Network security

Terms related to network security, including definitions about intrusion prevention and words and phrases about VPNs and firewalls.

encryption key - In cryptography, an encryption key is a variable value that is applied using an algorithm to a string or block of unencrypted text to produce encrypted text or to decrypt encrypted text.
encryption key management - Encryption key management is the practice of generating, organizing, protecting, storing, backing up and distributing encryption keys.
end-to-end encryption (E2EE) - End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a method of secure communication that prevents third parties from accessing data while it's transferred from one end system or device to another.
ethical hacker - An ethical hacker, or white hat hacker, is an information security expert authorized by an organization to penetrate computing infrastructure to find security vulnerabilities a malicious hacker could exploit.
evil twin attack - An evil twin attack is a rogue Wi-Fi access point (AP) that masquerades as a legitimate one, enabling an attacker to gain access to sensitive information without the end user's knowledge.
facial recognition - Facial recognition is a category of biometric software that maps an individual's facial features to confirm their identity.
Faraday cage - A Faraday cage is a metallic enclosure that prevents the entry or escape of an electromagnetic field (EM field).
FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security) - FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security) is a network management framework created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
FFIEC compliance (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) - FFIEC compliance is conformance to a set of standards for online banking issued in October 2005 by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).
FIDO (Fast Identity Online) - FIDO (Fast Identity Online) is a set of technology-agnostic security specifications for strong authentication.
filter (computing) - The term filter in computing can mean a variety of things, depending on the technology or technical discipline in question.
firewall - A firewall is a network security device that prevents unauthorized access to a network.
firewall as a service (FWaaS) - Firewall as a service (FWaaS), also known as a cloud firewall, is a service that provides cloud-based network traffic analysis capabilities to customers as part of an overall cybersecurity program.
Five Eyes Alliance - The Five Eyes Alliance (abbreviated as FVEY in government documents) is a cooperative intelligence network that monitors the electronic communications of citizens and foreign governments.
flow routing - Flow routing is a network routing technology that takes variations in the flow of data into account to increase routing efficiency.
footprinting - Footprinting is an ethical hacking technique used to gather as much data as possible about a specific targeted computer system, an infrastructure and networks to identify opportunities to penetrate them.
frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) - Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) transmission is the repeated switching of the carrier frequency during radio transmission to reduce interference and avoid interception.
Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) - Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a protocol that encapsulates packets in order to route various protocols over Internet Protocol (IP) networks.
going dark - Going dark describes a scenario in which communication appears to have ceased, but in reality has just moved from a public communication channel to a private, encrypted channel.
Google dork query - A Google dork query, sometimes just referred to as a dork, is a search string or custom query that uses advanced search operators to find information not readily available on a website.
GPS jamming - GPS jamming is the act of using a frequency transmitting device to block or interfere with radio communications.
GPS tracking - GPS tracking is the surveillance of location through use of the Global Positioning System (GPS ) to track the location of an entity or object remotely.
hacker - A hacker is an individual who uses computer, networking or other skills to overcome a technical problem.
hacking as a service (HaaS) - Hacking as a service (HaaS) is the commercialization of hacking skills, in which the hacker serves as a contractor.
hacktivism - Hacktivism is the act of misusing a computer system or network for a socially or politically motivated reason.
hard-drive encryption - Hard-drive encryption is a technology that encrypts the data stored on a hard drive using sophisticated mathematical functions.
hardware security - Hardware security is vulnerability protection that comes in the form of a physical device rather than software that's installed on the hardware of a computer system.
hashing - Hashing is the process of transforming any given key or a string of characters into another value.
Heartbleed - Heartbleed was a vulnerability in some implementations of OpenSSL, an open source cryptographic library.
honeynet - A honeynet is a network set up with intentional vulnerabilities hosted on a decoy server to attract hackers.
honeypot (computing) - A honeypot is a network-attached system set up as a decoy to lure cyber attackers and detect, deflect and study hacking attempts to gain unauthorized access to information systems.
host intrusion prevention system (HIPS) - A host intrusion prevention system (HIPS) is an approach to security that relies on third-party software tools to identify and prevent malicious activities.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) - Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a protocol that secures communication and data transfer between a user's web browser and a website.
identity theft - Identity theft, also known as identity fraud, is a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of personally identifiable information (PII), such as Social Security or driver's license numbers, to impersonate someone else.
incident response team - An incident response team is a group of IT professionals in charge of preparing for and reacting to any type of organizational emergency.
industrial espionage - Industrial espionage is the covert, and sometimes illegal, practice of investigating competitors to gain a business advantage.
ingress filtering - Ingress filtering is a method used by enterprises and internet service providers to prevent suspicious traffic from entering a network.
initialization vector - An initialization vector (IV) is an arbitrary number that can be used with a secret key for data encryption to foil cyber attacks.
input validation attack - An input validation attack is any malicious action against a computer system that involves manually entering strange information into a normal user input field.
insider threat - An insider threat is a category of risk posed by those who have access to an organization's physical or digital assets.
International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) - The International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) is a symmetric key block cipher encryption algorithm designed to encrypt text to an unreadable format for transmission via the internet.
international private leased circuit (IPLC) - An international private leased circuit (IPLC) is a point-to-point private line used by an organization to communicate between offices that are dispersed throughout the world.
Internet Key Exchange (IKE) - Internet Key Exchange (IKE) is a standard protocol used to set up a secure and authenticated communication channel between two parties via a virtual private network (VPN).
Internet porn - Internet porn is sexually explicit content made available online in various formats including images, video files, video games and streaming video.
IoT security (internet of things security) - IoT security (internet of things security) is the technology segment focused on safeguarding connected devices and networks in IoT.
ISA Server - Microsoft's ISA Server (Internet Security and Acceleration Server) was the successor to Microsoft's Proxy Server 2.
island hopping attack - In this type of backdoor attack, the threat actor exploits a weakness downstream from the actual target and uses it as a launching point to reach the intended target.
ISO 27001 - ISO 27001, formally known as ISO/IEC 27001:2022, is an information security standard created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which provides a framework and guidelines for establishing, implementing and managing an information security management system (ISMS).
Kerberos - Kerberos is a protocol for authenticating service requests between trusted hosts across an untrusted network, such as the internet.
key fob - A key fob is a small, programmable device that provides access to a physical object.
keylogger (keystroke logger or system monitor) - A keylogger, sometimes called a keystroke logger, is a type of surveillance technology used to monitor and record each keystroke on a specific device, such as a computer or smartphone.
Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) - Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is an extension of the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) used by an internet service provider (ISP) to enable the operation of a virtual private network (VPN) over the internet.
LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol) - LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol) is a Cisco-proprietary version of EAP, the authentication protocol used in wireless networks and Point-to-Point connections.
logic bomb - A logic bomb is a string of malicious code that is inserted intentionally into a program to harm a network when certain conditions are met.
Luhn algorithm (modulus 10) - The Luhn algorithm, also called modulus 10 or modulus 10 algorithm, is a simple mathematical formula used to validate a user's identification numbers.
LUN masking - LUN masking is an authorization mechanism used in storage area networks (SANs) to make LUNs available to some hosts but unavailable to other hosts.
man in the browser (MitB) - Man in the browser (MitB) is a security attack where the perpetrator installs a Trojan horse on the victim's computer that is capable of modifying that user's web transactions.
Massachusetts data protection law - What is the Massachusetts data protection law?The Massachusetts data protection law is legislation that stipulates security requirements for organizations that handle the private data of residents.
MD5 - The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) hashing algorithm is a one-way cryptographic function that accepts a message of any length as input and returns as output a fixed-length digest value to be used for authenticating the original message.
meet-in-the-middle attack - Meet-in-the-middle is a known plaintext attack that can greatly reduce the number of brute-force permutations required to decrypt text that has been encrypted by more than one key.
Melissa virus - Melissa was a type of email virus that initially become an issue in early 1999.
MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) - MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) is a technology invented in the 1950s that's used to verify the legitimacy or originality of checks and other paper documents.
microsegmentation - Microsegmentation is a security technique that splits a network into definable zones and uses policies to dictate how data and applications within those zones can be accessed and controlled.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) - Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is a cloud-based service that provides email filtering designed to protect organizations against spam, malware, and other email-based threats.
Microsoft Network Policy and Access Services (Microsoft NPAS) - Microsoft Network Policy and Access Services (Microsoft NPAS) is a server role in Windows 2008 and Windows Server 2012 that allows administrators to provide local and remote network access.
Microsoft Online Services Sign-In Assistant - The Microsoft Online Services Sign-In Assistant is a software application that provides common sign-on capabilities for a suite of Microsoft online services, such as Office 365.
Microsoft Schannel (Microsoft Secure Channel) - The Microsoft Secure Channel, or Schannel, is a security support package that facilitates the use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption on Windows platforms.
Microsoft Windows Credential Guard - Microsoft Credential Guard is a security feature in Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) that isolates user credentials, such as login information, from the rest of the operating system.
mobile security (wireless security) - Mobile security, also known as wireless security, refers to the measures taken to protect smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and other portable computing devices and the networks they connect to, from threats and vulnerabilities associated with wireless computing.
multifactor authentication - Multifactor authentication (MFA) is an account login process that requires multiple methods of authentication from independent categories of credentials to verify a user's identity for a login or other transaction.
mutual authentication - Mutual authentication, also called two-way authentication, is a process or technology in which both entities in a communications link authenticate each other.
national identity card - A national identity card is a portable document, typically a plasticized card with digitally embedded information, that is used to verify aspects of a person's identity.
near-field communication (NFC) - Near-field communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that uses magnetic field induction to enable communication between devices when they're touched together or brought within a few centimeters of each other.
Nessus - Nessus is a platform developed by Tenable that scans for security vulnerabilities in devices, applications, operating systems, cloud services and other network resources.
network access control (NAC) - Network access control (NAC), also called network admission control, is a method to bolster the security, visibility and access management of a proprietary network.
network analyzer (protocol analyzer or packet analyzer) - A network analyzer -- also called a network protocol analyzer or packet analyzer -- is a software application, dedicated appliance or feature set within a network component used in network performance troubleshooting or to enhance protection against malicious activity within a corporate network.
network operations center (NOC) - A network operations center (NOC) is a centralized place from which enterprise information technology (IT) administrators -- either internal or third party -- supervise, monitor and maintain a telecommunications network.
network security - Network security encompasses all the steps taken to protect the integrity of a computer network and the data within it.
network vulnerability scanning - Network vulnerability scanning is the process of inspecting and reporting potential vulnerabilities and security loopholes on a computer, network, web application or other device, including firewalls, switches, routers and wireless access points.
NICE Framework (National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Cybersecurity Workforce Framework) - The NICE Framework (National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Cybersecurity Workforce Framework) is a reference resource that classifies the typical skill requirements and duties of cybersecurity workers.
nonrepudiation - Nonrepudiation ensures that no party can deny that it sent or received a message via encryption and/or digital signatures or approved some information.
OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) - OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) is one of two common schemes used to maintain the security of a server and other network resources.
offensive security - Offensive security is the practice of actively seeking out vulnerabilities in an organization's cybersecurity.
one-time pad - In cryptography, a one-time pad is a system in which a randomly generated private key is used only once to encrypt a message that is then decrypted by the receiver using a matching one-time pad and key.
one-time password - A one-time password (OTP) is an automatically generated numeric or alphanumeric string of characters that authenticates a user for a single transaction or login one-time password session.
Open Source Hardening Project - The Open Source Hardening Project is an initiative of the United States Department of Homeland Security, created to improve the security of open source code.
Open System Authentication (OSA) - Open System Authentication (OSA) is a process by which a computer could gain access to a wireless network that uses the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol.
OpenSSL - OpenSSL is an open source cryptographic toolkit that facilitates secure communications between endpoints on a network.
packet filtering - Packet filtering is the process of passing or blocking data packets at a network interface by a firewall based on source and destination addresses, ports or protocols.
passive attack - A passive attack is a network attack in which a system is monitored and sometimes scanned for open ports and vulnerabilities.
passive reconnaissance - Passive reconnaissance is an attempt to gain information about targeted computers and networks without actively engaging with the systems.
passphrase - A passphrase is a sentencelike string of words used for authentication that is longer than a traditional password, easy to remember and difficult to crack.
password - A password is a string of characters used to verify the identity of a user during the authentication process.
password cracking - Password cracking is the process of using an application program to identify an unknown or forgotten password to a computer or network resource.
password salting - Password salting is a technique to protect passwords stored in databases by adding a string of 32 or more characters and then hashing them.
PCI DSS merchant levels - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) merchant levels rank merchants based on their number of transactions per year to outline compliance verification requirements.
Pegasus malware - Pegasus malware is spyware that can hack any iOS or Android device and steal a variety of data from the infected device, including text messages, emails, key logs, audio and information from installed applications, such as Facebook or Instagram.
pen testing (penetration testing) - A penetration test, also called a pen test or ethical hacking, is a cybersecurity technique that organizations use to identify, test and highlight vulnerabilities in their security posture.
Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS) - Pen testing as a service (PTaaS) is a cloud service that provides information technology (IT) professionals with the resources they need to conduct and act upon point-in-time and continuous penetration tests.
personal health record (PHR) - A personal health record (PHR) is an electronic summary of health information that a patient maintains control of themselves, as opposed to their healthcare provider.