The foundation
What is cybersecurity?
Learn what needs protecting and why confidentiality, integrity, and availability matter.
The CyberGuard field guide
Cybersecurity,
explained clearly.
A practical dictionary for the language behind digital safety. Start with a question, follow a topic, or browse the full collection.
151 published definitions20 security topicsExamples and source links on every page
01 / LEARN
A good place to begin.
Three essentials that make the rest of security easier to understand.
Spot the threat
Recognize phishing
See how a convincing message can lead to a fake sign-in page or a harmful link.
Take action
Protect your accounts
Understand how a second sign-in factor helps when a password is exposed.
02 / EXPLORE
Follow a topic.
Find the concepts that matter to your work or the question in front of you.
AI Security
Business Cybersecurity
Cloud Security
Incident Response
Malware
Network Security
Web Application Security
Explore all 20 topics
AI Security 15Business Cybersecurity 15Cloud Security 14Core Cybersecurity 6Cryptography 4Endpoint Security 1Ethical Hacking 1Fraud Online Safety 3Governance Risk Compliance 1Identity Access 4Incident Response 15Malware 18Network Security 22Phishing Social Engineering 4Privacy Data Protection 2Security Technologies 2Threat Intelligence 2Vulnerability Management 4Web Application Security 17Wireless Mobile Security 1
03 / THE INDEX
The dictionary, A to Z.
151 definitions in the library.
AI Security
AI Agent Permissions
AI agent permissions are the actions and data access granted to an AI driven workflow through its accounts, tools, and connected services.
AI Security
AI Assisted Phishing
AI assisted phishing uses generative tools to draft, personalize, translate, or scale deceptive messages intended to steal information or prompt harmful action.
AI Security
AI Red Teaming
AI red teaming is an authorized, structured effort to find harmful or unsafe behavior in an AI system before or during deployment.
Web Application Security
API Security
API security protects application interfaces, their data, and operations from unauthorized use and abuse.
AI Security
Adversarial Machine Learning
Adversarial machine learning studies attacks that manipulate an AI system or its data to change behavior, reveal information, or degrade performance.
Malware
Adware
Adware is software that displays advertising, sometimes in intrusive or deceptive ways, and may also collect browsing or device information.
Web Application Security
Authentication Bypass
Authentication bypass is a flaw that lets someone reach a protected function without completing the required identity check.
Identity Access
Authorization
The decision about which actions an authenticated identity is allowed to perform.
Core Cybersecurity
Availability
The ability of authorized users to access information or services when needed.
Network Security
BGP Routing
Border Gateway Protocol is the routing protocol used by autonomous systems to exchange reachability information across the Internet.
Business Cybersecurity
Backup
A separate copy of data kept so it can be restored after loss, corruption, or disruption.
Business Cybersecurity
Board Cyber Oversight
Board cyber oversight is a board's governance of material cybersecurity risk through clear accountability, risk appetite, reporting, and follow-up.
Web Application Security
Broken Access Control
Broken access control is a failure to enforce which resources or actions an authenticated or anonymous user is allowed to use.
Business Cybersecurity
Business Continuity
The capability to continue essential operations during and after disruption.
Phishing Social Engineering
Business Email Compromise
Fraud in which an attacker uses or impersonates a business email identity to induce payments or disclosure.
Business Cybersecurity
Business Impact Analysis
A business impact analysis identifies important activities and estimates the consequences of their interruption to set recovery priorities.
Web Application Security
CORS
Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) is a browser mechanism that lets a server state which other origins may read its responses.
Network Security
Carrier Grade NAT
Carrier-grade NAT is address and port translation operated by an internet provider so multiple customers can share public IPv4 addresses.
Cryptography
Certificate Authority
An organization or service that issues and signs digital certificates under a trust model.
Incident Response
Chain of Custody
Chain of custody is the documented history of who collected, held, transferred, and examined an item of digital evidence.
Web Application Security
Clickjacking
Clickjacking tricks a person into clicking a hidden or disguised interface element, often by placing a target page inside a frame.
Cloud Security
Cloud Logging
Cloud logging is the collection and retention of records about cloud account activity, resource changes, and workload behavior.
Cloud Security
Cloud Metadata Service
A cloud metadata service provides a running instance with information about itself and, in some platforms, temporary credentials for its assigned identity.
Cloud Security
Cloud Misconfiguration
A cloud misconfiguration is a cloud resource setting that creates unintended exposure or weakens an intended security control.
Cloud Security
Cloud Security Posture Management
Cloud security posture management is the ongoing discovery and assessment of cloud configuration against defined security rules or standards.
Cloud Security
Cloud Tenant Isolation
Cloud tenant isolation is the separation of one customer's data and operations from another customer's in a shared cloud service.
Cloud Security
Cloud Workload
A cloud workload is an application or computing task running on cloud infrastructure or managed cloud services.
Malware
Command and Control
Command and control is the communication channel or process through which an attacker directs compromised systems and receives information from them.
Vulnerability Management
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
A public identifier for a specific publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerability.
Vulnerability Management
Common Vulnerability Scoring System
A framework for describing and scoring characteristics of a vulnerability.
Malware
Computer Virus
A computer virus is malicious code that attaches to another file or program and replicates when that host is executed.
Malware
Computer Worm
A computer worm is self-replicating malware that spreads to other systems without needing to attach to a host program.
Cloud Security
Container Image
A container image is a packaged filesystem and configuration used to start a containerized application.
Web Application Security
Content Security Policy
A browser policy that restricts which resources and scripts a web page may load or execute.
Business Cybersecurity
Continuity Plan
A continuity plan documents how an organization will keep essential activities operating or restore them during a disruption.
Fraud Online Safety
Credential Stuffing
Automated attempts to sign in using username and password pairs stolen from other services.
Business Cybersecurity
Crisis Communication
Crisis communication is the coordinated delivery of accurate, timely information to people affected by a major disruption or security incident.
Web Application Security
Cross Site Request Forgery
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) causes a signed-in browser to send an unwanted state-changing request to another site.
Web Application Security
Cross-Site Scripting
Injection of malicious script into content that another user’s browser executes.
Cryptography
Cryptographic Hash
A fixed-length digest produced from input data by a cryptographic hash function.
Malware
Cryptojacking
Cryptojacking is unauthorized use of someone else's computing resources to mine cryptocurrency.
Business Cybersecurity
Cyber Insurance
Cyber insurance is an insurance policy intended to cover specified financial losses or response costs arising from covered cyber events, subject to its terms.
Core Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity
The practice of protecting digital systems, information, and services from misuse, disruption, or unauthorized access.
Network Security
DNS Spoofing
Manipulation of DNS information so a name resolves to an unintended destination.