What does a cybersecurity professional do?

Just like in warfare, nowadays it is essential to strengthen protective barriers in the face of the rise of threats in the digital environment. In view of this, regardless of the size or industry, companies need to invest in ways to make their cybersecurity teams better prepared to efficiently combat potential incidents.

Want to know what cybersecurity is, its role in companies, and what professionals in this field do? Keep reading this article to get answers to all your questions!

What is cybersecurity? Cybersecurity, also known as digital security, cyber defense, or cyber protection, refers to the set of practices, policies, procedures, and technologies developed to protect systems, networks, programs, applications, and data from breaches caused by cyberattacks or unauthorized access.

The main goal of cybersecurity is to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information in digital environments, preventing operational damage, financial losses, reputational harm, and compliance issues with laws like the LGPD (General Data Protection Law).

What are the functions of a cybersecurity professional? Cybersecurity works as a tactical protection system for companies against cyber threats. Therefore, the functions assigned to cybersecurity professionals range from creating strategies to constantly monitoring activities.

Here are the main functions of those working in cybersecurity:

• Threat prevention:The cybersecurity team is responsible for developing and implementing proactive strategies and measures to prevent cyberattacks. This involves using a variety of strategies, beyond conventional tools, to prevent data breaches.
• Detection of suspicious activities:One of the functions of cybersecurity is continuous monitoring of network traffic and systems. This allows for the identification of unusual patterns or suspicious activities. It also includes implementing tools to optimize intrusion detection and identify potential threats in real-time.
• Incident response development:It is the role of the cybersecurity team to develop incident response plans to mitigate the damage of potential cyberattacks. This includes mapping company activities, backups, system updates, developing corrective measures, and system recovery.
• Vulnerability management:The cybersecurity department must identify and fix vulnerabilities in systems and software. Continuous security assessments are needed to identify risk areas and implement corrections.

It's worth noting that Bug Bounty programs are a great option for optimizing the identification process.

• Authentication and access control:One of the functions includes implementing robust authentication methods to ensure that only authorized users can access systems. This allows control over user access levels and minimizes the risk of exploitation.
• Education and awareness:One of the most important roles of cybersecurity is conducting training programs to raise awareness among employees about safe practices. This helps strengthen the security culture, teaching employees at all levels how to recognize and report potential threats.
• Development of security policies:The cybersecurity department is also responsible for developing security policies and guidelines to direct organizational practices, ensuring compliance with current regulations, and setting security standards.
• Monitoring trends:It is also the responsibility of the cybersecurity team to keep up with cyber threat trends to anticipate potential attacks, collaborating with security communities to gather information on emerging threats.
• Encryption:Finally, using encryption techniques to protect data confidentiality is also one of the team's responsibilities. This includes implementing data protection policies to ensure proper handling of information.

How does Bug Bounty contribute to cybersecurity? Bug Bounty is a powerful tool to optimize vulnerability identification. With a Bug Bounty program, cybersecurity teams can gain a broader view of the best course of action.

This means that they can better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each system through detailed reports that highlight all present vulnerabilities—ranging from low-severity to critical ones.

This is possible because Bug Bounty operates as a reward program that encourages thousands of cybersecurity specialists to search for flaws in company systems.

Want to learn more about Bug Bounty? Get in touch with BugHunt today!