Cyber Security Glossary

Find definitions for IT security and compliance in our online glossary of key terms, acronyms, and vocabulary.

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  • Term
    Definition
  • Definition: A discussion-based exercise where personnel meet in a classroom setting or breakout groups and are presented with a scenario to validate the content of plans, procedures, policies, cooperative agreements or other information for managing an incident.
  • Definition: A cyberspace environment that provides a user with confidence in its security, using automated mechanisms to ascertain security conditions and adjust the level of security based on the user's context and in the face of an evolving range of threats.
  • "the process of finding and acquiring skilled human labor for organizational needs and to meet any labor requirement."
  • A long strip of magnetic coated plastic used to record computer data.
  • "a method for solving a problem that an AI algorithm parses its training data to find. Once an algorithm finds its target function, that function can be used to predict results (predictive analysis). The function can then be used to find output data related to inputs for real problems where,(...)
  • Definition: In the NICE Framework, cybersecurity work where a person: Applies current knowledge of one or more regions, countries, non-state entities, and/or technologies.
  • "The performance of a discrete activity with a defined start, stop, and outcome that cannot be broken down to a finer level of detail."
  • "Taxonomy refers to classification according to presumed natural relationships among types and their subtypes."
  • "the practice of slapping a trendy, new label on legacy solutions."
  • "Security controls (i.e., safeguards or countermeasures) for an information system that are primarily implemented and executed by the information system through mechanisms contained in the hardware, software, or firmware components of the system."
  • "See technochauvinism."
  • "The belief that technology is always the solution"
  • Definition: In the NICE Framework, cybersecurity work where a person: Conducts technology assessment and integration processes; provides and supports a prototype capability and/or evaluates its utility.
  • A terabyte is a measure of computer data storage capacity and is one thousand billion (1,000,000,000,000) bytes. 
  • "Technical operation to determine one or more characteristics of or to evaluate the performance of a given product, material, equipment, organism, physical phenomenon, process or service according to a specified procedure."
  • Definition: In the NICE Framework, cybersecurity work where a person: Develops and conducts tests of systems to evaluate compliance with specifications and requirements by applying principles and methods for cost-effective planning, evaluating, verifying, and validating of technical,(...)
  • "A framework for assessing, incorporating methods and metrics to determine that a technology or system satisfactorily meets its design specifications and requirements, and that it is sufficient for its intended use."
  • "an entity that is involved in some way in an interaction that is primarily between two other entities. [Please see note, especially regarding NIST CSRC terms that we might incorporate into this definition.]"
  • Definition: A circumstance or event that has or indicates the potential to exploit vulnerabilities and to adversely impact (create adverse consequences for) organizational operations, organizational assets (including information and information systems), individuals, other organizations, or(...)
  • "See bad actor."
  • Definition: An individual, group, organization, or government that conducts or has the intent to conduct detrimental activities. Related Term(s): adversary, attacker
  • Definition: In the NICE Framework, cybersecurity work where a person: Identifies and assesses the capabilities and activities of cyber criminals or foreign intelligence entities; produces findings to help initialize or support law enforcement and counterintelligence investigations or activities.
  • Definition: The product or process of identifying or evaluating entities, actions, or occurrences, whether natural or man-made, that have or indicate the potential to harm life, information, operations, and/or property.Related Term(s): threat analysis
  • "Most financial institutions follow a three-lines-of-defense model, which separates front line groups, which are generally accountable for business risks (the First Line), from other risk oversight and independent challenge groups (the Second Line) and assurance (the Third Line)"
  • Definition: In access control, data that authenticates the identity of a client or a service and, together with a temporary encryption key (a session key), forms a credential.