Cyber Glossary

A fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information like usernames, passwords, or credit card details by impersonating a trustworthy entity in an email or message.Example: An email appearing to be from Netflix asking you to update your payment details via a malicious link.

A highly targeted phishing attack aimed at a specific individual or organization, often using personalized information to appear more credible.Example: An attacker emailing a company's accountant, pretending to be the CEO and urgently requesting a money transfer.

Voice phishing; the use of phone calls to deceive people into revealing personal information.Example: A scammer calling you, pretending to be from your bank's fraud department, and asking for your card details to "stop a fraudulent transaction".

Phishing conducted via SMS text messages.Example: A text message claiming you have a package delivery and must click a link and pay a small fee, which steals your credit card info.

Disguising a communication from an unknown source as being from a known, trusted source. This can apply to emails, phone numbers, or websites.Example: An email that appears to be from "support@microsoft.com" but is actually from an attacker.

A Distributed Denial of Service attack floods a server with internet traffic from many different sources to prevent legitimate users from accessing it.Example: A group of attackers using thousands of infected computers to overwhelm a gaming server, making it unavailable for players.

A Man-In-The-Middle attack where an attacker secretly intercepts and relays messages between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other.Example: An attacker on a public Wi-Fi network intercepting your data as you log into your online banking.

A code injection technique used to attack data-driven applications, in which malicious SQL statements are inserted into an entry field for execution.Example: An attacker entering malicious code into a website's login form to bypass authentication and access the database.

Cross-Site Scripting involves injecting malicious scripts into trusted websites, which then run on a victim's browser.Example: A hacker posting a malicious script in a comment on a blog, which then steals session cookies from other users who view the comment.

A type of malware that encrypts a victim's files, making them inaccessible. The attacker then demands a ransom to restore access.Example: The WannaCry attack that locked files on computers in hospitals and businesses worldwide, demanding Bitcoin for their release.

An umbrella term for any malicious software designed to harm or exploit any programmable device, service or network. This includes viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, and spyware.

Software that generates revenue for its developer by automatically generating unwanted online advertisements in the user interface of the software or on a screen.Example: A free program that, once installed, constantly shows pop-up ads in your web browser.

Malware that secretly observes the user's activities on their computer and gathers information without their consent.Example: A program that records your browsing history and login credentials and sends them to an attacker.

Malware that misleads users of its true intent by disguising itself as a legitimate program.Example: A file that looks like a free game installer but, when run, also installs a keylogger on your system.

A collection of malicious software tools that enable an unauthorized user to gain control of a computer system without being detected.Example: A rootkit could hide a keylogger from the operating system and antivirus software.

A network of private computers infected with malicious software and controlled as a group without the owners' knowledge, e.g., to send spam or launch DDoS attacks.Example: The Mirai botnet infected thousands of IoT devices (like cameras) to launch massive DDoS attacks.

A vulnerability in a system or device that has been disclosed but is not yet patched. An exploit that attacks a zero-day vulnerability is called a zero-day exploit.Example: An attacker discovers a new flaw in an operating system and uses it to hack systems before the software vendor can release a fix.

The unintentional download of software to a computer, which can happen by visiting a malicious website, opening a malicious email, or clicking a deceptive pop-up window.Example: Visiting a compromised website that automatically installs malware on your computer in the background.

A trial-and-error method used to decode encrypted data such as passwords or data files, through exhaustive effort rather than intellectual strategies.Example: A script repeatedly trying all possible character combinations to guess your email password.

A form of brute force attack that uses a large list of common words and phrases (a "dictionary") to guess a password.Example: An attacker trying "password123", "qwerty", and other common passwords from a list to break into an account.

A type of spyware that records every keystroke made on a computer. This can be used to steal passwords and other sensitive information.Example: A hardware device plugged into a keyboard cable, or software installed on a PC, that logs everything a user types.

A malicious technique of tricking a user into clicking on something different from what the user perceives, thus potentially revealing confidential information or taking control of their computer.Example: A fake "Win a Prize" button placed invisibly over the "Like" button of a Facebook page.

A piece of code intentionally inserted into a software system that will set off a malicious function when specified conditions are met.Example: A disgruntled employee inserting code that deletes all company files if their name is removed from the employee payroll system.

An attack where an attacker takes control of a user's session to gain unauthorized access to a system or service.Example: Stealing a user's session cookie from their browser to access their logged-in social media account without needing the password.

A strategy where an attacker compromises a website frequently visited by a specific group of users, rather than attacking the targets directly.Example: An attacker hacking a popular industry news website to infect the computers of employees from a specific company who visit that site.

A foundational model for information security policies, covering three core principles: Confidentiality (restricting access), Integrity (ensuring data is not altered), and Availability (ensuring systems are accessible).Example: A bank must keep your account details secret (Confidentiality), ensure your balance is accurate (Integrity), and allow you to access your account via ATM anytime (Availability).

The process of verifying the identity of a user or system, confirming that they are who they claim to be.Example: Entering your password to log into your email account.

The process of granting or denying a user or system specific permissions to access resources after they have been authenticated.Example: A regular employee can view company files, but only a manager is authorized to edit or delete them.

The process of converting data into a code (ciphertext) to prevent unauthorized access. Only users with the correct key can read it.Example: WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to ensure only the sender and receiver can read messages.

The process of converting encrypted data (ciphertext) back into its original, readable form (plaintext) using a specific key.Example: Your phone using a key to turn an encrypted WhatsApp message back into readable text.

A one-way process that converts an input of any size into a fixed-size string of text. It's not reversible.Example: Websites store a hash of your password instead of the password itself. When you log in, they hash your input and compare it to the stored hash.

A random piece of data added to a password before it is hashed. This ensures that even identical passwords will have different hashes, making them harder to crack.Example: Adding "aXyZ123" to a password before hashing it.

An electronic, encrypted stamp of authentication on digital information such as email messages, macros, or electronic documents. It ensures the information originated from the signer and has not been altered.Example: Companies using a digital signature to sign official electronic documents like invoices.

The assurance that someone cannot deny the validity of something. It provides proof of the origin, integrity, and submission of data.Example: A digital signature on a contract ensures the signer cannot later deny they signed it.

Security policies and procedures that control who can access what resources in a computing environment.Example: A system that allows only authenticated users with specific permissions to access sensitive project files.

Multi-Factor Authentication is a security method that requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource.Example: Logging into your Google account with your password (something you know) and a code sent to your phone (something you have).

A security process that relies on the unique biological characteristics of an individual to verify their identity.Example: Unlocking your smartphone using your fingerprint or Face ID.

An Intrusion Detection System is a device or software application that monitors a network for malicious activity or policy violations and reports it.Example: An IDS alerts a system administrator when it detects a potential hacking attempt on the company network.

An Intrusion Prevention System is a network security tool that not only detects malicious activity but also takes automated action to block it.Example: An IPS automatically blocks traffic from a suspicious IP address that is trying to scan the network for vulnerabilities.

A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.Example: A firewall on your home router blocking unauthorized connection attempts from the internet.

A decoy computer system set up to attract and trap cyberattackers, allowing security professionals to study their methods.Example: A fake, vulnerable server designed to look like a real company server to see how hackers try to break in.

A Virtual Private Network creates a secure, encrypted connection over a less secure network, such as the public internet.Example: Using a company VPN to securely access internal files while working from home.

An intermediary server that separates end users from the websites they browse, acting on their behalf.Example: A school using a proxy server to filter and block students from accessing inappropriate websites.

A formal document that outlines the rules, regulations, and procedures for protecting an organization's assets from threats.Example: A company policy that requires all employees to use strong passwords and change them every 90 days.

A systematic evaluation of the security of a company's information system by measuring how well it conforms to a set of established criteria.Example: An external firm being hired to review a bank's security practices and find weaknesses.

The process of identifying, analyzing, and evaluating potential risks to an organization's information assets.Example: A company analyzing the financial and reputational damage that would result from a data breach.

A weakness or flaw in a computer system, security procedure, or internal control that could be exploited by a threat actor.Example: Outdated software that has not been patched with the latest security updates.

A piece of software, data, or sequence of commands that takes advantage of a bug or vulnerability to cause unintended behavior on a computer system.Example: A program specifically designed to take advantage of an unpatched software flaw to gain control of a system.

An organized approach to addressing and managing the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack. The goal is to handle the situation in a way that limits damage and reduces recovery time and costs.Example: A company's predefined plan for what to do when a ransomware attack is discovered.

A piece of software code designed to update a program or its supporting data, typically to fix security vulnerabilities or other bugs.Example: Microsoft releasing a "Windows Update" to fix a newly discovered security flaw.

A popular and free open-source packet analyzer used for network troubleshooting, analysis, and communications protocol development.Example: A network admin using Wireshark to inspect network traffic and diagnose a connectivity issue.

A free and open-source network scanner for network discovery and security auditing. It can identify what hosts are available on the network, what services those hosts are offering, and what operating systems they are running.Example: A security analyst running an Nmap scan to identify all open ports on a server.

A widely used penetration testing framework that makes hacking simpler for attackers and defenders. It contains a suite of tools to test for vulnerabilities.Example: An ethical hacker using Metasploit to simulate an attack on a company's network to find weaknesses.

An integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications. Its tools work together to support the entire testing process.Example: A tester using Burp Suite to intercept and modify traffic between their browser and a web application to find flaws.

A popular and proprietary vulnerability scanner that scans for potential vulnerabilities in computer systems.Example: An IT team using Nessus to automatically scan all company computers for missing security patches.

An open-source web server scanner that performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including dangerous files/programs and outdated software versions.Example: Running Nikto against a website to find outdated server software.

The Zed Attack Proxy is a free, open-source penetration testing tool for finding vulnerabilities in web applications.Example: A developer using ZAP to automatically scan their web application for common security issues like SQL Injection.

A free, open-source password cracking tool used by security professionals to test password strength.Example: Using "John" to try and crack a list of hashed passwords to see how many are weak.

A parallelized network login cracker which supports numerous protocols to attack. It is very fast and flexible.Example: An ethical hacker using Hydra to test if a login form is vulnerable to rapid, automated password guessing (a brute-force attack).

A complete suite of tools to assess Wi-Fi network security. It focuses on monitoring, attacking, testing, and cracking Wi-Fi security.Example: A security professional using Aircrack-ng to test the strength of a company's Wi-Fi password.

A tool for open-source intelligence (OSINT) and graphical link analysis for gathering and connecting information.Example: An investigator using Maltego to visually map relationships between people, companies, and websites from public data.

A search engine that lets the user find specific types of computers (webcams, routers, servers, etc.) connected to the internet.Example: A researcher using Shodan to find out how many unsecured webcams are publicly accessible online.

A full-featured vulnerability scanner. Its capabilities include unauthenticated testing, authenticated testing, various high-level and low-level Internet and industrial protocols.Example: A system admin using OpenVAS to get a detailed report of vulnerabilities on their network.

An open-source intrusion prevention system (IPS) and intrusion detection system (IDS). It can perform real-time traffic analysis and packet logging.Example: Setting up Snort to monitor network traffic and send an alert if it detects a known malware signature.

An open-source antivirus engine for detecting trojans, viruses, malware, and other malicious threats.Example: Integrating ClamAV into a mail server to scan all incoming emails for viruses.

A digital forensics platform and graphical interface to The Sleuth Kit and other digital forensics tools.Example: A forensic investigator using Autopsy to analyze a hard drive image and recover deleted files from a suspect's computer.

The Forensic Toolkit is a computer forensics software that scans a hard drive looking for various information.Example: Law enforcement using FTK Imager to create a forensic copy of a computer's hard drive for evidence.

A tool for gathering open-source intelligence (OSINT) such as e-mail accounts, subdomains, and user names from public sources.Example: A penetration tester using TheHarvester to find employee email addresses of a target company.

An open-source penetration testing tool that automates the process of detecting and exploiting SQL injection flaws.Example: Using sqlmap to automatically test if a website parameter is vulnerable to SQL injection and extracting database information.

A networking utility for reading from and writing to network connections using TCP or UDP. It is known as the "Swiss-army knife for TCP/IP".Example: Using Netcat to test if a specific port is open on a remote server.

The Onion Router is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication by directing Internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer overlay network.Example: A journalist using the Tor Browser to research sensitive topics without revealing their location.

Security-Enhanced Linux is a Linux kernel security module that provides a mechanism for supporting access control security policies.Example: Configuring SELinux on a web server to restrict the web server process from accessing files outside its designated directories.

Gnu Privacy Guard is a free implementation of the OpenPGP standard that allows you to encrypt and sign your data and communications.Example: Using GnuPG to encrypt an email to ensure only the intended recipient can read it.

A Debian-derived Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing. It comes preinstalled with numerous security tools.Example: A cybersecurity student using Kali Linux in a virtual machine to practice ethical hacking techniques.

Another Debian-based Linux distribution geared towards security, privacy, and development. It provides a suite of tools for penetration testing and digital forensics.Example: A security researcher using Parrot OS for its anonymity tools and development environment.

A set of practices that computer users should do regularly to maintain the health and security of their devices and data.Example: Regularly changing passwords, using two-factor authentication, and being cautious about opening suspicious emails.

An individual or group that performs a cyberattack. They can range from individual hackers to organized crime groups or state-sponsored entities.Example: A nation-state group that targets another country's government agencies to steal classified information.

A security risk that originates from within the targeted organization. It can be a current or former employee, contractor, or business partner.Example: A disgruntled employee selling confidential company data to a competitor.

The psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.Example: An attacker calling an employee, pretending to be from IT support, to trick them into revealing their password.

A part of the World Wide Web that exists on darknets, overlay networks that use the internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access.Example: Illegal marketplaces selling stolen credit card data or drugs operate on the Dark Web.

The part of the World Wide Web whose contents are not indexed by standard web search engines.Example: Your online banking portal, email inbox, and company-internal websites are all part of the Deep Web.

The portion of the World Wide Web that is readily available to the general public and searchable with standard web search engines.Example: Public websites like Wikipedia, news sites, and blogs.

The component of a piece of malware that performs the intended malicious action, such as destroying data, sending spam, or encrypting files.Example: The payload of a ransomware virus is the code that encrypts the victim's files.

An incident that results in the confirmed disclosure—not just potential exposure—of data to an unauthorized party.Example: A hacker successfully bypassing security and downloading a database of customer information.

The use of computer networks to gain illicit access to confidential information, typically held by a government or other organization.Example: A foreign government hacking into a defense contractor's network to steal new weapon designs.

The use of the internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation.Example: Hacking into a country's power grid to cause a massive blackout.

The unauthorized copying, transfer, or retrieval of data from a computer or server.Example: Malware on a corporate laptop secretly sending copies of sensitive documents to an external server controlled by an attacker.

A secure, isolated environment in which a program or file can be executed without affecting the application or system on which it runs.Example: Security software opening a suspicious email attachment in a sandbox to see if it behaves like malware.

A reward offered by many websites, organizations and software developers to individuals who find and report security exploits and vulnerabilities.Example: Google paying a researcher thousands of dollars for discovering a critical vulnerability in their web browser.

The accidental exposure of sensitive information due to an internal error, misconfiguration, or failure of security controls.Example: A company accidentally leaving a database with customer information on a publicly accessible server without a password.

An incident where information is stolen or taken from a system without the knowledge or authorization of the system’s owner. This is often the result of a targeted cyberattack.Example: A hacker actively breaking into a company's servers to steal customer data.

The act of secretly listening to the private communication of others without their consent. In cybersecurity, this refers to intercepting data traffic.Example: An attacker using a packet sniffer on an unsecure Wi-Fi network to read unencrypted emails.

Evidence-based knowledge, including context, mechanisms, indicators, implications, and actionable advice, about an existing or emerging menace or hazard to assets.Example: A report that details the specific hacking tools and IP addresses used by a particular cybercrime group.

An organization's overall cybersecurity strength and resilience. It includes network security, information security, employee training, and data protection policies.Example: A company with a strong security posture has up-to-date software, well-trained employees, and a robust incident response plan.

An international standard on how to manage information security. It details requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS).Example: A company becoming ISO 27001 certified to prove to its customers that it has high security standards.

The General Data Protection Regulation is a law on data protection and privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area. It has influenced data protection laws globally.Example: Any company that processes data of EU citizens must comply with GDPR rules for consent and data handling.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, is India’s comprehensive law for the protection of digital personal data. It outlines the rights of individuals and the obligations of entities that process data.Example: Under the DPDP Act, an Indian company must obtain clear consent from a user before collecting and using their personal data.

Also known as a pen test, it is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system.Example: Hiring ethical hackers to try and break into your company's website to find vulnerabilities before real hackers do.

A group of security professionals who act as adversaries to test an organization's security. They simulate the tactics and techniques of real-life attackers.Example: A bank's red team attempting to bypass security and access sensitive data to test the bank's defenses.

A group of security professionals who have the responsibility for defending an enterprise's information systems against threats and attacks.Example: The blue team at a company monitors security alerts and responds to any detected intrusion attempts.