Cybersecurity glossary

Cache poisoning occurs when an attacker injects malicious content into the CDN cache, which is then served to legitimate users. This can lead to wide…

Linux capabilities are a set of fine-grained privileges that can be assigned to a process, providing a more granular control over access rights than…

A CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is a type of challenge-response test used to determine whether…

Cache invalidation ensures that outdated or compromised content is removed from the CDN cache. Timely cache invalidation is crucial for mitigating th…

Data leakage can occur if sensitive information is inadvertently exposed through the CDN, such as in HTTP headers or error messages. Careful configur…

Comprehensive logging and monitoring of CDN traffic and events are crucial for detecting security incidents and performance issues. Logs should be an…

The security of the CDN provider itself is critical, as a compromise of the CDN infrastructure can impact all customers using the service. Regular se…

Attackers can try to exhaust CDN resources by flooding the network with requests, leading to service disruptions. Proper rate limiting, traffic filte…

Security misconfigurations in CDN settings, such as improper access controls or caching policies, can expose sensitive data or allow attackers to byp…

Regular vulnerability scanning of the CDN infrastructure helps identify and address security weaknesses before they can be exploited by attackers. Vu…

Centralized management refers to the ability to manage security policies and configurations from a central location. AppLocker policies are typically…

CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) coding standards provide guidelines for developing secure and reliable software. Static analysis tools can he…

A CA is a trusted entity that issues digital certificates to verify the identity of users and devices. Using certificates for authentication on jump…

CAA records are DNS records that allow domain owners to specify which Certificate Authorities (CAs) are authorized to issue certificates for their do…

Certificate mis-issuance refers to the incorrect or unauthorized issuance of a digital certificate. This can occur due to errors, vulnerabilities in…

Certificate pinning is a security mechanism that allows an application to associate a specific certificate with a website or service. This prevents m…

A Certificate Revocation List (CRL) is a list of digital certificates that have been revoked by the issuing Certificate Authority (CA) before their s…

Certificate rotation is the process of replacing existing digital certificates with new ones before they expire. Regularly rotating certificates help…

Certificate Transparency (CT) is an open framework for monitoring and auditing SSL/TLS certificates. It aims to prevent the issuance of fraudulent ce…

CBC is a mode of operation for block ciphers where each block of plaintext is XORed with the previous ciphertext block before encryption. This helps…

Clickjacking is an attack where an attacker tricks a user into clicking something different from what they perceive, often by overlaying a transparen…

A client honeypot actively searches for malicious servers by visiting websites and interacting with web services. It allows defenders to identify and…

Client-side emulation involves emulating the client-side components of a web application, such as JavaScript code. This allows security analysts to i…

Securing backups stored in the cloud with encryption, access controls, and multi-factor authentication. Organizations need to ensure that their cloud…

Cloud DLP protects sensitive data stored or processed in cloud environments like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. It involves implementing DLP policies a…

The logging of traffic and events associated with cloud-based firewalls. This includes considerations for data residency, access control, and integra…

SSRF can be exploited to retrieve credentials stored in cloud environments, such as AWS IAM roles or Google Cloud service account keys. These credent…

Cloud security encompasses the practices and technologies designed to protect cloud-based infrastructure, data, and applications. SSRF vulnerabilitie…

CSPM tools automatically identify and remediate security misconfigurations in cloud environments. They help enforce default deny policies by ensuring…

Incorrectly configured cloud services used by shadow IT, leading to vulnerabilities like publicly accessible storage buckets or open databases. This…

Cloud storage encryption involves encrypting log data before it is stored in a cloud environment. This protects the data from unauthorized access by…

Cloud storage security involves implementing measures to protect data stored in cloud-based services. This includes access controls, encryption, and…

Code coverage measures the extent to which a program's source code has been tested. While primarily used in dynamic testing, static analysis can help…

Code injection is a type of vulnerability where an attacker can inject malicious code into a running application. Zero-day exploits may utilize code…

ASTs can be used to sanitize user inputs and validate code structures, preventing code injection attacks. By analyzing the code's structure, it's pos…

Code obfuscation involves transforming code to make it more difficult for attackers to understand and reverse engineer. While not a perfect solution…

Code review is the systematic examination of computer source code, intended to find and fix mistakes overlooked in initial development phases. Static…

Code signing involves digitally signing software applications to verify the identity of the publisher and ensure the integrity of the code. This proc…

A code smell is a characteristic in the source code of a program that possibly indicates a deeper problem. While not always bugs, they can indicate p…

AST transformations can be used to automatically rewrite code to improve its security. Examples include adding security checks, sanitizing inputs, or…

Coinhive was a JavaScript miner that gained notoriety for enabling website owners to monetize their traffic by mining Monero using visitors' CPUs. Wh…

A collusion attack involves combining multiple copies of watermarked content, each with a slightly different watermark, to statistically estimate and…

Command and Control (C2) refers to the infrastructure used by attackers to communicate with and control compromised endpoints. EDR systems monitor ne…

Command injection is an attack where an attacker executes arbitrary commands on the host operating system through a vulnerable application. This can…

A dictionary of publicly known information security vulnerabilities and exposures. CVE provides a standardized naming convention for vulnerabilities…

Compilers leverage ASTs to apply security hardening techniques such as stack canaries and address space layout randomization (ASLR). These techniques…

Compliance refers to adhering to industry regulations and standards, such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR. Network segmentation is often a requirement fo…

A compliance audit assesses whether an organization adheres to regulatory standards, internal policies, and legal requirements. These audits are esse…

The process of generating reports to demonstrate adherence to security regulations and standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS). SIEM systems automate…

Various regulations and standards, such as HIPAA and GDPR, mandate the protection of sensitive data, often requiring log encryption. Compliance with…

Shadow IT often violates regulatory compliance standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) due to lack of oversight and adherence to security policies. This can re…

Compromised credentials are usernames and passwords that have been stolen or leaked. DLP solutions, combined with other security measures, can help d…

Ensuring that systems and applications are configured securely and consistently. Proper configuration management helps prevent vulnerabilities arisin…

Linux capabilities provide a finer-grained control over privileges than the traditional root/non-root model. Containers use capabilities to drop unne…

Container image scanning analyzes the layers of a container image for known vulnerabilities, malware, and configuration issues. This proactive approa…

Container orchestration security focuses on securing the platforms used to manage and deploy containers, such as Kubernetes. This includes securing t…

Container runtime security focuses on securing the container runtime environment, which is responsible for running containers. This includes protecti…

Container security involves securing containerized applications and infrastructure. By default, containers should have limited access to the host sys…

A security context defines the security parameters for a container or pod, such as user ID, group ID, and capabilities. It controls the privileges an…

Container security and VM security are related but distinct concepts. While VMs provide hardware virtualization, containers offer operating system-le…

A CDN is a distributed network of servers that caches content closer to users. CDNs can help mitigate DoS attacks by absorbing traffic and distributi…

Encrypting content stored on the CDN helps protect it from unauthorized access in case of a security breach. Encryption can be applied to both static…

Content inspection is the process of analyzing the actual content of data, such as files, emails, or network traffic, to identify sensitive informati…

Watermarking can be used to track the origin and history of digital content, providing a means to establish content provenance. This is particularly…

CSP is a security standard that allows web developers to control the resources that a web page is allowed to load. By defining a whitelist of allowed…

Content-aware DLP analyzes the content of data to identify sensitive information based on predefined rules and patterns. This includes techniques lik…

Contextual analysis involves evaluating the surrounding context of data to determine its sensitivity and risk level. This helps DLP systems make more…

The process of adding additional information to security events to provide context and improve understanding. SIEM systems contextualize events by en…

Control flow analysis examines the execution paths a program can take to find vulnerabilities related to incorrect logic or unexpected program states…

ASTs are used to generate Control Flow Graphs, which represent the execution paths within a program. CFGs are then analyzed for potential vulnerabili…

Control gap analysis identifies discrepancies between desired security controls and implemented security controls. It helps to understand where vulne…

Control groups (cgroups) are a Linux kernel feature that limits, accounts for, and isolates the resource usage (CPU, memory, disk I/O, network) of pr…

Cookies are used to store user-specific information on the client-side. Burp Suite allows testers to intercept and modify cookies to test for vulnera…

Cookie theft is a common objective of JavaScript injection attacks, where the injected script steals a user's cookies containing session information…

A copy attack involves copying watermarked content and redistributing it without authorization, thus bypassing copyright protection. Watermarks can h…

Using watermarks to identify unauthorized copies of digital content. The watermark acts as a unique identifier for the original source.

Predefined rules that define how a SIEM should analyze logs and events to identify potential security threats. These rules are critical to the effect…

CORS is a mechanism that allows web pages from one origin to access resources from a different origin. While not directly related to JavaScript injec…

CTR mode is a mode of operation for block ciphers that turns a block cipher into a stream cipher. It generates a unique keystream for each block by e…

Counterfeit detection uses watermarks to verify the authenticity of products or documents. The presence and integrity of the watermark confirm that t…

CPU utilization refers to the percentage of a computer's processing power being used at any given time. High CPU utilization, especially when unexpec…

Credential stuffing uses stolen usernames and passwords from previous breaches to gain access to accounts on other systems. Jump servers are vulnerab…

Cross-certification is a process where two or more Certificate Authorities (CAs) mutually recognize each other's certificates. This allows users to t…

An attack that forces a user to execute unwanted actions on a web application in which they're currently authenticated. Penetration testers will ofte…

XSS is a type of web security vulnerability that allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. These scripts c…

XSS prevention techniques aim to prevent attackers from injecting malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This often involves encodin…

A cryptocurrency wallet is a digital storage for cryptocurrency. Cryptojacking malware aims to steal processing power to mine cryptocurrency, and the…

Cryptographic agility refers to the ability to quickly and easily switch between different cryptographic algorithms and protocols. This is important…

A cryptographic audit verifies the strength and proper implementation of encryption algorithms and key management practices. It ensures that sensitiv…

A cryptographic hash function is a one-way function that takes an input and produces a fixed-size hash value. While not encryption itself, hash funct…

The unauthorized use of someone else's computer to mine cryptocurrency. While not directly ransomware, it is a related threat that can indicate a com…

A dictionary of publicly known information security vulnerabilities and exposures. CVEs provide a standardized naming convention for vulnerabilities…

A standardized scoring system for rating the severity of software vulnerabilities. CVSS scores help prioritize remediation efforts based on the poten…

Cyber threat intelligence involves gathering and analyzing information about potential cyber threats, including reflection attacks. This information…

The practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information, ex…