Glossary#

Abacus#: A hand-operated calculating tool.
Advanced Encryption Standard#: Most widely used symmetric algorithm and is entrusted to protect classified U.S. government information.
Advanced Persistent Threat#: A network attack in which an intruder gains access to a network and stays there—undetected—with the intention of stealing data over a long period of time (weeks or even months).
Analytical Engine#: Proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, incorporated with key concepts such as arithmetic logic unit, program control flow, and integrated memory.
Anonymous#: A decentralized, leaderless international collective of activists and computer hackers known as hacktivists.
Application Macro Language#: A specialized programming or command language built into a software program to automate repetitive tasks and control the application’s features.
Asymmetric algorithm#: Uses one key for encryption and a different key for decryption.
Backdoor#: A secret, hidden method that bypasses normal security and authentication processes to access a system or data.
Binary#: The base-2 numbering system consisting solely of 0 s and 1 s.
Black hat hacker#: Someone who violates computer or Internet security maliciously for illegal personal gain.
Blended threat#: A sophisticated threat that combines the faetures of a virus, worms, Trojan horse, and other malicious code into a single payload.
Bogus#: Data, packets, or code that is fake, incorrect, broken, or sent from an invalid source.
Botnet#: A large group of such computers, which are controlled from one or more remote locations by hackers, without the knowledge or consent of their owners.
Bring Your Own Device Policy#: A set of workplace rules that lets employees use their personal phones, tablets, or laptops to do work and access company networks.
Chaos Computer Club#: Europe’s largest and oldest association of hackers, focused on technology, privacy, and digital rights.
Cloud computing#: The delivery of computing services—including data storage, servers, databases, networking, and software—over the Internet on an on-demand basis.
Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart#: A security test used by websites to check if a user is a real human or an automated computer program.
Computer ethics#: A set of moral standards and philosophical guidelines that govern the responsible use of computers, digital systems, and technology.
Computer forensics#: A discipline that combines elements of law and computer science to identify, collect, examine, and preserve data from computer systems, networks, and storage devices in a manner that preserves the integrity of the data gathered so that it is admissible as evidence in a court of law.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act#: Addresses fraud and related activities in association with computers.
Con artist#: A person who deceives and manipulates others to steal their money, property, or sensitive data through a false sense of trust.
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act#: CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is a United States federal law that sets national rules and standards for commercial email and marketing messages; states that it is legal to spam, provided the messages meet a few basic requirements—spammers cannot disguise their identity by using a false return address, the email must include a label specifying that it is an ad or a solicitation, and the email must include a way for recipients to indicate that they do not want future mass mailings.
Counterfeit#: Unauthorized, fake software, hardware, or digital goods make to look authentic and sold to deceive buyers into thinking they are genuine.
Cracker#: An individual who causes problems, steals data, and corrupts systems.
Customer Relationship Management#: A combination of strategies, practices, and software tools that a company uses to manage and improve all interactions with current, past, and potential customers.
Cyber attack#: A deliberate attempt by malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to, disrupt, steal, or destroy computer systems, networks, or digital data.
Cybercriminal#: Someone who attacks a computer system or network for financial gain.
Cyberspionage#: Involved the deployment of malware that secretly steals data in the computer systems of organizations, such as government agencies, military contractors, political organizations, and manufacturing firms.
Cyberterrorism#: The intimidation of government or civilian population by using information technology to disable critical national infrastructure to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals.
Cyberterrorist#: Someone who attempts to destroy the infrastructure components of governments, financial institutions, and other corporations, utilities, and emergency response units.
Cyberthief#: A person who commits cybertheft, meaning they use computers, digital networks, or the internet to steal property, money, or personal data.
Delineates#: To describe, draw, or explain something with exact detail, or to mark the physical boundaries and outlines of an object or area.
Department of Defense#: An executive branch department of the federal government that coordinates and manages all agencies and functions of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Difference Engine#: Mechanical calculator designed to automatically produce tables of polynomial functions.
Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack#: A malicious hacker takes over computers via the Internet and causes the mto flood a target site with demands for data and other small tasks.
Divulging#: The act of making secret, private, or sensitive information known to other people.
Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer#: Or EDVAD; desigend based on the stored-program concept where instructions were stored in memory alongside data, allowing for greater flexibility and efficiency.
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer#: Or ENIAC; first meachine that could be programmed to solve a wide range of computational problems.
End-user#: The ultimate person who uses a software application, hardware device, or computer system for its intended practical purpose.
Enterprise Resource Planning#: A software platform that organizations use to manage and integrate their core day-to-day business processes, such as finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, and procurement, into a single shared system.
Entry point#: The specific vulnerability, device, or pathway that an attacker uses to gain initialized unauthorized access to a system, network, or application.
Espionage#: The act of secretly collecting confidential, classified, or military information without authorization.
Exploit#: A piece of code, a tool, or a technique that takes advantage of a security flaw or vulnerability in a system, software, or hardware.
Federal Bureau of Investigation#: The principal federal law enforcement and domestic intelligence agency of the United States.
Firewall#: A network security device that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on preset safety rules.
Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Access Devices Statute#: Covers false claims regarding unauthorized use of credit cards.
Gateway#: A hardware or software that links two different computer networks together. It translates data from one network protocol so it can travel safely to another, like connecting a home network to the Internet.
Hacktivist#: An individual who hacks computers or websites in an attempt to promote a political ideology.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act#: A United States federal law designed to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without consent.
IBM 701#: Or “Defense Calculator”; it was designed for scientific and engineering calculations.
Industrial spy#: An individual who captures trade secrets and attempts to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
Image log#: A recorded copy of data pages or records showing their state before (before-image) or after (after-image) a modification is made.
Incremental backup#: A data protection method that copies only the files or data blocks created or changed since the most recent backup of any kind.
Incursion#: More commonly referred to as a cyber intruction or system breach; an unauthorized electronic entry or attack that penetrates a network, database, or computer system’s security boundaries.
Internet Relay Chat#: A real-time, text-based communication protocol used for group discussions and private messaging.
Internet Service Provider#: A company that gives individuals, homes, and businesses access to the Internet.
Intrusion Detection System#: Software and/or hardware that monitors system and network resources and activities and notifies network security personnel when it detects network traffic that attempts to circumvent the security measures of a networked computer environment.
Lizard Squad#: A black-hat hacking group best known for launching large-scale distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against major gaming and technology networks.
Logic bomb#: A piece of malicious code secretly hidden inside a software system or network that stays dormant until a specific condition or trigger is met.
Macintosh#: First commercially successful personal computer to feature a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse.
Macro#: A single rule, pattern, or instruction that automatically expands into a larger sequence of commands or code.
Macro virus#: A malicious program hidden inside software macros—automated sequences of commands used in office applications like Microsoft Word or Excel.
Mainframe computer#: A high-performance, ultra-reliable enterprise system built to process massive volumnes of real-time transactions and bulk data securely for large organizations.
Malicious insider#: An employee or contractor who attempts to gain financially and/or disrupt a company’s information systems and business operations.
Malware#: Short for malicious software; an umbrella term for any program or code intentionally designed to damage, disrupt, steal from, or gain unauthorized access to a computer, server, or network.
Managed Security Service Provider#: A company that monitors, manages, and maintains computer and network security for other organizations.
Napier’s Bones#: Manually operated calculating device for performing multiplication.
National Security Agency#: A national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense focused on global monitoring, signals intelligence, and cybersecurity.
Next-Generation Firewall#: A hardware- or software-based network security system that is able to detect and block sophisticated attacks by filtering network traffic dependent on the packet contents.
Outbound data#: Information or traffix that originates inside a private network, device, or system and moves outward toward an external destination on the public Internet.
Pascaline#: Mechanical calculator, invented by Blaise Pascal, designed to perform arithmetic operations, specifically addition and subtraction.
Patch#: A piece of software code released by a vendor to fix a specific security flaw, bug, or vulnerability in an existing program or operating system.
Penetration Test#: A simulated, authorized cyberattack on a computer system, network, or application designed to find weak spots before malicious hackers can exploit them.
Phishing#: The act of fraudulently using email to try to get the recipient to reveal personal data.
Phony#: Something that is fake and not real, or an insincere person who tries to trick others.
Prevalence#: The state or fact of being widespread, common, or happening often.
Product Lifecycle Management#: The strategic process of managing a product’s complete journey from initial concept and design, through manufacturing and service, to its eventual retirement and disposal.
Prosecute#: Refers to the legal process of initiating and conducting criminal proceedings against individuals or groups who commit digital crimes.
Proxy server#: Serves as an intermediary between a web browser and another server on the Internet that makes requests to websites, servers, and services on the Internet for you.
Ransom#: A payment demanded by cybercriminals to restore access to a locked device or encrypted data. It is the core financial demand made during a Ransomware attack.
Ransomware#: A malware that stops you from using your computer or accessing your data until you meet certain demands, such as paying a ransom or sending photos to the attacker.
Reconnaissance#: The preliminary phase of getting information about a target system, network, or organization to identify vulnerabilities and plan a potential breach.
Registry key#: A folder-like container in the Windows registry database that stores configuration settings and othe keys.
Risk assessment#: The process of assessing security-related risks to an organization’s computers and networks from both internal and external threats.
Rootkit#: A set of programs that enables its user to gain administrator-level access to a computer without the end-user’s consent or knowledge.
Safeguard#: Any action, device, policy, or technical control used to reduce vulnerabilities and protect computer systems, networks, and data from harm, damage, or unauthorized access.
Sarbanes-Oxley#: A United States federal law enacted to protect investors by improving the accuracy, reliability, and transparency of corporate financial reporting.
Security audit#: A systematic, independent evaluation of an organization’s security infrastructure, policies, controls, and operations to identify vulnerabilities and ensure regulatory compliance.
Security breach#: Any incident where an unauthorized party gains access to a computer system, network, application, or device..
Security policy#: Defines an organization’s security requirements, as well as the controls and sanctions needed to meet those requirements.
Security vulnerability#: A weakness or flaw in a system, software, hardware, or process that an attacker can exploit to compromise data security or gain unauthorized access.
Smishing#: Another variation of phishing that involves the use of texting.
Spam#: Unsolicited, bulk messages sent over the internet or mobile networks.
Spear phishing#: A variation of phishing in which the phisher sends fraudulent emails to a certain organization’s employees.
Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access Statutes#: Focuses on unlawful access to stored communications to obtain, alter, or prevent authorized access to a wire or electronic communication while it is in electronic storage.
Surreptitiously#: Actions taken by software, hackers, or systems secretly, stealthily, and without the user’s knowledge or consent.
Symmetric algorithm#: Uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.
TeslaTeam#: A Serbian-based black-hat computer hacker group first formed in 2010. Operating as a self-described “virtual army,” the group is primarily known for conducting cyber attacks utilizing denial-of-service (DDoS) methods, website defacement, and other digital intrusion techniques.
The Sholes and Glidden Typewriter#: First successful commercial typerwriter. All keys are uppercase.
Trade secret#: Any confidential technical or commercial information—such as source code, proprietary algorithms, or internal software architecture—that gives a business a competitive advantage and is actively kept secret.
Transport Layer Security#: A communications protocol or system of rules that ensures privacy between communicating applications and their users on the Internet.
Trojan Horse#: A seemingly harmless program in which malicious code is hidden.
Ubiquitous#: Technology, data, or connectivity are present, accessible, and active everywhere at all times.
Universal Automatic Computer#: Or UNIVAC; was the first commercially available computer in the United States. It was designed for business applications.
USA Patriot Act#: Defines cyberterrorism and associated penalties.
Virtualization#: A technology that uses software to create a simulated, or virtual, version of a physical computer system, server, storage device, or network.
Virtual Private Network#: A service that creates a safe, encrypted connection between your device and the Internet.
Virus#: A piece of programming code, usually disguised as something else, that causes a computer to behave in an unexpected and unusually undesirable manner.
Vishing#: Similar to smishing except that the victims receive a voice-mail message telling them to call a phone number or access a website.
Vulnerability Equities Process#: A U.S. government interagency framework used to decide whether to disclose a newly discovered zero-day software flaw to a vendor for patching or to withhold it for national security and law enforcement operations.
White hat hacker#: Someone who has been hired by an organization to test the security of its information systems.
Wireless Protected Access 2#: Most commonly used security protocol for wireless networks.
Worm#: A harmful program that resides in the active memory of the computer and duplicates itself.
Zero-day Exploit#: A cyberattack that targets a software or hardware flaw before the developer knows about the problem or has a chance to fix it.