Archives: Glossary Terms

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a widely adopted symmetric block cipher algorithm used to encrypt electronic data. Here’s a breakdown of what that means: Key characteristics of AES: In essence, AES is a fundamental building block in cybersecurity, used to ensure the confidentiality of digital information across various applications, including: Read more

API refers to the Application Programming Interface, and API security is the practice of protecting these interfaces from attacks. Here’s a breakdown: In essence, API security is crucial for protecting the integrity and confidentiality of data, ensuring the availability of services, and maintaining the trust of users and customers. Read more

A Botnet is a network of computers or devices infected with malware and controlled by an attacker, often without the owners’ knowledge. Each compromised device, referred to as a “bot” or “zombie”, operates under the control of a central entity called a botmaster or bot herder. Botnets are commonly used for malicious purposes, such as… Read more

Command and Control (C2) refers to the mechanisms that attackers use to communicate with and control compromised systems within a target network. These systems, often referred to as “infected hosts” or “bots,” are typically part of a broader cyberattack strategy, such as malware campaigns, botnets, or advanced persistent threats (APTs). Purpose of Command and Control:… Read more

Common Event Format. It is an open standard format for logging security events that is designed to help organizations aggregate and analyze event data from multiple security systems. CEF is commonly used by security information and event management (SIEM) systems to collect, store, and correlate data from different sources in a standardized way. Key Features… Read more

CIA Triad The CIA Triad is a foundational model in cybersecurity that defines the key principles for ensuring secure systems and data. It consists of three core elements: 1. Confidentiality 2. Integrity 3. Availability Why It Matters The CIA Triad serves as a guiding framework for designing and evaluating security systems, helping organizations balance priorities… Read more

Common Vulnerability Scoring System In simpler terms: Imagine CVSS as a standardized scale for measuring the “danger” of a software flaw. It helps organizations understand which vulnerabilities pose the greatest threat and focus their resources on addressing the most critical issues first. Note: CVSS is an evolving standard with several versions (e.g., CVSS v2, CVSS… Read more

Distributed Denial of Service attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a target—such as a website, server, or network—by overwhelming it with a flood of traffic from multiple sources. The primary goal of a DDoS attack is to make the target unavailable to legitimate users, causing service interruptions, reputational damage, or… Read more

Definition: In cybersecurity, DER – Distinguished Encoding Rules is a strictly defined subset of the Basic Encoding Rules (BER) used for encoding Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) data structures. ASN.1 is a standard interface description language for defining data structures that can be serialized and transmitted across a network.   How it Works in a… Read more

DKIM is an email authentication method that allows the recipient to verify that an email was not altered during transit and that it was sent by an authorized sender for a particular domain. This helps protect against email spoofing and ensures email integrity. How DKIM Works: DKIM Signature Example: A DKIM-Signature header in an email… Read more