System and Network Security 

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Karen Scarfone

Victoria Thompson

NIST Interagency Report 7581

September 2009
System and Network Security Acronyms 

and Abbreviations

Karen Scarfone

Victoria Thompson

C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y

Computer Security Division

Information Technology Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930

September 2009

U.S. Department of Commerce

Gary Locke, Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Patrick D. Gallagher, Deputy Director

NIST Interagency Report 7581

September 2009
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ii

Reports on Computer Systems Technology

The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the nation’s 

measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, proof of 

concept implementations, and technical analysis to advance the development and productive use of 

information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, 

administrative, and management standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of 

sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer systems. This Interagency Report discusses ITL’s 

research, guidance, and outreach efforts in computer security and its collaborative activities with industry, 

government, and academic organizations.

Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this 

document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. 

Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the 

entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency Report 7581

32 pages (Sep. 2009)
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

iii

Acknowledgments

The authors, Karen Scarfone of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Victoria 

Thompson of Booz Allen Hamilton, wish to thank their colleagues who reviewed drafts of this report, 

particularly Liz Lennon and Tim Grance of NIST. Thanks also go to individuals and organizations that 

submitted suggestions, particularly Tim Kramer, Mark Seecof, Janine Paris, the U.S. Department of 

Energy, and the U.S. Department of State. The authors also thank their colleagues who created acronym 

and abbreviation lists for their publications that were subsequently used as sources of information for this 

report.

Trademark Information

All names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.

Note to Reviewers

Reviewers are encouraged to submit additional acronyms and abbreviations related to system and network 

security, particularly for emerging technologies, for consideration as additions to this report. All 

suggestions and corrections should be sent to securityacronyms@nist.gov. 
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

iv

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1

2. Acronym and Abbreviation List ...................................................................................... 2

Numeric..............................................................................................................................2

A ........................................................................................................................................2

B ........................................................................................................................................3

C ........................................................................................................................................4

D ........................................................................................................................................6

E ........................................................................................................................................7

F.........................................................................................................................................8

G........................................................................................................................................9

H ......................................................................................................................................10

I........................................................................................................................................11

J.......................................................................................................................................13

K ......................................................................................................................................13

L.......................................................................................................................................13

M......................................................................................................................................14

N ......................................................................................................................................15

O......................................................................................................................................17

P ......................................................................................................................................17

Q......................................................................................................................................19

R ......................................................................................................................................19

S ......................................................................................................................................20

T.......................................................................................................................................22

U ......................................................................................................................................23

V ......................................................................................................................................24

W .....................................................................................................................................24

XYZ..................................................................................................................................25

Appendix A— References ......................................................................................................26

Appendix B— Former Acronyms ...........................................................................................27
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1

1. Introduction

This report contains a list of selected acronyms and abbreviations for system and network security terms 

with their generally accepted or preferred definitions. It is intended as a resource for federal agencies and 

other users of system and network security publications. 

The capitalization, spelling, and definitions of acronyms and abbreviations frequently vary among 

publications. It is easy to understand why this happens. While some acronyms and abbreviations (e.g., 

WWW) have one universally recognized and understood definition within the domain of system and 

network security, others (e.g., IA, MAC) have multiple valid definitions depending upon the context in 

which they are used. Some acronyms bear little resemblance to their definitions, such as Modes of 

Operation Validation System for the Triple DES Algorithm (TMOVS). Others use unexpected

capitalization or spelling (e.g., Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language [ebXML] and 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]). As a result, acronyms, 

abbreviations, and their definitions may be inaccurately or inconsistently defined by authors, perpetuating 

errors and confusing or misleading readers. 

This report is meant to help reduce these errors and confusion by providing the generally accepted or 

preferred definitions of a list of frequently used acronyms and abbreviations. The list does not include all

system and network security terms, nor is it a compendium of every acronym and abbreviation found in 

system and network security documents published by NIST. Readers should refer to each document’s list 

of acronyms and abbreviations (typically found in an appendix) for definitions applicable to that 

particular document.

The following conventions have been used in the preparation of the list of acronyms and abbreviations in 

this report.

 Abbreviations and acronyms generally appear in all capital letters, although there are occasional 

exceptions—for example, meter (m) and decibels referenced to one milliwatt (dBm). 

 Technical terms are not capitalized unless they are proper nouns. Names of people, places, and 

groups, and the titles of protocols, standards, and algorithms are considered proper nouns. For 

example, certification and accreditation (C&A) is not capitalized, but Advanced Encryption Standard 

(AES) is capitalized. 

 Collective nouns are not capitalized (e.g., wide area network [WAN]).

 When two or more definitions of the same acronym or abbreviation are given, the acronym or 

abbreviation is italicized and repeated for each definition. Definitions are listed alphabetically.
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

2

2. Acronym and Abbreviation List

This section consists of a list of selected system and network security acronyms and abbreviations, along 

with their generally accepted definitions. When there are multiple definitions for a single term, the 

acronym or abbreviation is italicized and each definition is listed separately. 

Numeric

1xRTT one times radio transmission technology

3DES Triple Data Encryption Standard

3G 3rd Generation 

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

3GPP2 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2

A

A address resource record type 

AA ABAC attribute authority

AAA authentication, authorization, and accounting

AAAK authentication, authorization, and accounting key

AAD additional authenticated data

AAR after action report

AAS adaptive antenna system

ABAC attribute-based access control

ACE access control entry

ACL access control list

ACM Association for Computing Machinery

ACO authenticated cipher offset

AD Active Directory

AD authenticated data

ADS alternate data stream

AES Advanced Encryption Standard

AES-CBC Advanced Encryption Standard-Cipher Block Chaining

AES-CTR Advanced Encryption Standard-Counter Mode

AFH adaptive frequency hopping

A-GPS assisted global positioning system

AH Authentication Header 

AIDC automatic identification and data capture

AIM Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility

AIT automatic identification technology

AJAX Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

AK authorization key

AKID authorization key identifier

AKM authentication and key management

ALG application layer gateway

ANSI American National Standards Institute

AP access point

API application programming interface
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

3

APWG Anti-Phishing Working Group

ARIN American Registry for Internet Numbers

ARP Address Resolution Protocol

ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency

AS authentication server

AS authentication service

AS autonomous system

ASC Anti-Spyware Coalition

ASC X9 Accredited Standards Committee X9

ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASLR address space layout randomization

ASN autonomous system number

ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation 1

ASP active server pages

ATA Advanced Technology Attachment

ATIM Announcement Traffic Indication Message

ATM asynchronous transfer mode

ATM automated teller machine

AV antivirus

AVIEN Anti-Virus Information Exchange Network

AVP attribute-value pair

B

B2B business-to-business

BCP best current practice

BCP business continuity plan

BGP Border Gateway Protocol

BGP-4 Border Gateway Protocol 4

BIA Bump-in-the-API

BIA business impact analysis

BioAPI Biometric Application Programming Interface

BIOS basic input/output system

BITS Bump-in-the-Stack

BPML Business Process Modeling Language

BPSS Business Process Specification Schema

BRP business recovery (resumption) plan

BS base station

BSC base station controller 

BSI British Standards Institution

BSIA British Security Industry Association

BSP best security practice

BSS basic service set

BSSID basic service set identifier

BTNS better-than-nothing-security

BTS base transceiver station 

BU binding update

BUA binding update acknowledgement
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

4

C

C&A certification and accreditation

CA certificate authority

CA certification agent

CA certification authority

CAC common access card

CAIDA Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis

CAPTCHA Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart

CARO Computer Antivirus Research Organization

CAVP Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program

CBC Cipher Block Chaining 

CBC-MAC Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code

CBEFF Common Biometric Exchange File Format

CC Common Criteria

CCETM Common Configuration Enumeration

CCEVS Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme

CCIPS Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section

CCK complementary code keying

CCM Counter Mode with CBC-MAC

CCMP Counter Mode with CBC-MAC Protocol

CCRA Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement

CCSS Common Configuration Scoring System

ccTLD country code top-level domain

CD checking disabled

CD compact disc

CDFS compact disc file system

CDMA code division multiple access 

CD-R compact disc-recordable

CD-ROM compact disc-read only memory

CD-RW compact disc-rewritable

CEO chief executive officer

CERIAS Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security

CERT computer emergency response team

CERT®/CC CERT® Coordination Center

CF CompactFlash® 

CFAA Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

CFB Cipher Feedback 

CFI computer and financial investigations

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

CFTT computer forensics tool testing

CGA cryptographically generated addresses

CGI Common Gateway Interface

CHAP Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol

CHUID cardholder unique identifier

CIDR Classless Inter-Domain Routing

CIFS Common Internet File System

CIO chief information officer

CIP critical infrastructure protection

CIPC Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

5

CIPSEA Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act

CIRC computer incident response capability

CIRC computer incident response center

CIRDB CERIAS Incident Response Database

CIRT computer incident response team

CIS Center for Internet Security

CISO chief information security officer

CLF common log format

CLI command line interface

CLR common language runtime

cm centimeter

CMA Certificate Management Authority

CMAC Cipher-based Method Authentication Code 

CME Common Malware Enumeration

CMOS complementary metal oxide semiconductor

CMS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

CMS Cryptographic Message Syntax

CMSS Common Misuse Scoring System

CMVP Cryptographic Module Validation Program

CN common name

CN correspondent node

CNSS Committee on National Security Systems

CNSSI Committee on National Security Systems Instruction

CoA care-of address

codec coder/decoder

COI conflict of interest

COM Component Object Model

COOP continuity of operations

COPPA Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

CORBA® Common Object Request Broker Architecture

COTS commercial off-the-shelf

CP certificate policy

CP contingency plan

CPETM Common Platform Enumeration

CPI compression parameter index

CPNI Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure

CPS certification practice statement

CPU central processing unit

CRAM challenge-response authentication mechanism

CRC cyclic redundancy check

CRL certificate revocation list

CS client/server

CSIA Cyber Security Industries Alliance

CSIRC computer security incident response capability

CSIRT computer security incident response team

CSO chief security officer

CSO computer security object

CSP Credentials Service Provider

CSR certificate signing request

CSRC Computer Security Resource Center

CSRDA Cyber Security Research and Development Act of 2002
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

6

CSS cascading style sheet

CSV comma-separated values

CTO chief technology officer

CTR counter mode encryption 

CVE Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures

CVSS Common Vulnerability Scoring System

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

D

DA destination address

DAA designated accrediting authority

DAA designated approving authority

DAC discretionary access control

DAD duplicate address detection

DAML DARPA Agent Markup Language

D-AMPS Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service

DAO Data Access Object

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

dBm decibels referenced to one milliwatt

DBMS database management system

DC domain controller

DCE Distributed Computing Environment 

DCOM Distributed Component Object Model

DCS distributed control system

DDMS Department of Defense Metadata Specification

DDoS distributed denial of service

DEA Data Encryption Algorithm

DEP Data Execution Prevention

DES Data Encryption Standard

DFS Distributed File System

DFS dynamic frequency selection

DH Diffie-Hellman

DHAAD Dynamic Home Agent Address Discovery

DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DHCPv6 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for Internet Protocol v6

DHS U.S. Department of Homeland Security

DIMS Digital Identity Management Service

DISA U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency

DLL dynamic link library

DMA direct memory access

DMZ demilitarized zone

DN distinguished name

DN domain name

DNP Distributed Network Protocol

DNS domain name system

DNSBL Domain Name System Blacklist

DNSSEC Domain Name System Security Extensions

DOC U.S. Department of Commerce

DoD U.S. Department of Defense
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

7

DOE U.S. Department of Energy

DOI domain of interpretation

DOJ U.S. Department of Justice

DOM Document Object Model

DoS denial of service

DPA differential power analysis

DRA data recovery agent

DRM digital rights management

DRP disaster recovery plan

DS Delegation Signer

DS distribution system

DS Field differentiated services field

DSA Digital Signature Algorithm

DSL digital subscriber line

DSML Directory Services Markup Language

DSN delivery status notification

DSOD dynamic separation of duty

DSS Digital Signature Standard

DSTM Dual Stack Transition Mechanism

DTC Distributed Transaction Coordinator 

DTD Document Type Definition

DTR derived test requirement

DUID DHCP unique identifier

DVD digital video disc 

DVD-R digital video disc - recordable

DVD-ROM digital video disc - read only memory

DVD-RW digital video disc - rewritable

E

EAL evaluation assurance level

EAP Extensible Authentication Protocol

EAP-FAST Extensible Authentication Protocol-Flexible Authentication via Secure Tunneling

EAPOL Extensible Authentication Protocol Over LAN

EAPOL-KCK Extensible Authentication Protocol Over LAN Key Confirmation Key

EAPOL-KEK Extensible Authentication Protocol Over LAN Key Encryption Key

EAP-TLS Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Layer Security

EAP-TTLS Extensible Authentication Protocol-Tunneled Transport Layer Security

EBGP Exterior Border Gateway Protocol

ebXML Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language

EC2N Elliptic Curve over G[2N]

ECB Electronic Codebook (mode)

ECC Elliptic Curve Cryptography

ECDH Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman

ECDSA Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm

ECM Enterprise Configuration Manager

ECP Encryption Control Protocol

ECPA Electronic Communications Privacy Act

EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution 

EDI electronic data interchange
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

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EDR enhanced data rate 

EEPROM electronically erasable programmable read-only memory

EFI Extensible Firmware Interface

EFS Encrypting File System

EGP Exterior Gateway Protocol 

EH extension header

EICAR European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research

EIGRP Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol

EIK EAP Integrity Key

email electronic mail

EMS energy management system

EMS Enhanced Messaging Service

EMSK Extended Master Session Key

EPAL Enterprise Privacy Authorization Language

EPC electronic product code

EPCIS Electronic Product Code Information Services 

EPHI electronic protected health information

EPS events per second

ERP enterprise resource planning

ESMS enterprise security management system

ESMTP Extended Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

ESN electronic serial number 

ESP Encapsulating Security Payload

ESS Extended Service Set

ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute

EU European Union

EUI-64 Extended Unique Identifier 64 bit

EV-DO Evolution-Data Optimized 

ext2fs Second Extended Filesystem

ext3fs Third Extended Filesystem

F

FAQ frequently asked questions

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation

FASC-N Federal Agency Smart Credential Number

FASP Federal Agency Security Practices 

FAT file allocation table

FBCA Federal Bridge Certification Authority

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

FBI CJIS Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information Services Division

FCC Federal Communications Commission

FCC ID Federal Communications Commission Identification number

FCL final checklist list

FCPF Federal PKI Common Policy Framework

FCRA Fair Credit Reporting Act

FCS frame check sequence

FDA Food and Drug Administration

FDCC Federal Desktop Core Configuration

FDCE Federated Development and Certification Environment
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

9

FDE full disk encryption

FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FEA Federal Enterprise Architecture

FEK file encryption key

FFMIA Federal Financial Management Improvement Act

FHSS frequency hopping spread spectrum

FIB forwarding information base

FICC Federal Identity Credentialing Committee

FIPS Federal Information Processing Standards

FIRSTTM Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams

FISCAM Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual

FISMA Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002

FISSEA Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association

FLETC Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

FMR false match rate

FMS Fluhrer-Mantin-Shamir

FNMR false non match rate

FOIA Freedom of Information Act

FPC Federal Preparedness Circular

FPKI Federal Public Key Infrastructure

FPKIA Federal Public Key Infrastructure Architecture

FPKIPA Federal Public Key Infrastructure Policy Authority

FQDN fully qualified domain name

FRR false rejection rate

FSO field security office

FTC Federal Trade Commission

FTCA Federal Trade Commission Act

FTP File Transfer Protocol

FUS Fast User Switching

FY fiscal year

G

GAO U.S. Government Accountability Office

GB gigabyte

GFAC generalized framework for access control

GFIRST Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams

GHz gigahertz

GIG Global Information Grid

GINA graphical identification and authentication

GKEK Group Key Encryption Key

GLB or GLBA Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

GMK Group Master Key

GnuPG GNU Privacy Guard

GOTS government off-the-shelf

GPL general public license

GPMC Group Policy Management Console

GPO Group Policy Object

GPRS general packet radio service 

GPS global positioning system 
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

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GR graceful restart

GRE Generic Routing Encapsulation

GRS General Records Schedule

GS1 Global Standards One

GSA U.S. General Services Administration

GSM Global System for Mobile Communications 

GTC Generic Token Card

GTEK group traffic encryption key

GTK group temporal key

gTLD generic top-level domain

GTSM Generalized TTL Security Mechanism

GUI graphical user interface

H

HA high availability

HA home agent

HAG high assurance guard

HCI host controller interface

HERF hazards of electromagnetic radiation to fuel

HERO hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance

HERP hazards of electromagnetic radiation to personnel

HF high frequency

HFS Hierarchical File System

HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HINFO host information

HIP Host Identity Protocol

HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

HIPERLAN high-performance radio local area network

HKLM HKEY_Local_Machine

HL7 Health Level Seven

HMAC keyed-hash message authentication code

HMI human-machine interface

HPA host protected area

HPFS High-Performance File System

HR human resources

HSARPA Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency

HSPD Homeland Security Presidential Directive

HTCIA High Technology Crime Investigation Association

HTCP Hyper Text Caching Protocol

HTML Hypertext Markup Language

HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol

HTTPS Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Hz hertz
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

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I

I&A identification and authentication

I/O input/output

I3P Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection

IA information assurance

IAB Internet Architecture Board

IACIS® International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists

IAIP Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection

IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

IAO information assurance officer

IATF Information Assurance Technical Framework

IBC iterated block cipher

IBE identity-based encryption

iBGP Internal Border Gateway Protocol

IBMJSSE IBM Java Secure Socket Extension

IBSS independent basic service set

IC3 Internet Crime Complaint Center

ICAMP Incident Cost Analysis and Modeling Project

ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

ICCID Integrated Circuit Card Identification

ICCP Inter-control Center Communications Protocol

ICF Internet Connection Firewall

ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol

ICP Internet Cache Protocol

ICS industrial control system

ICS Internet Connection Sharing

ICSA International Computer Security Association

ICV integrity check value

ID identification

IDARTTM Information Design Assurance Red Team

IDE integrated development environment

IDE Integrated Drive Electronics

IDEA International Data Encryption Algorithm

iDEN Integrated Digital Enhanced Network 

ID-FF Identity Federation Framework

IDMEF Intrusion Detection Message Exchange Format

IDMS identity management system

IDPS intrusion detection and prevention system

IDS intrusion detection system

ID-SIS Identity Service Interface Specifications

ID-WSF Identity Web Services Framework

ID-WSF DST Identity Web Services Framework Data Services Template

IE Internet Explorer

IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

IED intelligent electronic device

IEEE-SA IEEE Standards Association

IESG Internet Security Steering Group

IETF Internet Engineering Task Force

IETF BCP Internet Engineering Task Force Best Current Practice

IETF RFC Internet Engineering Task Force Request for Comments
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

12

IGMP Internet Group Management Protocol

IGP interior gateway protocol

IID interface identifier

IIF information in identifiable form

IIHI individually identifiable health information

IIS Internet Information Services

IKE Internet Key Exchange

IM instant messaging

IMAP Internet Message Access Protocol

IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity

IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity

INCITS InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards

IP Internet Protocol

IPA initial privacy assessment

IPComp Internet Protocol Payload Compression Protocol

IPng Internet Protocol Next Generation

IPS intrusion prevention system

IPsec Internet Protocol Security

IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4

IPv6 Internet Protocol version 6

IPX Internet Packet Exchange

IR infrared

IR interagency report

IRC Internet Relay Chat

IrDA® Infrared Data Association® 

IRQ interrupt request line

IRS Internal Revenue Service

IRTF Internet Research Task Force

IS information system

ISA interconnection security agreement

ISA International Society of Automation

ISAC information sharing and analysis center

ISAKMP Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol

ISAP Information Security Automation Program

ISAPI Internet Server Application Programming Interface

ISATAP Intra-Site Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol

ISF Information Security Forum

ISID Industrial Security Incident Database

IS-IS Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System

ISM industrial, scientific, and medical

ISM information security marking

ISMS information security management system

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ISP Internet service provider

ISSEA International Systems Security Engineering Association

ISSO information systems security officer

ISSPM information systems security program manager

IT information technology

ITAA Information Technology Association of America

ITF Interrogator Talks First

ITL Information Technology Laboratory
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

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ITU International Telecommunications Union

ITU-T International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunication Standardization 

Sector

IUT implementation under test

IV initialization vector

J

Java EE Java Platform, Enterprise Edition

JAXR Java API for XML Registries

JFFS2 Journaling Flash File System, version 2

JIT just-in-time

JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group

JRE Java Runtime Environment

JSM Java Security Manager

JSP Java Server Pages

JSSE Java Secure Socket Extension

JTAG Joint Test Action Group

JTC1 Joint Technical Committee 1 (International Organization for Standardization 

[ISO]/International Electrotechnical Commission [IEC])

JVM Java Virtual Machine

K

KB kilobyte

Kbps kilobit per second

KDC key distribution center

KEK key encryption key

KG key generator

KGD key generation and distribution

kHz kilohertz

KINK Kerberized Internet Negotiation of Keys

KSG key stream generator

KSK key signing key

L

L2CAP Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol

L2F Layer 2 Forwarding 

L2TP Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol

L2VPN Layer 2 Virtual Private Network

L3VPN Layer 3 Virtual Private Network

LACNIC Latin American and Caribbean IP Addresses Registry

LAN local area network

LCD liquid crystal display

LDA local delivery agent

LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

LED light emitting diode
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

14

LF low frequency

LFSR linear feedback shift register

LIR local Internet registry

LM LAN Manager

LMP Link Manager Protocol

LOC location (DNS record)

LOS line-of-sight

LRA Local Registration Authority

LUA limited user account

M

m meter

MAC mandatory access control 

MAC media access control (layer)

MAC Medium Access Control

MAC message authentication code

MAF multi-mode authentication framework

MAN metropolitan area network

MAPS Mail Abuse Prevention System

MB megabyte

Mbps megabits per second

MBR master boot record

MBSA Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

MD message digest

ME mobile equipment 

MED multi-exit discriminator

MEP message exchange pattern

MES manufacturing execution system

MHz megahertz

MIB management information base

MIC mandatory integrity control

MIC message integrity check

MIC message integrity code

MIKEY Multimedia Internet KEYing

MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

MIMO multiple-input, multiple-output

MIN mobile identification number

Mini SD mini secure digital

MIP Mobile Internet Protocol 

MitM man-in-the-middle (attack)

MLD Multicast Listener Discovery

MMC Microsoft Management Console

MMC MultiMediaCard 

MMCmobile MultiMediaCard Mobile 

MMS Multimedia Messaging Service 

MN mobile node

MO magneto-optical

MOA memorandum of agreement

MOBIKE IKEv2 Mobility and Multihoming Protocol
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

15

MODP modular exponential

MOSS MIME Object Security Services

MOU memorandum of understanding

MOVS Modes of Operation Validation System

MPA Mobile Prefix Advertisement

MPLS multiprotocol label switching

MPS Mobile Prefix Solicitation

MQV Menezes-Qu-Vanstone

MRI magnetic resonance imaging

MS Microsoft

MS mobile subscriber

MSC mobile switching center 

MS-CHAP Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol

MS-DOS Microsoft Disk Operating System

MSDP Multicast Source Discovery Protocol

MSEC multicast security

MSEL Master Scenario Events List

MSIL Microsoft Intermediate Language 

MSISDN Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network

MSK master session key

MSKB Microsoft Knowledge Base

MSSP managed security services provider

MSWG Metadata Standards Working Group

MTA mail transfer agent

MTM Mobile Trusted Module

MTU master telemetry unit

MTU master terminal unit 

MTU maximum transmission unit

MUA mail user agent

mW milliwatt

MX mail exchanger

N

NA Neighbor Advertisement

NAC network access control

NACI National Agency Check and Inquiries

NAP Network Access Protection

NARA National Archives and Records Administration

NAS network access server

NAT network address translation

NAT-PT network address translation—protocol translation

NAT-T network address translation traversal

NBA network behavior analysis

NBAD network behavior anomaly detection

NCES NetCentric Enterprise Services

NCP National Checklist Program

NCSD National Cyber Security Division

NCSI NIST National Center for Standards and Certification Information

ND Neighbor Discovery
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

16

NDAC nondiscretionary access control

NetBEUI NetBIOS Extended User Interface

NetBIOS Network Basic Input/Output System

NetBT NetBIOS over TCP/IP

NFAT network forensic analysis tool

NFC near field communication

NFS network file system

NFS Network File Sharing

NH next header

NIAC National Infrastructure Advisory Council

NIAP National Information Assurance Partnership

NIC network interface card

NICC National Infrastructure Coordinating Center

NIJ National Institute of Justice

NIPC National Infrastructure Protection Center

NIS Network Information System

NISAC National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center

NISCC National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre 

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology

NISTIR National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency Report

NLOS non-line-of-sight

NPIVP NIST Personal Identity Verification Program

NPPI nonpublic personal information

NS name server

NS Neighbor Solicitation

NSA National Security Agency

NSAPI Netscape Server Application Programming Interface

NSEC Next Secure

NSI national security information

NSRL National Software Reference Library

NSS Network Security Services

NSTB National SCADA Test Bed

NSTISSC National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security 

Committee

NSTISSI National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security 

Instruction

NTFS New Technology File System

NTLM NT LAN Manager

NTP Network Time Protocol

NTTAA National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995

NUD Neighbor Unreachability Detection

NVD National Vulnerability Database

NVLAP National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program

NW3C National White Collar Crime Center

NX no execute
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

17

O

OASISTM Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards

OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer

OCSP Online Certificate Status Protocol

ODBC Open Database Connectivity

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OEM original equipment manufacturer

OFB output feedback (mode)

OFDM orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing

OGSATM Open Grid Services Architecture

OHA Open Handset Alliance

OIG Office of Inspector General

OLE object linking and embedding

OMB Office of Management and Budget

ONS Object Naming Service

OOB out-of-band

OPC OLE for Process Control

OpenPGP An Open Specification for Pretty Good Privacy

OPM U.S. Office of Personnel Management

ORB open relay blacklist

OS operating system

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSI Open Systems Interconnection

OSPF Open Shortest Path First

OSS open source software

OSSTMM Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual 

OSVDB Open Source Vulnerability Database

OTP one-time password

OU organizational unit

OVAL Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language

OWASP Open Web Application Security Project

OWL-S Web Ontology Language for Services

P

P2P peer-to-peer

PAC Privilege Attribute Certificate

PAC Protected Access Credential

PAD peer authorization database

PAM pluggable authentication module

PAN personal area network 

PAOS Reverse HTTP Binding for SOAP

PAP Password Authentication Protocol

PAP policy access point

PAS publicly available specification

PBA pre-boot authentication

PBAC policy-based access control

PBCC Packet Binary Convolutional Code
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

18

PBE pre-boot environment

PBX private branch exchange

PC personal computer

PCI Payment Card Industry

PCI personal identity verification card issuer

PCI DSS Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

PCN process control network

PCP IP Payload Compression Protocol

PCS process control system

PCSF Process Control System Forum

PCSRF Process Control Security Requirements Forum

PDA personal digital assistant

PDD Presidential Decision Directive

PDF Portable Document Format

PDP policy decision point

PDS protective distribution systems

PEAP Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol

PED portable electronic devices

PEM Privacy Enhanced Mail

PEP policy enforcement point

PFS perfect forward secrecy 

PGP Pretty Good Privacy

PHI protected health information

PHP PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

PHY Physical (layer)

PIA privacy impact assessment

PICSTM Platform for Internet Content Selection

PII personally identifiable information

PIM personal information management 

PIM-SM Protocol Independent Multicast—Sparse Mode

PIN personal identification number

PIP policy information point

PIR Public Interest Registry

PIV personal identity verification

PKCS Public Key Cryptography Standard

PKI public key infrastructure

PKM privacy key management

PKMv1 Privacy Key Management Protocol version 1

PKMv2 Privacy Key Management Protocol version 2

PL public law

PLC programmable logic controller

PMA Policy Management Authority

PMK pairwise master key

PMKSA Pairwise Master Key Security Association

PMP point-to-multipoint

PMTU path maximum transmission unit

PN packet number

PNG Portable Network Graphics

POA&M plan of action and milestones

POC point of contact
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

19

POC proof of concept

PoE Power over Ethernet

POP Post Office Protocol

POP3 Post Office Protocol version 3

PP protection profile

PPP Point-to-Point Protocol

PPTP Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol

PPVPN provisioner-provided virtual private network

PRA Paperwork Reduction Act

Pre-PAK pre-primary authorization key

PRF pseudorandom function

PRNG pseudorandom number generator

PSK pre-shared key

PSTN public switched telephone network

PTA privacy threshold assessment (or analysis)

PTK pairwise transient key

PTV perceived target value

PUB publication

PUK PIN unblocking key

PVG patch and vulnerability group

Q

QoP quality of protection

QoS quality of service

R

R&D research and development

R/W read/write

RA receiver address

RA Registration Authority

RA remote assistance

RA Router Advertisement

RAdAC risk adaptive access control

RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial In User Service

RAID redundant array of independent disks

RAM random access memory 

RAT remote administration tool

RBAC role-based access control

RC2 Rivest Cipher 2

RC4 Rivest Cipher 4

RCE route cache entry

RCFL Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory

RCP Remote Copy Protocol

RDBMS relational database management system

RDP Remote Desktop Protocol

REL rights expression language

REP Robots Exclusion Protocol
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

20

REST Representational State Transfer

RF radio frequency

RFC request for comments

RFD route flap damping

RFID radio frequency identification

RFP request for proposal

RIB routing information base

RIP Routing Information Protocol

RIPE NCC Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre

RIPng Routing Information Protocol next generation

RIR regional internet registries

RIS Remote Installation Services

RMA reliability, maintainability, and availability

RMON Remote Monitoring

RNG random number generator

ROE rules of engagement

ROM read-only memory

RP responsible person (record)

RPC remote procedure call

RPF Reverse Path Forwarding

RPO recovery point objective

RR resource record

RRSIG resource record signature

RS relay station

RS Router Solicitation

RSA Rivest-Shamir-Adelman

RSBAC rule set-based access control

RSN Robust Security Network

RSNA Robust Security Network Association

RSNIE Robust Security Network Information Element

RSO reduced sign-on

RSS Really Simple Syndication

RSSI received signal strength indication

RSVP Resource ReSerVation Protocol

RTF Rich Text Format

RTLS real-time location system 

RTO recovery time objective

RTP Real-Time Transport Protocol

RTU remote terminal unit or remote telemetry unit

RuBAC rule-based access control

R-UIM Removable User Identity Module

S

S/MIME Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

SA security association

SA source address

SACL system access control list

SAD security association database

SAFER Secure And Fast Encryption Routine
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

21

SAID security association identifier

SAISO senior agency information security officer

SAM Security Account Manager

SAM software asset management

SAMATE Software Assurance Metrics and Tool Evaluation

SAMLTM Security Assertion Markup LanguageTM

SAN storage area network

S-BGP Secure Border Gateway Protocol

SC subcommittee

SCADA supervisory control and data acquisition

SCAP Security Content Automation Protocol

SCP Secure Copy Protocol

SCSI Small Computer System Interface

SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol

SD Secure Digital 

SDIO Secure Digital Input Output

SDK software development kit 

SDLC System Development Life Cycle

SDO standards development organization

SDP Session Description Protocol

SDP Service Discovery Protocol

SEI Software Engineering Institute

SEM security event management

SEND Secure Neighbor Discovery

SEP secure entry point

SFTP Secure File Transfer Protocol

SHA Secure Hash Algorithm

SHA-1 Secure Hash Algorithm 1

shim6 Site Multihoming by IPv6 Intermediation

SHS Secure Hash Standard

SIA Security Industry Association

SID security identifier

SIEM security information and event management

SIG special interest group

SIIT Stateless IP/ICMP Translation Algorithm

SIM security information management

SIM subscriber identity module

SIP Session Initiation Protocol

SIS safety instrumented system

SKEME Secure Key Exchange Mechanism

SLA service level agreement

SMB Server Message Block

SME subject matter expert

S/MIME Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

SMS Short Message Service 

SMS Systems Management Server

SMT scar, mark and tattoo

SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

SNL Sandia National Laboratories

SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol

SNTP Simple Network Time Protocol
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

22

SOA service-oriented architecture

SOA start of authority (resource record)

soBGP Secure Origin Border Gateway Protocol

SoD separation of duties

SOHO small office/home office

SOP standard operating procedure

SOR system of records

SORN system of records notice

SOX Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

SP service pack 

SP special publication

SPD security policy database

SPI security parameters index 

SPL Structured Product Labeling

SPMLTM Service Provisioning Markup LanguageTM

SPP-ICS System Protection Profile for Industrial Control Systems

SQL Structured Query Language

SR service release

SRES signed response

SRTP Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol

SS subscriber station

SSDP Simple Service Discovery Protocol

SSE-CMM Systems Security Engineering-Capability Maturity Model

SSH Secure Shell

SSI Server Side Includes

SSID service set identifier

SSL Secure Sockets Layer

SSLF Specialized Security-Limited Functionality

SSN social security number

SSO single sign-on

SSoD static separation of duty

SSP secure simple pairing 

SSPI Security Support Provider Interface

ST security target

STA station

STIG security technical implementation guide

STS security token service

SUID Set-User-ID

SWSA Semantic Web Services Initiative Architecture

SZ security zone

T

TA test assertion

TA transmitter address

TACACS Terminal Access Controller Access Control System

TAG technical advisory group

TB terabyte

TC technical committee
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

23

TC68 ISO/IEC Technical Committee 68

TCP Transmission Control Protocol

TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

TDEA Triple Data Encryption Algorithm

TDM time division multiplexing

TDMA time division multiple access 

TEK traffic encryption key

TERENA Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association

TFT thin film transistor

TFTP Trivial File Transfer Protocol

TGS ticket-granting service

TIA® Telecommunications Industry Association

TID tag identifier

TK temporal key

TKIP Temporal Key Integrity Protocol

TLD top-level domain

TLS Transport Layer Security

TMOVS Modes of Operation Validation System for the Triple DES Algorithm

TOE target of evaluation

TOS trusted operating system

ToS Type of Service

TPC transmission power control

TPM trusted platform module

TR technical report

TRT transport relay translator

TS technical specification

TSA time stamping authority

TSC TKIP sequence counter

TSIG Secret Key Transaction Authentication for DNS

TSIG Transaction Signature

TSN transitional security network

TSP Time-Stamp Protocol

TT&E test, training, and exercise

TTF tag talks first

TTL time to live

TTLS Tunneled Transport Layer Security

TTP trusted third party

TXT text (record)

U

U.S. United States

U.S.C. United States Code

UAC User Account Control

UART universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter

UBR Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) Business Registry

UCC Uniform Code Council, Inc.

UCE unsolicited commercial email

UDDITM Uniform Description, Discovery, and IntegrationTM

UDF Universal Disk Format
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

24

UDP User Datagram Protocol

UFS UNIX File System

UHF ultra high frequency

UI user interface

UK United Kingdom

UL Underwriters’ Laboratories®

ULA unique local address

ULP upper layer protocol

UML® Unified Modeling LanguageTM

UMPC ultra-mobile personal computer

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

UNII Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure

UPC Universal Product Code

UPnP Universal Plug and Play

UPS uninterruptible power supply

URI Uniform Resource Identifier

URL Uniform Resource Locator

USB Universal Serial Bus

US-CERT United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team

USIM UMTS Subscriber Identity Module or Universal Subscriber Identity Module

UTM unified threat management

UUID Universally Unique Identifier

UWB ultrawideband

V

VB Visual Basic

VB.NET Visual Basic .NET

VBA Visual Basic for Applications

VBScript Visual Basic Script

VFD variable frequency drive

VHD virtual hard drive

VHF very high frequency

VLAN virtual local area network

VM virtual machine

VMS vulnerability management system

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol

VOIPSA Voice over IP Security Alliance

VPN virtual private network

VPNC Virtual Private Network Consortium

VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol

W

W3C® World Wide Web Consortium

WAN wide area network

WAP wireless access point

WAP Wireless Application Protocol

WaSP Web Standards Project
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

25

WAVE Wireless Access for Vehicular Environment

WAYF Where Are You From

WCCP Web Cache Coordination Protocol

W-CDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

WDS wireless distribution system

WebDAV Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning

WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy

WfMC Workflow Management Coalition

WfMS workflow management system

WG working group

WIDPS wireless intrusion detection and prevention system

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

WLAN wireless local area network

WMAN wireless metropolitan area network

WMM® Wi-Fi MultimediaTM

WORM write once, read many

WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access

WPA2® Wi-Fi Protected Access® 2

WPAN wireless personal area network

WS Web services

WSDL Web Services Description Language

WSH Windows Script Host

WS-I Web services interoperability

WS-I Web Services Interoperability Organization

WSS4J Web Services Security for Java

WS-Security Web Services Security

WSUS Windows Server Update Services

WVE Wireless Vulnerabilities and Exploits

WWAN wireless wide area network

WWW World Wide Web

XYZ

XACL XML Access Control Language 

XACMLTM eXtensible Access Control Markup LanguageTM

XCBC XOR Cipher Block Chaining

XCCDF eXtensible Configuration Checklist Description Format

XHTML Extensible Hypertext Markup Language

XKMS XML Key Management Specification

XML Extensible Markup Language

XOR exclusive OR

XrML eXtensible Rights Markup Language

XSD XML Schema Definition

XSL Extensible Stylesheet Language 

XSLT Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation

XSS cross-site scripting

ZSK zone signing key
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

26

Appendix A—References

Sources used in the development of the list of system and network security acronyms and abbreviations in 

this document include the following:

National Institute of Standards and Technology Publications, NIST Computer Security Division 

Resource Center Web site, http://csrc.nist.gov/

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), http://www.ietf.org/

Microsoft Hardware Developer Central, Glossary of Acronyms for PC and Server Technologies, 

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/resources/support/glossary.mspx

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), 

http://www.oasis-open.org/home/index.php
SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

27

Appendix B—Former Acronyms

Over time, as organizations, technologies, or other entities change, some acronyms associated with them 

may lose their definitions and thus no longer be considered acronyms. This appendix presents selected 

former acronyms related to system and network security. As additional acronyms in this publication lose 

their definitions, readers are encouraged to send notification of these, along with references to 

authoritative sources of information, to securityacronyms@nist.gov for possible inclusion in future 

releases of this report. 

IEEE Originally defined as “Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.” 

Definition dropped by the organization 

(http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/home/index.html). 

SOAP Originally defined as “Simple Object Access Protocol.” Definition dropped as of 

April 2007 (http://www.w3.org/TR/soap12-part1/#intro).