
Ask HN: Coding choices for a security professional - badrabbit
Hi HN,<p>I work in Cyber security. While my day to day work does not involve programming, I have been writing code since my teens.<p>I learned C and X86 assembly so I can have a better understanding of how software vulnerabilities and exploits work. I also know python and I am currently a novice with golang.<p>Since I don&#x27;t write code for a living,I don&#x27;t think it would benefit me much to learn a long list of languages.<p>What programming related specializations,methodologies and topics would benefit someone pursuing a career in Cyber security? My goal more or less is to become good at bug hunting and maybe someday develop useful defensive security software.
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nerdy
It sounds like you're in search of a solution without a problem.

Programming language for _what_ exactly? When you know what the intended use
case is, you'll probably have a reasonable idea of what you need.

Some projects might warrant all kinds of different programming languages. If
you're looking at server-side security for a website then maybe it's Python,
PHP, or Ruby. Embedded systems are probably not running PHP. If you're talking
about reverse engineering an application then maybe learning IDA's C-like
scripting language is best.

Being able to understand syntax and nuance of a language reasonably quickly
are probably more important than programming in any specific language, unless
you're pursuing a career specializing in one type of system. In that case you
would likely know which programming languages are appropriate.

