The problem of cyber security is sweeping the world, with some of the world's largest and most advanced organizations falling prey to cyber-attacks in the previous five years. In this context, the Equifax breach, which affected over 145 million people, recently stole extremely personal and sensitive information such as social security numbers. Unfortunately, as long as computers exist, our digital data will be hacked and abused. However, if you know what you're doing, living in the digital era isn't all that terrifying.
Learning how your gadget works are not as difficult as it appears. But, if you aced long division in fourth grade, you can master cyber fundamentals that will get you very far in your security as well as the security of your firm.
CyberSecurity Terms That You Must Know
This cybersecurity terminology glossary can help you understand words you've heard but didn't understand. This list will also make you more aware of the dangers lurking around every online corner.
- Adware
Adware bombards consumers with constant advertisements and pop-up windows, making the user experience unpleasant. Adware may also be a serious threat to devices since the annoying advertising may include malware or divert user queries to malicious websites that collect personal information about users. Adware applications are frequently included in freeware or shareware products, with the adware operator receiving an indirect charge for utilizing the software. Adware programs often do not manifest themselves in any form on the system. Adware applications seldom offer a de-installation process, and attempted removal may cause the original carrier software to fail.
- Authentication
The procedure of determining a user's identification and granting them access to the system and/or data. This can be achieved via a password, retina scan, fingerprint scan, or a combination of the three.
- Botnet
A botnet, which is a mix of the terms "robot" and "network," is a network of computers that have been infected with a virus and are now working continually to produce security breaches. These assaults include Bitcoin mining, sending spam e-mails, and DDoS attacks (see below).
- Clickjacking
Clickjacking is the practice of deceiving someone into clicking on one thing on a web page while believing they are clicking on another. The attacker overlays a transparent page over the legitimate content on the web page, fooling the victim into believing they are clicking on a valid item when they are clicking on something on the attacker's invisible page. The attacker can then use the victim's click for their objectives. Clickjacking might be used to install malware, access one of the victim's online accounts, or turn on the victim's webcam.
- Data Breach
A hacker successfully hacks into a system, acquiring control of its network, and exposing its data, which is frequently personal data like credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, and other information.
- DDoS
DDoS is an abbreviation for Distributed Denial of Service and is a popular Black Hat tool. Using several hosts and users, hackers flood a website with requests to the point that the system locks up and has to be temporarily shut down.
- Man in The Middle Attack
In this scenario, an assault against the "middleman," is defined as the Wi-Fi infrastructure that links consumers to the Internet. Hackers that utilize Man in the Middle attacks can bypass Wi-Fi encryption and obtain your personal information since they are now inside the system.
- Phishing
A scam in which a hacker poses as a legitimate business or organization (typically credit card companies, banks, charities, Internet providers, and other utilities) to trick the victim into providing sensitive personal information or clicking on a link or attachment that ends up delivering malware. Some of these techniques are incredibly well-executed, while others are sloppy and amateurish, and they may be detected with a little extra care.
- Behavior monitoring
It is the recording of a system's and its users' events and actions. The recorded events are compared against security policy and behavioral baselines to assess compliance and/or detect violations. Tracking trends, setting thresholds, and defining reactions are all examples of the behavioral monitoring. Trend tracking can disclose when errors are growing, suggesting the need for technical help, when abnormal load levels occur, indicating the existence of malicious code, or when production work levels increase, indicating the need to expand capacity. Thresholds are used to describe the levels of activity or occurrences that are concerning and necessitate a reaction. Levels below the threshold are recorded, but no action is taken. Responses may be used to mediate disputes, address violations, avoid downtime, or increase capabilities.
- Blacklist
A blacklist is a security measure that prevents the execution of applications on a known dangerous or undesirable list of software. The blacklist is a collection of particular files that are known to be harmful or otherwise undesirable. Any application in the list is not permitted to run, but any other program, whether benign or dangerous, is allowed to run by default.
- Authorization
The security mechanism determines and enforces what authenticated users may and cannot do within a computer system. The most common types of authorization are DAC, MAC, and RBAC. DAC (Discretionary Access Control) maintains access to each resource object by utilizing ACL (Access Control Lists), which lists users along with the rights or privileges given or refused to them. MAC (Mandatory Access Control) regulates access by labeling subjects and objects with classification or clearance labels, and only subjects with equal or greater clearance are permitted to access resources. RBAC (Position Based Access Control) regulates access by labeling a work function with the rights and privileges required to complete a given job or role.
- Social Engineering
A method of manipulating and deceiving others to get sensitive and confidential information. Social engineering scams are designed to exploit how individuals think and act. As a result, if a hacker learns what motivates a person's activities, they can generally obtain exactly what they're searching for, such as financial information and passwords.