersecurity project.
Interview Tips to Hire Cybersecurity Developers
Some tips to hire the best cybersecurity developers are as follows:
1. Hire cybersecurity developers from flexible service providers:
Look for software development companies that offer flexible hiring models. A fixed-price model may work with software projects with simple specifications, but a complex cybersecurity development project requires flexibility.
Your cybersecurity project would likely depend on external factors such as industry regulations, technology shifts, etc. A flexible time-and-material model allows scaling your development team and resources according to the project requirements.
2. Focus on experience in meeting the non-functional requirements:
Functional requirements alone are not enough to build a successful software system. You need to build a cybersecurity solution that works under variable user load and is easily maintainable. Therefore, look for developers who have experience in meeting software functional and non-functional requirements. Some common NFRs include scalability, testability, performance, maintainability, etc.
3. Hire developers with a mix of experience:
Hire expert cybersecurity software developers for your next project
You might think that junior or mid-level developers are enough to develop cybersecurity software successfully. Developers with entry or intermediate development skills are easily available in the market at reasonable rates.
However, you cannot entrust your complete cybersecurity project to low-level developers.
You need senior developers on your team too. These developers are experienced in various software design architectures, tools, etc. They help adopt the right development techniques and manage junior and mid-level developers.
Senior developers come at a higher price, but their experience adds value to the team, and you are able to build a high-performance and maintainable application that truly realizes your vision.
Example Interview Questions to Ask Cybersecurity Developers
Ask questions that help you assess the hands-on skills of software developers. A few example questions are as follows:
1. What is a three-way handshake?
It is a method to create a connection between a host and a client in TCP or IP networks. The connection establishes in three steps.
- The client sends a synchronization packet (SYNC) to the server to check if the server is up for connection and if ports are open.
- The server then sends an acknowledgment via SYN-ACK packet to the client and verifies the port.
- The client acknowledges this and sends the acknowledgment (ACK) packet to the server.
- How would you prevent an XSS attack?
Input data validation, a web application firewall, a content security policy (CSP), etc., are a few ways to prevent cross-site scripting attacks.
2. How does the traceroute work?
Traceroute is a network diagnostic tool that traces the real-time path taken by the network packet from source to destination. It reports the IP addresses of all the routers it pings on the path, including the time taken for each packet hop, etc.
Submit a Project with Zero Risk
Cybersecurity is a priority concern for all enterprises and cybersecurity developers are in demand. Hiring the best cybersecurity professionals could get tedious in the saturated developers’ market. Why risk the success of your cybersecurity project by hiring anything but the best security software developers?
DevTeam.Space is a community of field-expert software developers who are skilled in security software development using the latest technologies. All our developers are managed by an account manager and are trained to follow our unique AI-powered agile process.
If you also plan to partner with these high-quality developers for your cybersecurity and software engineering project, you can send us your initial project specifications via this quick form. One of our account managers will get in touch with you to discuss further details on how we can help you build a robust cybersecurity solution.
