The Belfast office of global cyber-security firm Contrast Security has reached 18 staff, with plans to hit 120 in the next several years.
Belfast's cyber-security industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid growth and investment, with several new cyber-security centres opening in the city and new jobs being created. US-headquartered software security specialists Contrast Security is one of the firms investing in Northern Ireland, setting up an office in Belfast last year to take the lead on some of the firm's key projects.
Contrast Security provides a DevOps-Native Application Security platform that can integrate into a software development company's existing projects and help expose security vulnerabilities in software before they lead to data breaches. Its products can automatically find known vulnerabilities in things such as open source library dependencies that you may not know are a problem.
Automating application security is becoming increasingly important in the UK and Europe in the wake of last year's record-breaking £183m British Airways GDPR fine. The fine resulted from a major data breach caused by an outdated piece of third party software used on the website, something that should have been detected as it was a known vulnerability.
The Belfast office of Contrast Security is based in River House has since grown to reach 18 staff, with roles in Engineering, Software Design, Product Management, Security Research, and Support. CEO Alan Naumann recently announced plans for the Belfast office to reach 120 staff over the next three years, with job listings currently up for Software Engineers and Senior Application Developers.
Part of the company's plans for growth include a commitment to diversity and investing in skills of staff, with the current team having a mix of genders within roles and a range of skill levels across the company. "We are a diverse group of people - with a diverse range of opinions and skillsets," explained Talent Acquisition Partner Shannon Tierney, adding "We’ll be celebrating our fantastic ladies on International Woman’s Day."
Source: Written based on press release
