Hire Cyber Security Expert: Quick Guide

Updated – August 30, 2023

Currently, the importance of cyber security is on the rise because nobody wants their data to be leaked. It matters greatly both for big and small businesses since smartphones, cloud services, and IoT are followed by a myriad of cybersecurity threats. In addition, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, finding new ways to compromise data integrity and breeding distrust in a business. 

A cyber security expert is a “silver bullet” when it comes to protecting your company’s data because one uses different methods to eliminate possible threats. These professionals are responsible for multiple tasks, including planning, implementing, managing, monitoring, and making sure your company’s security measures are up-to-date. 

Nevertheless, hiring a cyber security expert might be a tricky task because you need to understand the nitty-gritty of this process to choose a reliable professional. 

Qubit Labs is here to help you out, and this article provides an overview of all the necessary elements, from salaries to job responsibilities. First, let’s address one of the most important questions you should be asking yourself at the outset: what is cyber security expert?

What are Cyber Security Engineer Jobs?

If you’re looking to hire cyber security expert, you need to understand there are several roles, which imply different skills and responsibilities. Thus, it’s necessary to define what kind of a specialist your company requires and skills needed to be a cyber security expert to choose a suitable cybersecurity engineering specialist. Some of the most sought-after cyber security engineer jobs include the following:

Application security engineer 

Responsibilities: these specialists are involved in handling the entire software development life cycle. They set development parameters and resting source code and running code, implement advanced security features and manage user authorization. Although their tasks evolve due to the fast-paced industry, these are the core ones that are unlikely to change. 

Skills: most business leaders have to ensure that academic qualifications and experience back the skills of their security engineers. So, multiple certifications might be required because the hands-on experience itself, unlike in other cases, won’t be enough. 

Some of the most popular certificates are CISSP, CISM, CISA, and CHFI. As for the practical skills, a cybersecurity engineer should understand cryptography, ethical hacking, and technical writing. Besides, one has to be experienced with malware and threat analysis and modeling.   

Security engineer

Responsibilities: these specialists handle the testing and screening of security software. They also monitor networks and systems for security breaches and intrusions. Their experience allows them to detect threats early on because they look at things from a security perspective. In addition, a security engineer reports on any incidents for future preparation, monitors the status of network security, and educates other employees to raise their security awareness.   

Skills: a security engineer has to be experienced in ethical hacking to build and maintain systems that support it. Also, this specialist has to be familiar with major operating systems, like Linux, Windows, and macOS, as well as have hands-on experience with major database platforms. Security engineers have to be able to recognize and work in the sphere of computer forensics and network architecture. 

Network security engineer

Responsibilities: this one is a rather multi-faceted occupation, which requires a specialist to combine skills and knowledge from different fields to perform their job. Network security engineers safeguard the company’s computer networks and systems. They plan and implement security measures to protect the systems from different attacks, like hacking, intrusion, or infiltration. 

Skills: since it’s a highly technical job, all the specialists should have a basic degree in computer sciences, followed by specialized certifications that prove one’s professional development. A network security engineer’s career path has to be multi-prolonged; one has to be able to work under pressure, obtain a security clearance, and thoroughly understand the latest technologies and security protocols. 

Information security analyst

Responsibilities: this IT security engineer designs and implements IT security systems that protect the company’s computer networks from cyber attacks. One monitors computer networks for security issues and installs security software. The specialist filters out suspicious activity and finds and mitigates risks before they turn into serious issues. In case of breaches, an information security analyst is on the front line and coordinates the activities aimed at countering the attack.

Skills: an information security analyst has to be familiar with ethical hacking, which includes penetration testing. Also, one needs to have a grasp of intrusion prevention and incident response. These also include computer forensics and reverse engineering. 

IT security specialist

Responsibilities: this job covers multiple tasks within many areas of the IT security of the company. One has to have a grasp of designing, testing, and implementation of IT solutions. Besides, a specialist needs to monitor live production environments and ongoing maintenance. Also, an IT security specialist maintains security software and integrates new security into the company via using varying tools and techniques. 

Skills: an IT security specialist’s knowledge and experience have to be backed up with a degree and certifications. One should possess up-to-date knowledge of relevant scripting, IT security-related hardware and software, and source code programming languages. Besides, awareness of current security risks and protocols is also necessary. 

Therefore, the average cyber security engineer job description includes the following responsibilities:

• manage and lead security incident response efforts;
• partake in technical design reviews, integration, and testing;
• handle investigations and postmortem analysis;
• ensure troubleshooting security and network problems;
• respond to system and network security breaches;
• identify threats and develop suitable defense measures; 
• run vulnerability valuation of protocols, hardware, and software.

Also, a cyber security engineer resume usually points out the following requirements:

• a degree in IT, system engineering, computer science, or other related fields;
• experience with identifying threats and developing appropriate protection measures;
• proficiency in several programming languages, including Java, .NET, and C++;
• knowledge of routing protocols, subnetting, and encryption techniques and protocols;
• experience with database platforms;
• availability of several cyber security qualifications.

A person wondering how to become a cyber security engineer should understand that it’s a multi-pronged job. It requires attention to detail and constant monitoring of the emerging trends in the field of IT security, as well as other cyber security engineer responsibilities that require extensive expertise. 

Hire Cyber Security Expert: Interview Questions

It’s better to form the interview question based on the required cyber security expert responsibilities and skills according to your vacancy. However, we’ve gathered some of the most popular ones that fit practically any of the mentioned cyber security engineer jobs and help you prepare for the interview:

• What is a firewall, and why is it important?
• What is a three-way handshake?
• What is the difference between vulnerability and exploit?
• What is included in the CIA model?
• What are the three ways of authentication?
• What is XXS?
• What is the difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical encryption?
• How to secure a server? Name necessary steps.
• What are the most widespread cyber attacks?
• Why do you need VPN?
• What are salted hashes?

Apart from these questions, you can also focus on those that help to assess the soft skills. Nevertheless, they are rather similar to those for other positions, but you can make them more cyber security-oriented. 

How Much Does it Cost to Hire Cyber Security Expert?

• The average cyber security expert salary in the US ranges from $96,000 to $141,000 per year.
• In Canada, a senior cyber security expert salary is around $132,475 per annum.
• Cyber security expert starting salary in the UK is $55,330 annually.
• On average, the salary of cyber security expert in Australia is $114,811 per year.
• Junior cyber security expert salary in Singapore is approximately $63,428 per annum.
• In Israel, a cyber security expert salary for a junior-level specialist is $58,864, and for a senior – $103,693.
• Japan pays the average cyber security expert salary of $99,017 per year.
• In China, a senior cyber security expert salary is $122,681 annually.
• Cyber security expert starting salary in Germany is $81,911.
• In Ukraine, the salary of cyber security expert starts from $9,065 for junior specialists and reaches  $16,005 for senior-level professionals.

It’s also necessary to point out the average cyber security expert salary, which is around $135,834 in the US, $103,786 in the UK, and $83,468 in Canada. 

Winning Tips to Hire Cyber Security Expert

Since you already have a grasp of the specificities of hiring cyber security experts, it’s handy to use some tips to ensure employee retention. So, if you want not only to attract high-end cybersecurity engineers but also make sure they’ll stay in your company for long, check out the below list with our hand-picked tips.

1. Ensure salary transparency and check the market state. Nobody wants to work for a company that pays less than the average sum on the market, right? So, make sure to monitor the salaries on the market and adapt to changes. Nowadays, cyber security engineers are in demand, and a reliable way to stand out on the job market as an advanced employer is to offer competitive salaries.
2. Promote career growth. Career mobility is an integral part of the job that can help employees grow both professionally and personally. Show the candidates and the team members that there’s room for growth in your company and engage them in working with projects that slightly differ from their usual responsibilities. Professional opportunities and a clear career map can go a long way, developing a work culture and increasing retention rates.
3. Consider all candidates as potential employees. Worried that hackers and gamers won’t meet the requirements and jeopardize your company’s reputation? Actually, they’re unlikely to do so because they understand how cybercriminals think. They can implement their knowledge and experience to look at things from a contrasting perspective and identify breaches before they occur.  

A promising cyber security expert will make sure your company won’t end like Yahoo or Equifax that both are still facing the damages brought by cyber breaches. 

Need to Hire Cyber Security Expert? Contact Us

To Wrap Up

Cyber attacks and breaches always hit companies out of the blue. They could be related to the brand, reputation, revenues, or clients’ data. They are always unpleasant and bring significant damage unless you have a cyber security expert to dodge them. 

Hiring a reliable specialist is no small task, and if you’re not sure where to start, you can entrust this to Qubit Labs. We ensure you work with top-of-the-league cybersecurity engineers that have your company safe and secure.

Feel free to contact us to discuss this in more detail!

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