A video game to improve the hiring process
It's no secret that we believe strongly in the power of gamification at Secure Code Warrior to engage developers to code securely. It's what we do, and the results have been amazing so far. But what about using an actual video game to assess potential new hires? Is that going a step too far, or could it possibly be an effective practice?
That's what the startup Scoutible is doing, and I have to say I'm intrigued by their approach. Scoutible assesses potential hires using a video game - not gamified assessments, but an actual video game experience - and checks how the person behaves in certain situations. The game captures "millions of data points used to measure a candidate's various attributes" during just 20 minutes of gameplay, and uses those data points to rate how the candidate would do for the job in question.
There's a lot to like here, and a lot to learn from as well. The product is flexible to meet their customers'needs, and it targets a problem that many people responsible for hiring have known for a long time. Self-reported assessment, like Myers-Briggs, just aren't reliable. They allow you to "game" the system, or at least try to, by not being entirely honest. In a game, you have an objective and must adapt and problem solve to meet that objective. It's quite simple, and ingenious if it works as Scoutible claims. I can't wait to hear more about it.
Gaming versus gamification
Scoutible's approach makes sense for their target audience and use case. At one point in Secure Code Warrior's journey, we considered the value of a full gaming platform, or mini games built into the training, but in the end that angle didn't really add enough value for our purposes. The end users who take our security training know they are supposed to be learning.
Within our Secure Code Warrior platform, we measure the secure coding skills of a software developer while using game-based elements to keep them engaged. That means keeping these questions in mind:
- Do they understand the most common software security weaknesses?
- Can they fix common security bugs using framework specific security functions?
- Are they confident about their software security skills?
- What are their strengths and skills gaps in terms of secure code?
Caring by design
There's another reason I can relate strongly with Scoutible's product. Not only is it a benefit to the hiring company, but also to the candidate. Not all strong candidates you'll encounter are good at interviewing. For some, it's just not in their personalities. For others, they might never have been taught the fine art of interviewing, or maybe they're new to the workforce and this is their first interview.
This is where I see a similarity with software developers. Sadly, there just isn't a focus on security in many university programs. Aspiring developers are told "You'll learn it on the job." They leave school knowing how to make their code work, but they unknowingly perpetuate all of the same vulnerabilities that we've been fighting against for 20 or more years.
When developers do get that job and ask to learn about security, they have even less time than when they were in school. They're paid to produce functional, effective software, and many of the developer security training courses ... well, they're boring. Let's be honest.
What if you could get your developers, new and old, to care about security without really thinking about it? How do you make training interesting, engaging, and even fun, while also still being effective?
That's our challenge, and just like Scoutible's, it's a very real one. Just because the problem is incredibly serious doesn't mean the solution has to be mundane and boring. We've tried that already. We prefer to inject a little fun, excitement, competition, and engagement into our solution. So far, it's worked very, very well.
I thought if we could build a tool that felt like a game, and incorporated tests for the appropriate personality and cognitive attributes, we could address many of the problems I'd been studying.
https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/scoutible-video-game-reinventing-the-hiring-process.html
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demo
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Pieter Danhieux is a globally recognized security expert, with over 12 years experience as a security consultant and 8 years as a Principal Instructor for SANS teaching offensive techniques on how to target and assess organizations, systems and individuals for security weaknesses. In 2016, he was recognized as one of the Coolest Tech people in Australia (Business Insider), awarded Cyber Security Professional of the Year (AISA - Australian Information Security Association) and holds GSE, CISSP, GCIH, GCFA, GSEC, GPEN, GWAPT, GCIA certifications.
It's no secret that we believe strongly in the power of gamification at Secure Code Warrior to engage developers to code securely. It's what we do, and the results have been amazing so far. But what about using an actual video game to assess potential new hires? Is that going a step too far, or could it possibly be an effective practice?
That's what the startup Scoutible is doing, and I have to say I'm intrigued by their approach. Scoutible assesses potential hires using a video game - not gamified assessments, but an actual video game experience - and checks how the person behaves in certain situations. The game captures "millions of data points used to measure a candidate's various attributes" during just 20 minutes of gameplay, and uses those data points to rate how the candidate would do for the job in question.
There's a lot to like here, and a lot to learn from as well. The product is flexible to meet their customers'needs, and it targets a problem that many people responsible for hiring have known for a long time. Self-reported assessment, like Myers-Briggs, just aren't reliable. They allow you to "game" the system, or at least try to, by not being entirely honest. In a game, you have an objective and must adapt and problem solve to meet that objective. It's quite simple, and ingenious if it works as Scoutible claims. I can't wait to hear more about it.
Gaming versus gamification
Scoutible's approach makes sense for their target audience and use case. At one point in Secure Code Warrior's journey, we considered the value of a full gaming platform, or mini games built into the training, but in the end that angle didn't really add enough value for our purposes. The end users who take our security training know they are supposed to be learning.
Within our Secure Code Warrior platform, we measure the secure coding skills of a software developer while using game-based elements to keep them engaged. That means keeping these questions in mind:
- Do they understand the most common software security weaknesses?
- Can they fix common security bugs using framework specific security functions?
- Are they confident about their software security skills?
- What are their strengths and skills gaps in terms of secure code?
Caring by design
There's another reason I can relate strongly with Scoutible's product. Not only is it a benefit to the hiring company, but also to the candidate. Not all strong candidates you'll encounter are good at interviewing. For some, it's just not in their personalities. For others, they might never have been taught the fine art of interviewing, or maybe they're new to the workforce and this is their first interview.
This is where I see a similarity with software developers. Sadly, there just isn't a focus on security in many university programs. Aspiring developers are told "You'll learn it on the job." They leave school knowing how to make their code work, but they unknowingly perpetuate all of the same vulnerabilities that we've been fighting against for 20 or more years.
When developers do get that job and ask to learn about security, they have even less time than when they were in school. They're paid to produce functional, effective software, and many of the developer security training courses ... well, they're boring. Let's be honest.
What if you could get your developers, new and old, to care about security without really thinking about it? How do you make training interesting, engaging, and even fun, while also still being effective?
That's our challenge, and just like Scoutible's, it's a very real one. Just because the problem is incredibly serious doesn't mean the solution has to be mundane and boring. We've tried that already. We prefer to inject a little fun, excitement, competition, and engagement into our solution. So far, it's worked very, very well.
I thought if we could build a tool that felt like a game, and incorporated tests for the appropriate personality and cognitive attributes, we could address many of the problems I'd been studying.
https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/scoutible-video-game-reinventing-the-hiring-process.html
It's no secret that we believe strongly in the power of gamification at Secure Code Warrior to engage developers to code securely. It's what we do, and the results have been amazing so far. But what about using an actual video game to assess potential new hires? Is that going a step too far, or could it possibly be an effective practice?
That's what the startup Scoutible is doing, and I have to say I'm intrigued by their approach. Scoutible assesses potential hires using a video game - not gamified assessments, but an actual video game experience - and checks how the person behaves in certain situations. The game captures "millions of data points used to measure a candidate's various attributes" during just 20 minutes of gameplay, and uses those data points to rate how the candidate would do for the job in question.
There's a lot to like here, and a lot to learn from as well. The product is flexible to meet their customers'needs, and it targets a problem that many people responsible for hiring have known for a long time. Self-reported assessment, like Myers-Briggs, just aren't reliable. They allow you to "game" the system, or at least try to, by not being entirely honest. In a game, you have an objective and must adapt and problem solve to meet that objective. It's quite simple, and ingenious if it works as Scoutible claims. I can't wait to hear more about it.
Gaming versus gamification
Scoutible's approach makes sense for their target audience and use case. At one point in Secure Code Warrior's journey, we considered the value of a full gaming platform, or mini games built into the training, but in the end that angle didn't really add enough value for our purposes. The end users who take our security training know they are supposed to be learning.
Within our Secure Code Warrior platform, we measure the secure coding skills of a software developer while using game-based elements to keep them engaged. That means keeping these questions in mind:
- Do they understand the most common software security weaknesses?
- Can they fix common security bugs using framework specific security functions?
- Are they confident about their software security skills?
- What are their strengths and skills gaps in terms of secure code?
Caring by design
There's another reason I can relate strongly with Scoutible's product. Not only is it a benefit to the hiring company, but also to the candidate. Not all strong candidates you'll encounter are good at interviewing. For some, it's just not in their personalities. For others, they might never have been taught the fine art of interviewing, or maybe they're new to the workforce and this is their first interview.
This is where I see a similarity with software developers. Sadly, there just isn't a focus on security in many university programs. Aspiring developers are told "You'll learn it on the job." They leave school knowing how to make their code work, but they unknowingly perpetuate all of the same vulnerabilities that we've been fighting against for 20 or more years.
When developers do get that job and ask to learn about security, they have even less time than when they were in school. They're paid to produce functional, effective software, and many of the developer security training courses ... well, they're boring. Let's be honest.
What if you could get your developers, new and old, to care about security without really thinking about it? How do you make training interesting, engaging, and even fun, while also still being effective?
That's our challenge, and just like Scoutible's, it's a very real one. Just because the problem is incredibly serious doesn't mean the solution has to be mundane and boring. We've tried that already. We prefer to inject a little fun, excitement, competition, and engagement into our solution. So far, it's worked very, very well.
I thought if we could build a tool that felt like a game, and incorporated tests for the appropriate personality and cognitive attributes, we could address many of the problems I'd been studying.
https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/scoutible-video-game-reinventing-the-hiring-process.html
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Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
View reportBook a demo
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Pieter Danhieux is a globally recognized security expert, with over 12 years experience as a security consultant and 8 years as a Principal Instructor for SANS teaching offensive techniques on how to target and assess organizations, systems and individuals for security weaknesses. In 2016, he was recognized as one of the Coolest Tech people in Australia (Business Insider), awarded Cyber Security Professional of the Year (AISA - Australian Information Security Association) and holds GSE, CISSP, GCIH, GCFA, GSEC, GPEN, GWAPT, GCIA certifications.
It's no secret that we believe strongly in the power of gamification at Secure Code Warrior to engage developers to code securely. It's what we do, and the results have been amazing so far. But what about using an actual video game to assess potential new hires? Is that going a step too far, or could it possibly be an effective practice?
That's what the startup Scoutible is doing, and I have to say I'm intrigued by their approach. Scoutible assesses potential hires using a video game - not gamified assessments, but an actual video game experience - and checks how the person behaves in certain situations. The game captures "millions of data points used to measure a candidate's various attributes" during just 20 minutes of gameplay, and uses those data points to rate how the candidate would do for the job in question.
There's a lot to like here, and a lot to learn from as well. The product is flexible to meet their customers'needs, and it targets a problem that many people responsible for hiring have known for a long time. Self-reported assessment, like Myers-Briggs, just aren't reliable. They allow you to "game" the system, or at least try to, by not being entirely honest. In a game, you have an objective and must adapt and problem solve to meet that objective. It's quite simple, and ingenious if it works as Scoutible claims. I can't wait to hear more about it.
Gaming versus gamification
Scoutible's approach makes sense for their target audience and use case. At one point in Secure Code Warrior's journey, we considered the value of a full gaming platform, or mini games built into the training, but in the end that angle didn't really add enough value for our purposes. The end users who take our security training know they are supposed to be learning.
Within our Secure Code Warrior platform, we measure the secure coding skills of a software developer while using game-based elements to keep them engaged. That means keeping these questions in mind:
- Do they understand the most common software security weaknesses?
- Can they fix common security bugs using framework specific security functions?
- Are they confident about their software security skills?
- What are their strengths and skills gaps in terms of secure code?
Caring by design
There's another reason I can relate strongly with Scoutible's product. Not only is it a benefit to the hiring company, but also to the candidate. Not all strong candidates you'll encounter are good at interviewing. For some, it's just not in their personalities. For others, they might never have been taught the fine art of interviewing, or maybe they're new to the workforce and this is their first interview.
This is where I see a similarity with software developers. Sadly, there just isn't a focus on security in many university programs. Aspiring developers are told "You'll learn it on the job." They leave school knowing how to make their code work, but they unknowingly perpetuate all of the same vulnerabilities that we've been fighting against for 20 or more years.
When developers do get that job and ask to learn about security, they have even less time than when they were in school. They're paid to produce functional, effective software, and many of the developer security training courses ... well, they're boring. Let's be honest.
What if you could get your developers, new and old, to care about security without really thinking about it? How do you make training interesting, engaging, and even fun, while also still being effective?
That's our challenge, and just like Scoutible's, it's a very real one. Just because the problem is incredibly serious doesn't mean the solution has to be mundane and boring. We've tried that already. We prefer to inject a little fun, excitement, competition, and engagement into our solution. So far, it's worked very, very well.
I thought if we could build a tool that felt like a game, and incorporated tests for the appropriate personality and cognitive attributes, we could address many of the problems I'd been studying.
https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/scoutible-video-game-reinventing-the-hiring-process.html
Table of contents
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Co-Founder
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demoDownloadResources to get you started
Secure by Design: Defining Best Practices, Enabling Developers and Benchmarking Preventative Security Outcomes
In this research paper, Secure Code Warrior co-founders, Pieter Danhieux and Dr. Matias Madou, Ph.D., along with expert contributors, Chris Inglis, Former US National Cyber Director (now Strategic Advisor to Paladin Capital Group), and Devin Lynch, Senior Director, Paladin Global Institute, will reveal key findings from over twenty in-depth interviews with enterprise security leaders including CISOs, a VP of Application Security, and software security professionals.
Benchmarking Security Skills: Streamlining Secure-by-Design in the Enterprise
Finding meaningful data on the success of Secure-by-Design initiatives is notoriously difficult. CISOs are often challenged when attempting to prove the return on investment (ROI) and business value of security program activities at both the people and company levels. Not to mention, it’s particularly difficult for enterprises to gain insights into how their organizations are benchmarked against current industry standards. The President’s National Cybersecurity Strategy challenged stakeholders to “embrace security and resilience by design.” The key to making Secure-by-Design initiatives work is not only giving developers the skills to ensure secure code, but also assuring the regulators that those skills are in place. In this presentation, we share a myriad of qualitative and quantitative data, derived from multiple primary sources, including internal data points collected from over 250,000 developers, data-driven customer insights, and public studies. Leveraging this aggregation of data points, we aim to communicate a vision of the current state of Secure-by-Design initiatives across multiple verticals. The report details why this space is currently underutilized, the significant impact a successful upskilling program can have on cybersecurity risk mitigation, and the potential to eliminate categories of vulnerabilities from a codebase.
Secure code training topics & content
Our industry-leading content is always evolving to fit the ever changing software development landscape with your role in mind. Topics covering everything from AI to XQuery Injection, offered for a variety of roles from Architects and Engineers to Product Managers and QA. Get a sneak peak of what our content catalog has to offer by topic and role.
Resources to get you started
Revealed: How the Cyber Industry Defines Secure by Design
In our latest white paper, our Co-Founders, Pieter Danhieux and Dr. Matias Madou, Ph.D., sat down with over twenty enterprise security leaders, including CISOs, AppSec leaders and security professionals, to figure out the key pieces of this puzzle and uncover the reality behind the Secure by Design movement. It’s a shared ambition across the security teams, but no shared playbook.
Is Vibe Coding Going to Turn Your Codebase Into a Frat Party?
Vibe coding is like a college frat party, and AI is the centerpiece of all the festivities, the keg. It’s a lot of fun to let loose, get creative, and see where your imagination can take you, but after a few keg stands, drinking (or, using AI) in moderation is undoubtedly the safer long-term solution.
Developer-driven coding.
Securely.
Contact us today and make software security an intrinsic part of your development process.
