Cybersecurity Glossary

A

Authentication

The process of verifying that a user or system is who it claims to be.

Antivirus

Software designed to detect, block, and remove known malicious programs.

B

Botnet

A network of infected devices remotely controlled to perform coordinated malicious actions.

Breach

An incident in which sensitive or protected data is accessed without authorization.

C

CAPTCHA

A challenge used to distinguish human users from automated bots.

Cyber Hygiene

Routine practices that keep systems and accounts healthy and secure.

D

DDoS

A distributed denial-of-service attack that overwhelms a system with traffic to disrupt availability.

Data Encryption

Converting data into unreadable form to protect it from unauthorized access.

E

Encryption

A method of encoding data so only authorized parties can read it.

Endpoint

Any device — laptop, phone, server — connected to a network.

F

Firewall

A system that filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules.

False Positive

An alert that incorrectly flags legitimate activity as malicious.

H

Hashing

A one-way function that converts data into a fixed-length string, commonly used for password storage.

I

IAM

Identity and Access Management — systems that control who can access which resources.

Incident Response

The structured process an organization follows after a security event.

M

Malware

Any software intentionally designed to cause damage or unauthorized access.

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication — requiring two or more verification methods to log in.

P

Phishing

A social engineering technique that tricks users into revealing sensitive information.

Patch

An update released by a vendor to fix a security vulnerability.

R

Ransomware

Malware that encrypts files and demands payment for their release.

Risk Assessment

The process of identifying and evaluating potential security threats.

S

Social Engineering

Manipulating people into divulging confidential information or performing actions.

Spyware

Software that secretly monitors and collects user activity.

T

Threat Actor

An individual or group responsible for a cyberattack or malicious activity.

Two-Factor Authentication

A security process requiring two different verification methods.

V

VPN

Virtual Private Network — encrypts internet traffic and masks the user's IP address.

Vulnerability

A weakness in a system that could be exploited to cause harm.

X

XSS

Cross-Site Scripting — a vulnerability allowing attackers to inject scripts into trusted websites.

Z

Zero-Day

A vulnerability that is exploited before the vendor has released a fix.