3 Must Asked Questions when Signing a Contract with IT Security Consulting

2015 have seen the most devastating data breaches of all time, making IT security a serious thing. Now business owners are thinking more critically about data security. However, having an in-house security specialist is still a hard-to-afford thing for most companies, so they are given the option of outsourcing an IT security consulting.

But, how do they really know that they are hiring the right person. Here are 3 must asked questions when hiring an IT security consultant.

Q#1: Do You Have Relevant Security Experience?

Often candidates come with impressive resumes super-filled with a foreign degree and certification. Remember, their credentials does not make them experienced, ask them some real facts from “the war zone”. How many years they have spent specifically in the security industry. Ask those details about their last successful project, the issues they have resolved and how successful they are now.

When consultant explains their experience, ask them to design analogies. Share some real-time problems and ask how they will encounter them. 

Q#2: Ask Them To Identify Biggest Security Threat To Your Organization?

Sometimes, companies with the most advanced technology suffer the most, why? Because their focus was on technology instead on the core problem. Most security consultants use one-size-fits-all solutions to security threats. So, if a consultant starts with, “your company should immediately implement this solution and this will fix all your problems”, drop that option immediately. A real security consulting expert or firm will go deep into the problem before suggesting any suit of the tool.

Q#3: Know Who Will Work For You?

A common practice among highly qualified IT consultants or firms is, once hired, they send their junior associate for the job. This is especially common with security consulting firms from UK, the contract and negotiations are commonly done by the senior expert, giving its clients a reason to sit back and relax and they sent their junior associates to do the security job. Before making any commitment make sure you know who’s going to work for you.

When hiring a consultant for the first time make sure as the owner of a company you have gone through an extensive research.