Cybersecurity Terms

Term Category Description
QKD Quantum Computing Quantum Key Distribution - A secure communication method which implements a cryptographic protocol involving quantum mechanical components.
QRNG Quantum Computing Quantum Random Number Generator - A device that generates random numbers by measuring quantum mechanical effects.
NISQ Quantum Computing Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum - Refers to quantum computers with 50-100 qubits, where quantum states are affected by environmental noise and require error correction.
Qubit Quantum Computing Quantum Bit - The basic unit of quantum information, representing a quantum state that can be in superposition of 0 and 1 simultaneously.
QEC Quantum Computing Quantum Error Correction - Techniques used to protect quantum information from errors due to decoherence and other quantum noise.
QKE Quantum Computing Quantum Key Exchange - A method of secure communication that uses quantum mechanical properties to generate a shared encryption key between parties.
Quantum Entanglement Quantum Computing A quantum mechanical phenomenon where the quantum states of particles become correlated in such a way that the state of each particle cannot be described independently.
Quantum Side-Channel Quantum Computing A type of security vulnerability that exploits information gained from the physical implementation of a quantum system, such as timing information, power consumption, or electromagnetic leaks.
BB84 Protocol Quantum Computing A quantum cryptography protocol for quantum key distribution that allows two parties to produce a shared random secret key for encrypted communications.
Quantum State Verification Quantum Computing The process of confirming the integrity and correctness of quantum states in a quantum system, crucial for detecting potential tampering or errors.
ECC Cryptography Elliptic Curve Cryptography - A public-key cryptography approach based on the algebraic structure of elliptic curves over finite fields.
RSA Cryptography Rivest-Shamir-Adleman - A public-key cryptosystem widely used for secure data transmission.
SHA Cryptography Secure Hash Algorithm - A family of cryptographic hash functions designed by the NSA, used for digital signatures and data integrity verification.
ECDSA Cryptography Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm - A cryptographic algorithm for digital signatures using elliptic curve cryptography.
PFS Cryptography Perfect Forward Secrecy - A feature ensuring that a compromise of long-term keys does not compromise past session keys.
AES-GCM Cryptography Advanced Encryption Standard Galois/Counter Mode - A mode of operation for symmetric key cryptographic block ciphers that provides authenticated encryption.
HMAC Cryptography Hash-based Message Authentication Code - A specific type of message authentication code involving a cryptographic hash function and a secret key.
KMS Cryptography Key Management System - A system for secure generation, storage, distribution, and retirement of cryptographic keys and digital certificates.
VPN Network Security Virtual Private Network - Extends a private network across a public network, enabling users to send and receive data as if their devices were directly connected to the private network.
DDoS Network Security Distributed Denial of Service - A malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic to a targeted server by overwhelming it with a flood of traffic from multiple sources.
NGFW Network Security Next-Generation Firewall - An advanced firewall that goes beyond port/protocol inspection to add application-level inspection, intrusion prevention, and intelligence-based filtering.
SDN Network Security Software-Defined Networking - An approach to network management that enables dynamic, programmatically efficient network configuration to improve network performance and monitoring.
NAC Network Security Network Access Control - A security approach that unifies endpoint security technology, user or system authentication, and network security enforcement.
ZTNA Network Security Zero Trust Network Access - A security framework requiring all users to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated before being granted access to applications and data.
SASE Network Security Secure Access Service Edge - A network architecture that combines VPN and SD-WAN capabilities with cloud-native security functions.
DNS SEC Network Security Domain Name System Security Extensions - A suite of specifications for securing DNS data by providing authentication and integrity verification.
Network Load Balancing Network Security The process of distributing network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server bears too much load, optimizing resource utilization and reliability.
Packet Loss Network Security The failure of data packets to reach their destination in a network, measured as a percentage of packets lost compared to packets sent.
Inbound/Outbound Traffic Network Security Network data flow where inbound refers to data received by a network and outbound refers to data sent from the network to external destinations.
DMZ Infrastructure Demilitarized Zone - A physical or logical subnetwork that contains and exposes an organization's external-facing services.
SIEM Infrastructure Security Information and Event Management - Software products and services that combine security information management and security event management.
IAM Infrastructure Identity and Access Management - Framework of policies and technologies for ensuring that the right users have the appropriate access to technology resources.
CASB Infrastructure Cloud Access Security Broker - Security enforcement point between cloud service consumers and providers that combines and interjects enterprise security policies.
XDR Infrastructure Extended Detection and Response - A unified security incident detection and response platform that automatically collects and correlates data from multiple security layers.
CSPM Infrastructure Cloud Security Posture Management - Automated security tools that scan cloud infrastructure for misconfigurations, compliance violations, and security risks.
CWPP Infrastructure Cloud Workload Protection Platform - Security solutions designed to secure workloads in modern hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
PAM Infrastructure Privileged Access Management - Technologies and processes for controlling, monitoring, and securing elevated access to critical systems and data.
DevSecOps Infrastructure Development Security Operations - An approach that integrates security practices within the DevOps process, ensuring security is built into applications from the start.
Load Balancing Infrastructure The distribution of workloads across multiple computing resources to optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload.
Server Uptime Infrastructure The measure of system reliability, expressed as the percentage of time a server remains operational and accessible.
Network Zone Infrastructure A segment of a network with specific security policies and requirements, such as DMZ, Internal Network, or Secure Zone.
Security Event Network Security Any observable occurrence in a system or network that could indicate a potential breach, vulnerability, or security policy violation.
Critical Alert Network Security A high-priority security notification indicating a severe security threat that requires immediate attention and response.
Resolution Time Network Security The duration between alert detection and successful resolution of a security incident.
Brute Force Attack Network Security An attempt to gain unauthorized access by systematically trying all possible combinations of passwords or encryption keys.
Unusual Traffic Pattern Network Security Network behavior that deviates from established baselines, potentially indicating malicious activity or system issues.
Integration Anomaly Quantum Computing Unexpected behavior or errors occurring in the integration between quantum and classical computing systems.