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As an early career developer I feel helpless with the vast world of cyber security looming all around me, and not that many people thinking very much about it.

by bckr 5y ago

As an early career developer I feel helpless with the vast world of cyber security looming all around me, and not that many people thinking very much about it. It feels kind of like COVID in 2022. Obviously everywhere. Probably not going to hurt me? Could end my career.

pjmlp 5y ago
Don't worry, embrace the lack of care writing secure systems, plenty of job opportunities in cyber security until the culture finally changes.
perlgeek 5y ago
> Could end my career. Very unlikely. Stick to good practices. If you are asked to do something that's bad for security, raise your objections in written form (email/tickets). Security isn't only your responsibility; it's also the product manager's and the security team's responsibility. All together this means that it's very hard for a company to convincingly blame a single developer for an incident. Maybe they fire you as a scapegoat, but that isn't very likely, and it should be far from career ending.
- spacemanmatt 5y ago
  > Security isn't only your responsibility This. As a developer, your security-aligned goals should include code review, readable/auditable code, configuration options that support testing/QA, features that operate on a principle of least surprise to the user, and other things like these. Security is ultimately a blended practice.
INTPenis 5y ago
Just being practical and communicative will get you farther than you think.
pmontra 5y ago
> Could end my career If it does half of us would be jobless. Do reasonable choices, agree them with the team and the stakeholders. For extra safety do not accept jobs above your level of knowledge of security issues.
jasongill 5y ago
I felt the same way back when my career started in the late 90's, with what felt like daily new kernel updates for security issues and tons of realizations that the "old way" of doing things was insecure. You'll make it. There will be bad times and there will be very long nights and weekends, and you'll probably have a few events in your life that will make you say "ok, I'm done" but you'll survive and make it through. Try to be mindful of your mental and physical health as dealing with these issues can take a toll on you, but do know that you will survive and make it through.
hluska 5y ago
I’m an old developer and I’ve been worried about the same thing for most of my career. We’ll either be fine or you’ll have a far easier time switching careers than me. :) But we’ll likely be fine. Just keep a healthy respect for security, keep learning and think through best practices.

by bckr 5y ago

pjmlp 5y ago

Don't worry, embrace the lack of care writing secure systems, plenty of job opportunities in cyber security until the culture finally changes.

perlgeek 5y ago

> Could end my career. Very unlikely. Stick to good practices. If you are asked to do something that's bad for security, raise your objections in written form (email/tickets). Security isn't only your responsibility; it's also the product manager's and the security team's responsibility. All together this means that it's very hard for a company to convincingly blame a single developer for an incident. Maybe they fire you as a scapegoat, but that isn't very likely, and it should be far from career ending.

spacemanmatt 5y ago
> Security isn't only your responsibility This. As a developer, your security-aligned goals should include code review, readable/auditable code, configuration options that support testing/QA, features that operate on a principle of least surprise to the user, and other things like these. Security is ultimately a blended practice.

INTPenis 5y ago

Just being practical and communicative will get you farther than you think.

pmontra 5y ago

> Could end my career If it does half of us would be jobless. Do reasonable choices, agree them with the team and the stakeholders. For extra safety do not accept jobs above your level of knowledge of security issues.

jasongill 5y ago

I felt the same way back when my career started in the late 90's, with what felt like daily new kernel updates for security issues and tons of realizations that the "old way" of doing things was insecure. You'll make it. There will be bad times and there will be very long nights and weekends, and you'll probably have a few events in your life that will make you say "ok, I'm done" but you'll survive and make it through. Try to be mindful of your mental and physical health as dealing with these issues can take a toll on you, but do know that you will survive and make it through.

hluska 5y ago

I’m an old developer and I’ve been worried about the same thing for most of my career. We’ll either be fine or you’ll have a far easier time switching careers than me. :) But we’ll likely be fine. Just keep a healthy respect for security, keep learning and think through best practices.