In our everyday lives, all of us take for granted that others understand what we are talking about.  For example, a mechanic may say, “Your tracking is out on your car”, which means, your tires are out of alignment.  A nurse may say, you need “CBR”, which means, complete bed rest.

In the computer world, the same thing happens.  Words that are used daily, make perfect sense to the ones in this arena, however, I’m sure it’s a foreign language to some.  Here are some commonly used cybersecurity terminology that will bring a little insight.

General Cybersecurity Terms

1. Threat: Any potential danger to information systems, networks, or data.
2. Vulnerability: A weakness in a system or software that can be exploited by a threat.
3. Exploit: A piece of code or method used to take advantage of a vulnerability.
4. Attack Vector: The method or path used by hackers to access or compromise a system.
5. Zero-Day: A vulnerability unknown to the vendor, often exploited before it’s patched.
6. Patch: A software update designed to fix vulnerabilities or improve functionality.

Malware and Attack Types

1. Malware: Malicious software, such as viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, and spyware.
2. Phishing: Fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information by pretending to be a trustworthy entity.
3. Ransomware: Malware that encrypts a victim’s data, demanding payment for its release.
4. DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service): An attack that overwhelms a network or server with excessive traffic, causing it to crash.
5. Spyware: Malware that secretly collects information about a user’s activities.
6. Adware: Software that automatically displays or downloads advertisements.
7. Social Engineering: Psychological manipulation of people to divulge confidential information.

By no means is this an exhaustive list, but this may give a little insight when this “foreign language” is spoken in your presence.