Network security

Terms related to network security, including definitions about intrusion prevention and words and phrases about VPNs and firewalls.
  • What is email spam and how to fight it? - Email spam, also known as 'junk email,' refers to unsolicited email messages, usually sent in bulk to a large list of recipients.
  • What is email spoofing? - Email spoofing is a form of cyber attack in which a hacker sends an email that has been manipulated to seem as if it originated from a trusted source.
  • What is Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)? - Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a protocol for wireless networks that expands the authentication methods used by Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), a protocol often used when connecting a computer to the internet.
  • What is FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security)? - FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security) is a network management framework and model created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
  • What is Group Policy Object (GPO) and why is it important? - Microsoft’s Group Policy Object (GPO) is a collection of Group Policy settings that defines what a system will look like and how it will behave for a defined group of users.
  • What is hacktivism? - Hacktivism is the act of misusing a computer system or network for a socially or politically motivated reason.
  • What is 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).
  • What is IPsec (Internet Protocol Security)? - IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) is a suite of protocols and algorithms for securing data transmitted over the internet or any public network.
  • What is ISO 27001? - ISO 27001, formally known as ISO/IEC 27001:2022, is an information security standard jointly created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
  • What is Kerberos and how does it work? - Kerberos is a protocol for authenticating service requests between trusted hosts across an untrusted network, such as the internet.
  • What is malware? Prevention, detection and how attacks work - Malware, or malicious software, is any program or file that's intentionally harmful to a computer, network or server.
  • What is multifactor authentication? - Multifactor authentication (MFA) is an IT security technology that requires multiple sources of unique information from independent categories of credentials to verify a user's identity for a login or other transaction.
  • What is network scanning? How to, types and best practices - Network scanning is a procedure for identifying active devices on a network by employing a feature or features in the network protocol to signal to devices and await a response.
  • What is password cracking? - Password cracking is the process of using an application program to identify an unknown or forgotten password that allows access to a computer or network resource.
  • What is passwordless authentication? - Passwordless authentication allows a user to sign into a service without using a password.
  • What is PKI (public key infrastructure)? - PKI (public key infrastructure) is the underlying framework that enables the secure exchange of information over the internet using digital certificates and public key encryption.
  • What is privileged access management (PAM)? - Privileged access management (PAM) is a security framework designed to protect organizations against cyberthreats by controlling and monitoring access to critical information and resources.
  • What is promiscuous mode in networking? - In computer networking, promiscuous mode is a mode of operation in which a network device, such as a network interface card (NIC) or an adapter on a host system, can intercept and read in its entirety each network packet that arrives instead of just the packets addressed to the host.
  • What is ransomware? How it works and how to remove it - Ransomware is a type of malware that locks and encrypts a victim's data, files, devices or systems, rendering them inaccessible and unusable until the attacker receives a ransom payment.
  • What is role-based access control (RBAC)? - Role-based access control (RBAC) is a method of restricting network access based on the roles of individual users within an enterprise.
  • What is SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language)? - Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an open standard for sharing security information about identity, authentication and authorization across different systems.
  • What is SIP trunking (Session Initiation Protocol trunking)? - Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is a service a communications service provider offers that uses the protocol to provision voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia connectivity between an on-premises phone system and the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
  • What is SSH (Secure Shell) and How Does It Work? - SSH (Secure Shell or Secure Socket Shell) is a network protocol that gives users -- particularly systems administrators -- a secure way to access a computer over an unsecured network.
  • What is SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)? - SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a networking protocol that secures connections between web clients and web servers over internal networks or the internet by encrypting the data sent between those clients and servers.
  • What is the CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity and availability)? - The CIA triad refers to confidentiality, integrity and availability, describing a model designed to guide policies for information security within an organization.
  • What is the Mitre ATT&CK framework? - The Mitre ATT&CK -- pronounced miter attack -- framework is a free, globally accessible knowledge base that describes the latest behaviors and tactics of cyberadversaries to help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity strategies.
  • What is the Nessus vulnerability scanning platform? - Nessus is a platform developed by Tenable that scans for security vulnerabilities in devices, applications, operating systems, cloud services and other network resources.
  • What is the RSA algorithm? - The RSA algorithm (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) is a public key cryptosystem that uses a pair of keys for securing digital communication and transactions over insecure networks, such as the internet.
  • What is the Twofish encryption algorithm? - Twofish is a symmetric-key block cipher with a block size of 128 bits and variable-length key of size 128, 192 or 256 bits.
  • What is the zero-trust security model? - The zero-trust security model is a cybersecurity approach that denies access to an enterprise's digital resources by default and grants authenticated users and devices tailored, siloed access to only the applications, data, services and systems they need to do their jobs.
  • What is threat intelligence? - Threat intelligence, also known as cyberthreat intelligence, is information gathered from a range of sources about current or potential attacks against an organization.
  • What is threat modeling? - Threat modeling is the systematic process of identifying threats to and vulnerabilities in software applications, and then defining countermeasures to mitigate those threats and vulnerabilities to better protect business processes, networks, systems and data.
  • What is Transport Layer Security (TLS)? - Transport Layer Security (TLS) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard protocol that provides authentication, privacy and data integrity between two communicating computer applications.
  • What is two-factor authentication (2FA)? - Two-factor authentication (2FA), sometimes referred to as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication, is a security process in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves.
  • What is unified threat management (UTM)? - Unified threat management (UTM) is an information security system that provides a single point of protection against cyberthreats, including viruses, worms, spyware and other malware, as well as network attacks.
  • What is Wi-Fi Piggybacking? - Piggybacking, in the context of Wi-Fi, is the use of a wireless connection to gain access to the internet without proper authority.
  • What is WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3)? - WPA3, also known as Wi-Fi Protected Access 3, is the third iteration of a security certification standard developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
  • white hat hacker - A white hat hacker -- or ethical hacker -- is an individual who uses hacking skills to identify security vulnerabilities in hardware, software or networks.
  • Wi-Fi (802.11x standard) - Wi-Fi is a term for certain types of wireless local area networks (WLAN) that use specifications in the IEEE 802.
  • Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) - Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a security standard for computing devices equipped with wireless internet connections.
  • Wiegand - Wiegand is the trade name for a technology used in card readers and sensors, particularly for access control applications.
  • wildcard certificate - A wildcard certificate is a digital certificate that is applied to a domain and all its subdomains.
  • Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) - Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol, specified in the IEEE Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) standard, 802.
  • wireless intrusion prevention system (WIPS) - A wireless intrusion prevention system (WIPS) is a dedicated security device or integrated software application that monitors a wireless local area network (WLAN) or Wi-Fi network's radio spectrum for rogue access points (APs) and other wireless threats.
  • Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) - Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) is a security level for the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), specifically for the applications that use WAP.
  • wiretapping - Wiretapping is the surreptitious electronic monitoring and interception of phone-, fax- or internet-based communications.
  • Z-Wave - Z-Wave is a wireless communication protocol used primarily in smart home networks, allowing smart devices to connect and exchange control commands and data with each other.