Does Cyber Security Require Programming?

cyber securty programming

Want to become a good specialist in the sphere of cybersecurity? First of all, you need to make sure that you have a clear understanding of what cybersecurity is. It’s a set of measures and strategies that are intended to provide full security and avoid all the possible risks. A specialist in the sphere of cybersecurity should know how to choose the right approach to protect cyberspace, the resources of a certain organization, and users. The main tasks for ensuring security are availability, integrity, including authenticity, and confidentiality. Cybersecurity is a prerequisite for the development of the information society.

What Knowledge Should a Cyber Security Specialist Gain?

Students of the cybersecurity faculty study modern technologies for protecting information in cyberspace and master the principles of protecting software from malicious programs. There is so much learning material that it isn’t surprising that most request paying someone who is a real coding assignment expert from a professional service AssignmentCore, for example, who can show how to deal with any academic problem effectively and do programming assignments from scratch.

If you want to become a good cybersecurity specialist, you should also get acquainted with the processes of creating information protection systems and information security management. It’s a must to gain knowledge to solve a wide range of problems in the field of cybersecurity – from the development and application of software and hardware and software for information protection in communication systems to the investigation of crimes in cyberspace.

The cost of mistakes for information security specialists is high, so they need to constantly maintain a high level of their qualifications: monitor the development of technologies, the emergence of new threats, and changes in legislation. The best way to acquire new knowledge is to combine self-study with attending courses, webinars, professional events (forums, conferences, round tables, etc.). Events broaden the horizons, allow you to see the general picture of the state of the industry and its segments. Such a vision is necessary to understand which areas are developing most dynamically, and which areas of information security should be studied at the moment.

An in-depth study of the following areas is required:

    • Modern technologies of secure programming;
    • Cryptography and steganography;
    • Anti-virus protection of computer systems;
    • Protection of computer networks;
    • Applied cryptology.

Why Is It a Must to Learn Programming to Be a Security Specialist?

There is more than one direction in the sphere of cybersecurity you can choose from. However, each of them requires a solid knowledge of programming. The job of an information security specialist is to try to anticipate and, if possible, prevent nonsense that could lead to the disclosure, distortion, or destruction of information. This is a cyclical process: a methodology is developed, instructions are written, all this starts to work somehow, then a check is carried out, how well this procedure meets the requirements, and, based on the results, changes are made to the methodology.

The simplest example: a customer needs to understand how reliably information storage is organized in his company. The audit takes place in two stages: at first, experts look at the documents and compare them with generally accepted practices (using reliable drives, storing and rotating them). In the second stage, they look at how the described requirements are observed. In larger companies, there are separate positions for information security meteorologists and auditors: meteorologists develop regulations and monitor their implementation, auditors check their relevance and compliance. If these experts work well together, they complement each other perfectly.

Key Things to Keep in Mind

Want to detect threats and risks of the data loss? Then, you need to develop and implement effective solutions that guarantee the complete protection of information and the confidentiality of data. To achieve these goals, you should learn, learn, and learn. Check what aspects you need to focus on.

  • Gain knowledge of different programming languages as it will greatly facilitate the study of web applications, and qualitative testing by the “white box” method (when the source codes of the application are studied) is generally impossible without it. Today, the most common occurrences are Ruby, Python, Java, PHP, .NET. You can start, for example, with Python – a huge number of utilities and exploits are written in it. This language has a low threshold of entry, it is quite flexible and slightly platform dependent.
  • Have a good understanding of how the Linux operating system works. And the higher the level of knowledge, the better, because this is the main system on which servers on the Internet work. You also need knowledge in the field of computer networks: features of their construction, architecture, and protocols by which all this works.

If you are a good programmer, you have great chances to become a well-paid cybersecurity specialist. Don’t believe those who say that one can work in the sphere of cybersecurity without the in-depth knowledge of programming languages and the principles of how operating systems work. The demand for good experts who can protect the company’s data is increasing. A competent expert should be able to face challenges and deal with new cyber threats successfully. Gain skills on how to create apps and infrastructure and you’ll be able to develop an effective protection strategy.

In addition to the programming knowledge, the amount of which will only grow as one deepens into the industry, an information security specialist will need such qualities as perseverance, dedication, and the ability to think outside the box.

Mark Funk
Mark Funk is an experienced information security specialist who works with enterprises to mature and improve their enterprise security programs. Previously, he worked as a security news reporter.