Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/06/07/stuxnet_on_your_cv/
How to put "Stuxnet author" on your CV
"Malware is a legitimate occupation," suggests analyst
Posted in On-Prem, 7th June 2012 01:43 GMT
With Stuxnet outed as a government-sponsored project by none other that one B. Obama of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the world has concrete evidence that states commission the coding of malware.
That evidence led Anton Chuvakin, a research director in Gartner's IT1 Security and Risk Management group, to ponder just what the coders hired to do the deed can say about it on their curriculums vitae.
“'Malware' … is now a legitimate occupation that you can put on your resume,” Chuvakin suggests, half-jokingly, before going on to offer this format for government-directed malware authors CVs.
“2006-2007: developed ‘attack software’ for XYZ government”
It's since been suggested to us, however, that Chuvakin's suggested may not be entirely suitable, given that anyone working on this kind of thing will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Such agreements, says Peter Acheson, CEO of recruitment company Peoplebank, “prohibit them from disclosing too much about the specifics of the technology and the project generally.”
Acheson therefore suggests that those among you whose careers have wandered in this direction “discussion of the specific tasks in terms of the project rather than references to the types of technology or what the specific project was designed to achieve” on your CV. That form of words, he feels, will get you credit for shady work without resulting in a window-less van arriving outside your home at dawn.
Acheson suggests the following hypothetical format to get malware gigs onto your CV:
2009– 011 – Department of Defence – Israel Project Director – Strategic Defence project. Worked on the development of strategic defence software for Department of Defence. Project had defence classification XYZ 123. Responsible for all aspects of overseeing development of the strategic software including management of 200 people.
“Often there will be some sort of ability to check participation on the project by talking to a Senior person in Defence about their involvement in the project,” Acheson adds.
Gartner's Chuvakin also raises, in his post, the need for new langauge to describe Stuxtnet and its ilk, and his suggestions may help you to craft suitably evasive CV entries.
“What do you call 'malware' working for the good guys?” he asks. “'Attack software'? 'Sabotage-ware'? 'Good malware'? We need a whole new language to describe what we are seeing now. This is 'one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter' all over again… “ ®