CyberSecurity acronyms cheat sheet and dictionary
Tags: security, codenewbie, wecoded, todayilearned
Published: 2020-09-15 20:50:55

![Alt Text: A colorful drawing that consists of three circles at the top and a computer under them. The first circle shows a lock, the second a red alarm, the third a stethoscope. The computer monitor shows an open envelope, a red letter is poking out with an image of a skull and crossbones in black](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/v8yu0woqxc7i1xic8ksp.png)

Cybersecurity loves it's acronyms to the point where an acronym can have other acronyms in it. 


This might be a way of saving time if you are one of the industry's old guards but for newcomers this can be frustrating and alienating. 


It's tough enough to wrap your brain around Cloud Security Posture Management
without first having to decrypt what CSPM stands for. 


This is why I am sharing my cyber security acronym cheat sheet and dictionary with the world. It's work in progress so do flag up acronyms/terms I missed, if you disagree on the meaning do let me know - we are all still learning after all.


I will try to keep this in alphabetical order but I am dyslexic so it's more of a alphabetical-ish order.


A thing to flag up in many cases the only resources that explain these concepts are blog posts that belong to various cyber security companies. Often these blog posts consist of marketing or sales material if for some reason I link to some blog posts it's because I think it's good at explaining a concept not because I endorse the product. Also as disclosure I work in the industry. 


The **first part** is the acronym cheat sheet, the **second part** is the dictionary of terms. 


### Part 1: Acronym Cheat Sheet
**0day** - Zero Day vulnerability
**2FA** - Two factor Authentication
**AV** - Antivirus
**CVE** - Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
**CVSS** - Common Vulnerability Scoring System
**CSPM** - Cloud Security Posture Management
**CSRF** - Cross-site request forgery
**CNA** - CVE Numbering Authority 
**DDoS attack** - Distributed denial-of-service attack
**CTF** - Capture the Flag
**EDR** - Endpoint Detection and Response
**EPSS** - Exploit Prediction Scoring System
**EPP** - Endpoint Protection Platform
**FIM** - File Integrity Manager
**HOS** - Head of Security
**IOM** - Indicator of Misconfiguration
**IOA** - Indicator of Attack
**IOT** - Internet of Things
**InfoSec** - Information Security
**ItSecOps** (SecOps or Dev SecOps) - IT Security Operations
**IDS** - Intrusion Detection System
**IPS** - Intrusion Prevention System
**LDAP Injection** - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Injection
**LFI** - Local file inclusion
**MFA** - Multi-factor authentication
**MSSP** - Managed Security Service Provider 
**NGAV** - Next-generation antivirus
**SPOG** - Single pane of glass aka single pane view
**SSRF** - Server-side request forgery
**SSO** - Single sign-on protocols
**SNMP** - Simple Network Management Protocol
**SMB** - Server Message Block
**SOC** - Security Operations Center
**TCP** - Transmission Control Protocol
**TTP** - Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
**RBAC** - Rule-based Access Control
**RTR** - Real Time Response
**RCE** - Remote Code Execution
**RFI** - Request for information
**WAPT** - Web Application Penetration Testing
**WoV** - Window of Vulnerability
**XSS** - Cross-site scripting
**XXE** - XML external entity injection


### Part 2: CyberSecurity Dictionary

**Antiviruses** 
*AV software, anti-malware* 
A computer program that protects your computer from various computer threats. See also NGAV.

**CSPM**
*Cloud Security Posture Management*
Concerns itself with correctly configuring public cloud IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PAAS (Platform as a Service) to address cloud risk.

**CVE**
*Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures* 
A reference-method for publicly known information-security vulnerabilities and exposures.

**CTF**
*Capture the Flag*
"Flags" are secrets hidden in purposefully-vulnerable programs or websites. Competitors steal flags either from other competitors (attack/defense-style CTFs) or from the organizers (jeopardy-style challenges). Several variations exist, including hiding flags in hardware devices.

**CSRF**
*Cross-site request forgery*
An attack that forces an end user to execute unwanted actions on a web application in which they’re currently authenticated.

**CNA**
*CVE Numbering Authority*
Organizations that are authorized to assign CVE IDs to vulnerabilities affecting products within their distinct, agreed-upon scope, for inclusion in first-time public announcements of new vulnerabilities. 
[for more info](https://cve.mitre.org/cve/cna.html#:~:text=CVE%20Numbering%20Authorities%20(CNAs)%20are,public%20announcements%20of%20new%20vulnerabilities.)

**MFA**
*Multi factor authentication* 
A security method where a user is granted access only after they provide two or more pieces of evidence that they are in fact the real user. Possibly the most popular method is how banks use questions such as 'your mother's maiden name', 'your first pet's name' etc

The majority of online platforms have moved to 2FA or MFA, where after providing your name and password you receive a text/email with a number that you have to input to prove that you are you. Or using apps such as [Google's Authenticator](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2&hl=en_GB) or [duo](https://duo.com/).  

If you ever rolled your eyes at 2FA its worth watching the leaked [Iranian hacker training video](https://thehackernews.com/2020/07/iranian-hacking-training-videos.html) and then enabling 2FA EVERYWHERE. 

**NGAV**
*Next-generation antivirus*
As the word next generation suggests this AV uses more advance techniques to protect your computer more specifically it uses AI. Usually behavior AI that learns the usual behavior on an endpoint aka your machine and is able to tell when behavior differs from an established pattern or if the user engages in risky behavior.
 
Please do not be sceptical and just assume that NGAV is the same as the good old antivirus that some marketing department decided to glue AI to. New Gen should be able to protect you from intrusions that do not change your environment and/or do not introduce new files to your system. For example threats such as a remote login using an existing vulnerability.

Unlike their predecessors NGAVs focus on events and analyze events and actions, they should be able to identify malicious intent behavior and activity not just files.  

The aim of NGAV is to stop a breach before it occurs.

Most resources on the topic are sales blogs from [CrowdStrike](https://www.crowdstrike.com/epp-101/next-generation-antivirus-ngav/), [Cipher](https://cipher.com/blog/next-generation-antivirus-ngav-vs-traditional-subscription-antivirus/), and [CarbonBlack](https://www.carbonblack.com/definitions/what-is-next-generation-antivirus-ngav/).

**WoV**
*Window of Vulnerability*
The time from when a software exploit first becomes active to the time when the number of vulnerable systems shrinks to insignificance.