As technology advances, so do cybercriminals—almost any business or individual is at risk of cyber attacks. Sometimes organizations or individuals need quick help from someone expert. How can these organizations find such a cybersecurity expert quickly?

This article will discuss if a freelancer cybersecurity expert, such as a penetration tester, is a good choice. We will also discuss when it is an excellent time to hire a freelance cybersecurity expert, who can benefit, and the advantages and disadvantages.

Understanding the Cybersecurity Expertise

Before discussing the freelance cybersecurity expert, let’s quickly understand their cybersecurity expertise.

Cybersecurity experts are specialized professionals who work to protect digital assets, systems, networks, or infrastructure from unauthorized access. Cybersecurity experts utilize a wide range of skills in cybersecurity, such as vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, application testing, threat analysis, and incident response. You can take Jobyer as an example, as an offensive cybersecurity expert who is the founder of RedNode too.

Concept of Freelancers and Freelancing

Before diving further, it is also essential to understand what freelancing is or who freelancers are. We need to understand these two terms.

Freelancing is the practice of independently that offer specialized skills and services to clients. The services can be project-by-project, long-term services, or short-term contract basis. Organizations or individuals often hire freelancers for various tasks such as web development, graphic design, or writing. But when someone needs to hire a freelancer for their cybersecurity-related tasks, they must consider understanding some key points.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Freelancer Cybersecurity Expert

It is imperative to assess the advantages and disadvantages before procuring the services of a freelance cybersecurity specialist. Below is a summary of both.

Advantage

  1. Cost Effectiveness: It is possible to reduce the cost by hiring a freelance cybersecurity expert based on your requirement instead of a full-time cybersecurity expert. For example, if you need a quick pentest of your web application two times every year, a freelancer could be a choice too.
  2. Access to Diverse Expertise: Cybersecurity consultants that operate on a freelance basis typically have dealt with a wide range of businesses and organizations. Including people from various backgrounds and experiences in your company might be beneficial. Those familiar with the area know there are always new hazards and technology to be aware of.
  3. Flexibility: Freelance cybersecurity experts are not bound to a single organization. It makes them possible to adapt to your needs, allowing you to access expertise and ensuring you have the proper support whenever needed.

Disadvantages

  1. Hard to find skilled experts: It is essential to find a certified and trained expert. You may have difficulty finding a real professional cybersecurity expert when you need it if you suddenly and randomly start searching for them.
  2. Potential Trust and Security Concerns: Giving the freelance cybersecurity expert accessing your sensitive data or system could be risky. While most freelancers are honest experts, you can run against someone for your harm. Make sure you have solid NDAs.
  3. Lack of Long-Term Commitment: Freelancers are usually hired for specific projects. As a result, they might lack long-term commitment.

Who Should Consider Hiring a Freelancer Cybersecurity Expert

Many companies or individuals can benefit from hiring freelancer cybersecurity experts. Let’s see some examples of who could consider hiring a freelance cybersecurity expert:

  • Individuals: A right cybersecurity expert can help individuals to protect their computers or sensitive information. High-worth persons or high public profiles can consider hiring freelancers to protect them from cyber-attacks.
  • Startup: Freelancers are an excellent choice for the specialized security needs of startups due to their adaptability, affordability, and low overhead compared to traditional employment models.
  • Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Small businesses often have limited resources and may be unable to afford a dedicated cybersecurity expert to protect them from cyber-attacks. They can consider hiring an independent cybersecurity expert.
  • Large and Non-profit Organizations: Large enterprises and Non-profit organizations can benefit from freelancers for specific projects, Even if they have dedicated cybersecurity experts.
  • Government Agencies and Educational Institutions: Government agencies or educational institutions such as schools or universities often face unique cybersecurity challenges. They can utilize a good and skilled cybersecurity professional to find security weaknesses in their systems or infrastructures.
  • Healthcare Organizations: It is common for healthcare organizations to manage sensitive data. They can hire trusted freelance cybersecurity professionals as external testers.

When Should You consider hiring a Freelancer Cybersecurity Expert?

You can hire independent cybersecurity security experts whenever you need to determine your security posture. They can be good external testers who will execute a simulated test for your business. But it is essential to validate their skills and credentials, which we will discuss very soon. Here are a few points that you encouraged to consider to hire a freelance expert:

  1. For Simulated Test: You want to perform a simulated test for your organization. An internal cybersecurity expert may not perform this very well as they already have enough knowledge about the company.
  2. Limited Expertise: If your organization lack expertise, you should consider hiring trusted and qualified cybersecurity expert externally to address security weaknesses and protect from potential cyber-attacks.
  3. New Projects: If you are launching a new project, hiring a trusted freelance cybersecurity expert for a short time might be a good choice.
  4. Post-Breach or Incident Recovery: Following a security incident or breach, a freelance cybersecurity expert may help with determining what went wrong, fixing the problem, and preventing such attacks.
  5. Resource Constraints: A freelancer can help when your in-house cybersecurity team can’t handle everything, such as when they’re too busy to take on new projects or need more hands to manage the ones they already have.
  6. Compliance and Regulatory Deadlines: You consider hiring a freelance cybersecurity expert when your organization is on tight deadlines and compliant with specific regulations.

Choosing the Right Freelancer Cybersecurity Expert

Finding the right cybersecurity expert might be challenging. Some freelancers have recently entered this field without enough skills, and some are well-established. This makes it harder to search the right one. Some companies accept the newbie who quickly responds to the message and offer very low prices. Newbies are OK as long as they have the proper knowledge and credentials. Let’s see some critical points to selecting the right cybersecurity experts:

  1. Define your requirements: Before you search for an expert, you should outline the specific skills, experience, and certifications. Outlining your needs will help you to search for a suitable cybersecurity expert.
  2. Verify Credentials: If you have found a cybersecurity expert, you should ask for the certifications, skills, and experience and try to verify them. For example, If you are eagerly searching for someone to test security flaws, you need to look for someone who is OSCP or OSCE3 certified.
  3. Review Portfolios: While evaluating potential candidates, you can review their portfolios. You can search for him on search engines and check previous work.
  4. Conduct Interview: Interviewing the candidate will help to determine his skills.