Ethical Hacking & Countermeasures Glossary

A

• ACK Flag Probe Scan
  Sending TCP packets with an ACK flag to a device and analyzing the response to check if a port is open or closed.

• Access Point (AP)
  A device that connects wireless devices to a wired network.

• Active Attacks
  Hackers messing with data in transit or disrupting services to break into secure systems.

• Active Footprinting
  Gathering info about your target through direct interaction. Not sneaky, but effective.

• Active Sniffing
  Injecting ARP packets to flood the network switch, so you can grab sensitive data like a boss.

• Adversary Behavioral Identification
  Spotting the common methods hackers use to launch attacks on your network.

• Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
  A protocol that helps translate IP addresses to MAC addresses so devices can talk to each other.

• Adware
  Software that spams you with ads and popups you never asked for.

• Agent Smith Attack
  Sneaky attacks where users download malicious apps disguised as legit ones, usually from third-party stores.

• Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
  A top-level encryption standard developed by NIST to protect electronic data.

• Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
  Advanced attacks where hackers gain access to your network and stay hidden for long periods.

• Anomaly Detection
  Spying out weird behaviour that doesn’t fit the usual patterns to catch potential threats.

• Angler Phishing
  Scammers use social media to target unhappy users and lure them into phishing traps.

• Anonymizer
  A server that hides your real identity, letting you browse the web untraceable.

• Application Blacklisting
  Keeping a list of known bad apps that are blocked from running anywhere on your system.

• Application Flaws
  Vulnerabilities in apps that attackers can easily exploit.

• Application-Level Firewall
  Filters traffic at the app layer, providing extra protection on top of network-layer defences.

• Application-Level Hijacking
  Taking control of an app's session by hijacking the session ID. Sneaky.

• Application Proxy
  A middleman server that filters connections for specific services to keep things secure.

• Application Whitelisting
  Only allowing trusted apps to run. If it's not on the list, it doesn't get in.

• API DDoS Attack
  Flooding an API with massive traffic from a botnet, choking the service for legitimate users.

• ARP Ping Scan
  Sending ARP requests to see if hosts are active. If you get a reply, the host’s alive.

• ARP Spoofing Attack
  Creating forged ARP packets to overload the switch and mess with network communications.

• Asymmetric Encryption
  Encryption that uses two keys – one to lock (public) and one to unlock (private).

• Association
  The process of connecting a wireless device to an AP (Access Point).

• Audio Steganography
  Hiding secret data inside audio files like MP3s, WAVs, or RM. Who says music can't hold secrets?

• Automated Web App Security Testing
  Automating the security testing process during development to catch vulnerabilities early.

• Antivirus Sensor System
  Software that detects and analyzes malicious code threats like viruses, worms, and Trojans.

• Authenticity
  Make sure your data or communication is legit and real, not fake.

• Availability
  Your systems need to be there when authorized users need them. Period. No downtime, no excuses.

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B

• Baiting
  A technique where attackers lure victims with something tempting to steal sensitive info.

• Bandwidth
  How much data can be sent over a connection? Think of it as your network’s capacity.

• Base64 Encoding
  A method to represent binary data using only printable ASCII characters, useful for storing or transmitting data.

• Basic Process Control System (BPCS)
  Responsible for process control and monitoring in industrial setups.

• Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID)
  The MAC address of an access point (AP) or base station in a wireless network.

• Behavioral Indicators
  Telltale signs of malicious activity, like red flags for shady behaviour.

• BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)
  A protocol that exchanges routing info between different networks on the Internet.

• Big Data
  Massive data sets that are analyzed to uncover trends and patterns, are often used for predictive analysis.

• Black Hats
  Hackers who use their skills for illegal or malicious purposes. The bad guys in the hacker world.

• Blacklist Validation
  Rejecting all malicious inputs that have been marked as dangerous. No bad guys allowed.

• Blind/Inferential SQL Injection
  An SQL injection where the attacker asks true/false questions to determine if an app is vulnerable.

• Blowfish
  A symmetric encryption algorithm designed to replace older ones like DES or IDEA.

• Bluetooth
  A short-range wireless tech that connects devices without cables while keeping things secure.

• BlueBorne Attack
  An attack on Bluetooth devices to gain full control of the target.

• Bluebugging
  Remotely accessing and using a Bluetooth device’s features without the victim knowing.

• BlueJacking
  Sending anonymous messages to Bluetooth-enabled devices, like laptops and phones.

• Bluesmacking
  An attack where the attacker sends oversized ping packets to cause a buffer overflow on the target’s device.

• BlueSnarfing
  Stealing info from a Bluetooth-enabled device like a phone or laptop, typically done over Bluetooth connections.

• BlueSniff
  A tool for scanning and finding Bluetooth devices during wardriving.

• Blueprinting
  A technique used to figure out the make and model of a Bluetooth-enabled device.

• Botnet
  A huge network of compromised systems controlled by attackers, often used for DDoS attacks.

• Broken Access Control
  When attackers find flaws in access control, bypass authentication, and compromise the network.

• Brute-Force Attack
  Attackers try every possible combination of characters until they crack your password.

• Buffer Overflow
  When a program gets more data than it can handle, leading to crashes or hacks.

• Bug Bounty Program
  Companies challenge hackers to find bugs in their systems, rewarding them for discovering vulnerabilities.

• Business Network
  A network that provides the information infrastructure for a business.

• BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
  A policy allowing employees to use their personal devices (like laptops and phones) to access company resources.

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C

• Cache Poisoned Denial of Service (CPDoS)
  An attack that tricks a web server into caching malicious or error responses, causing a denial of service.

• Camellia
  A symmetric block cypher offering high levels of security with either 18 or 24 rounds, depending on the key size.

• Camfecting Attack
  Taking control of a victim’s webcam without their knowledge, turning it into a spying device.

• CASB (Cloud Access Security Brokers)
  Solutions that enforce security, compliance, and governance for cloud applications.

• CAST-128
  A symmetric block cypher that uses 12-16 rounds of encryption to secure data.

• CEH Hacking Methodology (CHM)
  The step-by-step process created by the EC-Council for ethical hacking, covering the whole hacking cycle.

• Chain Letters
  Emails promising free gifts in exchange for forwarding them to others. Classic scam move.

• Circuit-Level Gateway Firewall
  Monitors session requests and decides whether to allow or deny the session based on predefined rules.

• Clickjacking Attack
  An attack where users are tricked into clicking on something they didn’t intend, usually by placing hidden elements over a legit web page.

• Cloud Application Security
  The rules and techniques used to secure data exchange between cloud platforms.

• Cloud Auditing
  Analyzing and verifying cloud services to ensure they comply with privacy and security requirements.

• Cloud-Based Assessment
  Assessing the security of cloud infrastructure based on best practices and guidelines set by the provider.

• Cloudborne Attack
  An attack that implants a backdoor in the firmware of a cloud server to compromise it.

• Cloud Broker
  Manages cloud services for clients, ensuring everything works smoothly between cloud providers and consumers.

• Cloud Carrier
  Provides connectivity between cloud consumers and cloud providers.

• Cloud Consumer
  An individual or organization that uses cloud services.

• Cloud Cryptojacking
  Stealing your computer’s power to secretly mine cryptocurrency without your consent.

• Cloud Integration
  The process of connecting multiple cloud environments together, creating a unified public or hybrid cloud.

• Cloud Provider
  The entity that offers cloud services to consumers.

• Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)
  A nonprofit organization that promotes best practices and awareness to secure cloud environments.

• Cluster
  A group of connected computers (nodes) working together to complete tasks faster.

• Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE)
  A free, publicly available list that identifies common software vulnerabilities.

• Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)
  A standardized way to measure and communicate the severity of IT vulnerabilities.

• Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)
  A system that categorizes software vulnerabilities and weaknesses, helping developers fix them.

• Competitive Intelligence Gathering
  The process of gathering and analyzing information about your competitors from publicly available sources.

• Computer Worms
  Malicious programs that spread across networks on their own, consuming resources without needing human intervention.

• Confidentiality
  Keeping data and info accessible only to those who are authorized. No snoopers allowed.

• Container
  A package that includes everything needed to run the software: app code, libraries, and dependencies.

• Container-as-a-Service (CaaS)
  A service that manages the virtualization of containers and apps through a web portal or API.

• Container Orchestration
  Automating the management, scaling, and operation of containers to ensure they run efficiently in the cloud.

• Cookie Poisoning
  Altering cookie data to gain unauthorized information or steal a user’s identity.

• Cookie Replay
  Reusing stolen cookies to impersonate a legitimate user as long as they’re still logged in.

• Cookie Sniffing
  Intercepting cookies that contain session IDs, allowing the attacker to hijack user sessions and bypass authentication.

• CRIME Attack
  An attack that exploits vulnerabilities in the data compression feature of SSL/TLS protocols, leaking sensitive data.

• Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Attack
  An attack that tricks users into performing actions they didn’t intend by sending malicious requests on their behalf.

• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks
  Attackers inject malicious scripts into web pages that execute in the browser of unsuspecting users.

• Crypter
  Software that hides malware, making it harder to detect and reverse engineer.

• Cryptanalysis
  The study of breaking cyphers, finding weaknesses in cryptosystems and cracking encrypted messages.

• Cryptography
  The art of converting data into secret code to protect it when being transferred over a network.

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D

• DCSync Attack
  An attack where hackers use domain replication rights to create a fake domain controller and gain access to sensitive data.

• Database Honeypots
  Fake databases set up to lure attackers, helping identify vulnerabilities like SQL injection attempts.

• Data Encryption Standard (DES)
  An encryption standard used to secure data, is now considered weak compared to modern encryption.

• Data Protection API (DPAPI)
  Windows' unified storage for cryptographically protected files, browser passwords, and other sensitive data.

• Deepfake Attack
  Using AI to create fake videos or audio that impersonate someone to trick targets into giving up sensitive info.

• Deep Web
  Web content that’s hidden and not indexed by regular search engines. You need special tools to find it.

• Defense-in-Depth
  A security strategy where multiple layers of protection are spread throughout your systems. Think of it as a security onion.

• Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
  A part of your network that acts as a neutral zone between your internal network and the outside world. Keeps outsiders from getting too close.

• Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack
  An attack that overwhelms a system or network, making it unusable for legitimate users.

• DHCP Starvation Attack
  A DoS attack where hackers use up all available IP addresses on a network by flooding it with DHCP requests.

• Diamond Model
  A framework that helps identify clusters of related security events across a system, helping you connect the dots.

• Dictionary Attack
  An attack where a hacker uses a pre-made dictionary of passwords to crack user accounts.

• Diffie-Hellman
  A cryptographic protocol that lets two parties establish a shared key over an insecure channel.

• Digital Signature
  Using asymmetric cryptography to create a secure, digital version of a handwritten signature.

• Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA)
  A government-standard encryption algorithm used to create digital signatures.

• Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
  A technique that spreads a data signal over a wider frequency band, making it harder to intercept.

• Directory Traversal
  Attackers access restricted directories by manipulating URLs and gaining access to sensitive system files.

• Distributed Control System (DCS)
  A system used for controlling processes in industries, often handling critical infrastructure.

• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack
  A coordinated attack where many compromised systems flood a target with traffic, taking it offline.

• Distributed Network Attack (DNA)
  Hackers harness unused processing power across multiple systems to crack passwords faster.

• Distributed Reflection Denial-of-Service (DRDoS) Attack
  An attack where multiple intermediary machines send reflected traffic to a target, amplifying the attack.

• DNS Cache Poisoning
  Altering a DNS server’s cache with fake DNS records, so users get sent to malicious sites when they think they’re visiting legit ones.

• DNS Cache Snooping
  An attacker checks a DNS server’s cache to see if certain DNS records are there, potentially revealing what sites were visited.

• DNS Poisoning
  Attackers trick DNS servers into accepting fake records, leading users to malicious sites instead of the real ones.

• DNS Rebinding Attack
  Attackers use DNS rebinding to bypass same-origin policies, allowing malicious web pages to communicate with local domains.

• DNSSEC Zone Walking
  If DNSSEC isn’t configured correctly, attackers can extract internal DNS records by walking through the DNS zone.

• Docker
  A technology for creating and managing containers that run the software and all its dependencies in isolated environments.

• Document Steganography
  Hiding secret messages inside documents, making them invisible to anyone who doesn’t know they’re there.

• Downloader
  A Trojan designed to download more malware once it gains access to your system.

• Dropper
  A Trojan that silently installs other malware onto a system, usually without detection.

• DUHK Attack
  A vulnerability that lets attackers recover hard-coded encryption keys, putting VPNs and web sessions at risk.

• Dumpster Diving
  Attackers go through your trash, literally, to find sensitive info. Not glamorous, but it works.

• DROWN Attack
  An attack that exploits a weakness in SSL/TLS to break encryption, even if the server uses modern versions of SSL.

• Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
  Black-box testing that’s done on running code to find issues with requests, responses, and code injections.

• Dynamic Malware Analysis
  Running malware to see how it behaves and how it affects the host system.

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E

• Eavesdropping
  Secretly listening to conversations (like phone calls or video chats) without permission. Creepy and illegal.

• Edge Computing
  A distributed model where data is processed close to where it’s generated (near-edge devices) instead of relying on centralized servers.

• Egress Filtering
  Scanning outgoing IP packet headers to ensure nothing malicious is leaving your network.

• Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)
  Modern cryptography uses smaller key sizes for stronger encryption, avoiding the need for massive keys.

• Email Honeypots
  Fake email addresses set up to catch malicious emails and monitor attack attempts.

• Email Indicators
  Clues are hidden in emails that hackers use to deliver malicious data to a target.

• Electronic Security Perimeter
  The boundary that separates secure and insecure zones of a system.

• Elicitation
  Getting sensitive info from someone by casually chatting with them. Social engineering at its finest.

• Enumeration
  Extracting usernames, machine names, network resources, and services from a system or network.

• Error-Based SQL Injection
  An attack that forces a database to make an error, revealing vulnerabilities.

• Ethical Hacking
  Using hacking tools, tricks, and techniques for good – to find vulnerabilities and secure systems.

• Exploit
  A piece of malicious code that takes advantage of software vulnerabilities to breach security.

• Exploit Chaining
  Combining multiple exploits to dig deeper into a system and take control.

• Exploit Kit
  A crimeware toolkit that delivers payloads like Trojans, spyware, and backdoors through vulnerabilities.

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F

• Fault Injection Attacks
  Injecting faulty or malicious code into a system to break its security. Also called Perturbation attacks.

• Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
  A comprehensive framework for ensuring security controls over information resources that support federal operations and assets.

• File Fingerprinting
  Creating a hash value for a binary file to uniquely identify it.

• Fileless Malware
  Malware that infects legitimate software or apps without needing a file to operate. It's sneaky, running straight in memory.

• Fingerprint Attack
  Breaking down passwords into simpler, smaller character combinations to crack complex passwords.

• Firewalking
  Using TTL values to figure out gateway ACL filters and map the network by analyzing IP responses.

• Firewall
  Hardware or software designed to block unauthorized access to or from your network. Your first line of defence.

• Flooding
  Sending massive amounts of traffic to create noise, confusing intrusion detection systems so real attacks go unnoticed.

• Folder Steganography
  Hiding and encrypting files inside a folder, making them invisible in normal Windows applications like Explorer.

• Footprinting
  The first step in any attack, where an attacker gathers info about the target network to find ways in.

• Function-as-a-Service (FaaS)
  A cloud service for running code without needing to manage servers. Serverless architecture at its finest.

• Fog Computing
  A decentralized computing model where data and apps live between devices and the cloud, bringing processing closer to where data is generated.

• Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
  A method that rapidly switches radio signal frequencies to avoid interference or interception.

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G

• Gaining Access
  The moment when an attacker successfully gets into the target system or network, whether it’s an app, OS, or something else.

• Ghostwriting
  A bypass technique where malware code is modified without changing how it works, evading detection.

• Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
  A universal mobile data transmission system used worldwide in wireless networks.

• GNSS Spoofing
  An attack that messes with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, tricking the target into receiving fake location and time data.

• Golden SAML Attack
  An attack targeting cloud identity providers, like ADFS, that use SAML for user authentication and authorization.

• Golden Ticket Attack
  A post-exploitation technique that lets hackers take full control over an Active Directory, owning the whole network.

• Google Hacking Database (GHDB)
  An online resource filled with Google search queries that expose sensitive information or vulnerabilities indexed by the search engine.

• Gray Hats
  Hackers who sometimes play on the defensive and sometimes on the offensive, depending on the situation.

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H

• Hacker
  A person who breaks into systems or networks without permission, often for malicious reasons.

• Hacker Teams
  A group of skilled hackers working together with funding and resources to research cutting-edge tech.

• Hacking
  Exploiting system vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to resources or sensitive data.

• Hacktivist
  Hackers with a political agenda, defacing or disabling websites to promote their cause.

• Hash Collision Attack
  An attack where two different inputs result in the same hash output, potentially compromising the system’s integrity.

• Hash Injection/Pass-the-Hash (PtH) Attack
  An attack where a compromised hash is injected into a session to access network resources without needing the original password.

• Hardware-Based Encryption
  Using hardware instead of software to handle data encryption, often for better performance and security.

• Hardware Firewall
  A physical device, often part of a router, designed to block unauthorized access to a network.

• Hardware Protocol Analyzer
  A device used to capture and analyze signals without altering network traffic.

• Hardware Security Module (HSM)
  An external security device that manages, generates, and securely stores cryptographic keys for systems.

• Hard Drive Encryption
  Technology that encrypts data stored on a hard drive using various encryption methods to keep it safe.

• High-Interaction Honeypots
  Honeypots that run real, vulnerable services and software, offering attackers a real environment to explore.

• Honey Trap
  An attacker pretends to be an attractive person online, building a fake relationship to extract sensitive info from the target.

• Honeynet
  A network of honeypots used to study an attacker’s full capabilities by observing their methods across a network.

• Honeypot
  A system set up to lure attackers, helping to study their methods and trap them before they can cause real harm.

• Host-Based Indicators
  Clues found by analyzing an infected system within a network, helping to trace malicious activity.

• Host Integrity Monitoring
  Tracking changes made to a system by comparing its state before and after analysis.

• Hotfixes
  Specific updates that address customer issues but aren’t always distributed widely.

• HTML Encoding
  A method to represent unusual characters safely within an HTML document.

• HTML Smuggling
  A web attack where malicious code is hidden in an HTML script to compromise a web page.

• HTTP GET/POST Attack
  An attack that uses time-delayed HTTP headers to exhaust web server resources by keeping connections open for too long.

• HTTP Public Key Pinning (HPKP)
  A technique that associates a specific public key with a server, helping to prevent MITM attacks using fake certificates.

• HTTP Response-Splitting Attack
  An attack where hackers inject new lines and arbitrary code into a server’s response headers to manipulate HTTP responses.

• HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
  A web security policy that ensures websites using HTTPS are protected against man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

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I

• ICMP ECHO Ping Scan
  Sending ICMP ECHO requests to see if a host is live. If it responds, it’s alive.

• ICMP ECHO Ping Sweep
  Sending ICMP ECHO requests to a range of IPs to find out which hosts are live.

• ICMP Flood Attack
  A DoS attack where attackers flood a victim’s system with large volumes of ICMP requests, overloading it.

• Identity Theft
  A crime where someone steals personal information like your name, credit card number, or social security number to commit fraud.

• IEC 62443
  A cybersecurity standard for industrial control systems, addressing secure design, risk assessment, and security management.

• IAM Misconfiguration
  Mistakes in setting up Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies, often leading to security breaches.

• Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)
  Clues or forensic data found on a network or system that hint at a possible breach or malicious activity.

• Industrial Control System (ICS)
  A collection of control systems and equipment used to operate and automate industrial processes.

• Industrial Network
  A network of automated control systems used in industrial environments.

• Injection Flaws
  Web app vulnerabilities where untrusted data is executed as part of a command or query, leading to security breaches.

• In-band SQL Injection
  An attack where the attacker uses the same communication channel to send malicious SQL queries and receive the results.

• Ingress Filtering
  A technique that prevents attackers from using fake source addresses in Internet traffic.

• Insider Attack
  An attack from within the organization, where someone with privileged access breaks the rules or intentionally harms the system.

• Integer Overflow
  An error that happens when a value is too large for the allocated memory, leading to unexpected behavior or vulnerabilities.

• Integrity
  Ensuring that data or resources are trustworthy, with no unauthorized changes.

• Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
  Software or hardware that inspects network traffic to detect suspicious patterns that may indicate a security breach.

• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
  Similar to an IDS, but with the added capability of blocking detected threats.

• IP Address Decoy
  Using fake IP addresses to throw off an intrusion detection system (IDS) or firewall and hide the real attacker.

• IP Address Spoofing
  Changing the source IP address in packets to make an attack look like it’s coming from someone else.

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J

• Jailbreaking
  The process of installing modified kernel patches that let users run third-party apps not approved by the OS vendor.

• Jamming Attack
  An attack where the communication between wireless IoT devices is jammed, disrupting their function and making them vulnerable.

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K

• Kerberos
  A network authentication protocol that uses secret-key cryptography to provide strong authentication for client/server apps.

• Keylogger
  Software or hardware that secretly records every keystroke typed by a user, logging it for later or sending it to a remote attacker.

• Key Stretching
  _A technique to strengthen a weak cryptographic key

  by making it longer and harder to crack._

• KNOB Attack
  A Bluetooth attack that weakens security during key negotiation, allowing an attacker to perform a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack on paired devices.

• Kubernetes (K8s)
  An open-source platform for managing containerized apps and microservices, originally developed by Google.

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L

• Lawful Interception
  Legally intercepting data communication between two points for surveillance, covering everything from traditional telecoms to VoIP and data networks.

• LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
  An Internet protocol used for accessing distributed directory services, like finding info on servers or networks.

• LDAP Injection Attack
  An attack similar to SQL injection but targeting LDAP queries, exploiting user inputs to manipulate directory lookups.

• Low-Interaction Honeypots
  Honeypots mimic only a few services or apps on a target system, giving attackers just enough to interact with but not the whole system.

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M

• MAC Flooding
  Overloading a network switch’s CAM table with fake MAC addresses to cause a switch overflow.

• MAC Spoofing/Duplicating
  An attack where an attacker copies a legitimate MAC address to bypass network security and impersonate a legitimate device.

• Maintaining Access
  The phase where an attacker tries to keep their hold on a compromised system, ensuring continued control.

• Malicious Code
  Code that defines the core functions of malware, like data theft or creating backdoors.

• Malicious Insider
  A disgruntled employee who intentionally introduces malware or steals data from their company.

• Malware
  Malicious software designed to damage or disable systems, or take control for theft or fraud.

• Malware Analysis
  Reverse engineering malware to figure out its origin, functionality, and potential impact.

• Malware Honeypots
  Honeypots are designed to trap malware campaigns by mimicking vulnerable systems.

• Man-in-the-Browser Attack
  An attack where a Trojan intercepts communications between the browser and its security mechanisms, hijacking browser data.

• Man-in-the-Cloud (MITC) Attack
  An attack that abuses cloud file services like Google Drive or Dropbox for data theft, remote access, or command-and-control operations.

• Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attack
  An attack where the attacker intercepts communications between two systems, often without either party knowing.

• Markov-Chain Attack
  Attackers break passwords into 2- or 3-character chunks and create new character sequences based on patterns in a password database.

• Memory Leak
  An unintended consumption of memory that happens when a programmer forgets to release memory that’s no longer needed.

• MITRE ATT&CK Framework
  A globally accessible knowledge base of real-world adversary tactics and techniques. A hacker’s playbook, based on actual observations.

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N

• National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
  A U.S. government repository that holds vulnerability management data, represented using the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP).

• Negligent Insider
  An insider who unintentionally causes security issues by skipping or ignoring security procedures, usually for convenience.

• Network Address Translation (NAT)
  A method that separates IP addresses into two sets, allowing internal and external traffic to use different addresses.

• Network Indicators
  Clues found in network traffic are used for malware detection, command and control tracking, OS identification, and more.

• Network Level Hijacking
  Intercepting packets during transmission between a client and server in a TCP or UDP session, hijacks the communication.

• Network Perimeter
  The outer boundary of a network, marking the edge of the protected zone.

• Network Scanning
  A process of identifying hosts, ports, and services running on a network to map out the environment.

• Non-Repudiation
  A guarantee that the sender of a message can’t deny sending it, and the recipient can’t deny receiving it.

• NTP (Network Time Protocol)
  A protocol designed to sync the clocks of computers across a network, keeping everyone on the same time frame.

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O

• Obfuscating
  An IDS evasion trick where attackers encode the attack payload so the target system can decode it but the IDS can’t.

• Obfuscator
  A program that hides its code and purpose, making it hard for security tools to detect or remove.

• OAuth
  An authorization protocol that lets users grant limited access to their data from one site to another site without sharing their login credentials.

• Omnidirectional Antenna
  An antenna that radiates electromagnetic energy equally in all directions, like a big broadcasting beacon.

• Organized Hackers
  Criminals who rent devices or botnets to carry out cyberattacks, usually to steal money from victims.

• Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
  A digital modulation method that splits a signal into multiple carrier frequencies that are orthogonal (at right angles) to each other.

• OS Discovery/Banner Grabbing
  A technique used to figure out what operating system a remote target is running by grabbing info from system banners.

• Output Encoding
  A technique used to sanitize input before sending it to a database, ensuring it’s safe and free from attacks like SQL injection.

• Overpass-the-Hash Attack
  A credential theft attack where attackers reuse stolen hashes to perform malicious actions on compromised devices or environments.

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P

• Packet Filtering Firewall
  A firewall that checks each packet against a set of rules before deciding whether to forward or block it.

• Packet Fragmentation
  Splitting a large packet into smaller fragments to send across a network.

• Packet Sniffing
  Capturing and monitoring all data packets passing through a network.

• Passive Attacks
  Attackers quietly monitor and intercept network traffic without altering the data.

• Passive Footprinting
  Collecting information about a target without interacting with it directly. A stealthy approach to info gathering.

• Password Cracking
  Techniques used to recover passwords from systems, usually through brute force, dictionary attacks, or other methods.

• Password Guessing
  Manually trying different passwords to log into a system, hoping to hit the right one.

• Password Salting
  Adding a random string to passwords before hashing them, making brute-force attacks much harder.

• Password Spraying Attack
  Attackers use a small set of commonly used passwords across multiple user accounts to find a weak point.

• Payload
  Malicious software that executes after a system is compromised, allowing the attacker to control the system.

• Peer-to-Peer Attack
  A DDoS attack where the attacker exploits vulnerabilities in peer-to-peer servers to initiate the attack.

• Pharming
  A social engineering technique where victims are redirected to malicious websites, even though they typed the correct URL.

• Phishing
  Sending fake emails pretending to be from legit sites to trick users into giving up personal or account information.

• Piggybacking
  Gaining unauthorized physical access to a secure area by following an authorized person.

• Ping of Death Attack
  An attack where the attacker sends oversized or malformed packets to crash or destabilize the target system.

• Pop-Up Windows
  Unwanted windows that suddenly appear while browsing, are often used in phishing attempts to steal user info.

• Post-quantum Cryptography
  Advanced cryptographic algorithms designed to protect against attacks from both traditional and quantum computers.

• Privilege Escalation
  Gaining higher levels of access or permissions on a system than initially granted.

• Proxy Server
  An intermediary server that connects users to other computers, hiding the user’s identity and improving security.

• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
  The hardware, software, and policies needed to create, manage, and revoke digital certificates.

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Q

• Quantum Cryptanalysis
  The process of breaking cryptographic algorithms using the power of quantum computers.

• Quantum Cryptography
  Encryption based on quantum mechanics, using photons for secure communication instead of traditional mathematical methods. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a key example.

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R

• Rainbow Table
  A pre-computed table that stores word lists (like dictionaries or brute force lists) and their corresponding hash values.

• Ransomware
  Malware that locks users out of their systems or files until a ransom is paid.

• Reconnaissance
  The prep phase is where attackers gather info about a target before launching an attack.

• Replay Attack
  Capturing and replaying authentication tokens or packets to gain unauthorized access to a system.

• Resource Exhaustion
  An attack that overloads a system with resource requests, exploiting software bugs to crash or freeze the system.

• Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) Attack
  An attack where malicious code is executed using existing code sequences, bypassing protections like executable space protection.

• Reverse Engineering
  Analyzing and extracting the source code of software or applications to understand or modify them.

• Rich Text Format (RTF) Injection
  An attack that exploits Microsoft Office’s RTF features by injecting malicious RTF templates.

• Risk Assessment
  Evaluating the likelihood and impact of identified risks to determine the overall risk.

• Rootkits
  Programs that hide malicious activities and give attackers full access to a compromised system.

• RSA (Rivest Shamir Adleman)
  A public key cryptosystem for encrypting and authenticating data, created by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman.

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S

• SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)
  A cloud computing model where application software is provided to subscribers on-demand over the internet.

• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
  A U.S. law passed in 2002 to protect investors and the public by ensuring the accuracy of corporate disclosures.

• Script Kiddies
  Unskilled hackers who use pre-made scripts and tools developed by real hackers to compromise systems.

• Scanning
  The pre-attack phase where attackers scan networks for specific information using data from reconnaissance.

• Scareware
  Malware that tricks users into visiting malicious sites or buying potentially harmful software by scaring them with fake alerts.

• Secure Hashing Algorithm (SHA)
  A cryptographic hash function used to create secure one-way hashes.

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
  An application layer protocol developed by Netscape to secure data transmission over the internet.

• Security Groups
  A basic cloud infrastructure security measure to protect virtual instances.

• Session Hijacking
  Taking over a valid TCP communication session between two systems to steal or manipulate data.

• Shoulder Surfing
  An attacker physically watches a victim’s keystrokes to steal sensitive data like usernames and passwords.

• Signature Recognition
  Also called misuse detection, this identifies known patterns of misuse in network traffic or system activity.

• Spear Phishing
  Targeted phishing attacks with custom content aimed at a specific individual or small group.

• SPIMming
  A form of spam that spreads across instant messaging platforms, flooding users with unwanted messages.

• SQL Injection
  An attack that exploits unsanitized inputs in web applications to execute SQL commands on a backend database.

• Stealth Scan (Half-Open Scan)
  A scanning technique that resets the TCP connection before completing the three-way handshake, leaving the connection "half-open" to avoid detection.

• Steganography
  Hiding a secret message within another message, keeping the message hidden even after transmission.

• Suicide Hackers
  Hackers who aim to bring down critical infrastructure for a cause, without fear of jail time or punishment.

• Supervised Learning
  An algorithmic learning technique that uses labelled training data to learn and predict outcomes.

• Symmetric Encryption
  Encryption that uses the same key for encryption and decryption, also known as private-key encryption.

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T

• Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)
  Patterns of activities and methods used by specific threat actors or groups of attackers.

• Tailgating
  Gaining unauthorized access to a secure area by following an authorized person without consent.

• TCP/IP Hijacking
  Using spoofed packets to take control of an active connection between a victim and a target machine.

• Threat Modeling
  A risk assessment approach that analyzes an application’s security by gathering and organizing info about potential threats.

• Traceroute
  A tool that uses ICMP packets to map the routers along the path to a target host.

• Trojan
  Malicious software disguised as something harmless, designed to cause damage once executed.

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
  An extra layer of protection that requires a second method of authentication beyond just a password.

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U

• UDP Flood Attack
  An attack where large volumes of spoofed UDP packets are sent to random ports on a target server at high speeds.

• UDP Hijacking
  A network session hijacking where the attacker sends a fake server reply to a victim’s UDP request before the real server can respond.

• URL Encoding
  The process of converting URLs into valid ASCII format so they can be safely transmitted over HTTP.

• Union SQL Injection
  An SQL injection technique where an attacker combines a fake query with a legitimate one using the UNION clause.

• UTF-8
  A variable-length encoding standard where each byte is expressed in hexadecimal, preceded by the % symbol.

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V

• Virus
  A self-replicating program that copies itself by attaching to another program, boot sector, or document.

• Vishing
  A phishing attack using voice technology (phone, VoIP) to trick people into giving up personal or financial information.

• Vulnerability Assessment
  A deep dive into a system’s security measures to determine how well it can withstand attacks.

• Vulnerability Exploitation
  Executing a series of complex steps to take advantage of vulnerabilities and gain access to a remote system.

• Vulnerability Research
  The process of analyzing protocols, services, and configurations to uncover vulnerabilities and design flaws that attackers could exploit.

• Vulnerability Scanning
  A method for identifying vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in web servers or networks.

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  W

• Web Application Fuzz Testing (Fuzzing)
  A black-box testing method that helps identify coding errors and security vulnerabilities in web applications.

• Web API
  An API that allows client-side applications to interact with online services to retrieve or update data.

• Web Server
  A computer system that stores, processes, and delivers web pages via HTTP to clients.

• Web Shell
  Malicious code written in server-side languages like PHP, ASP, or Python, is used to gain control of a compromised server.

• Whaling
  A phishing attack targeting high-profile individuals like CEOs, CFOs, or politicians to steal sensitive info.

• White Hats
  Ethical hackers who use their skills for defensive purposes, often as penetration testers.

• Whois
  A protocol used to query databases for information about domain name registrations, IP addresses, and more.

• Wire Sniffing
  Capturing internet packets to sniff credentials while they’re in transit, a form of packet sniffing or wiretapping.

• Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
  A security protocol for wireless LANs, designed to provide similar security to that of wired LANs but now considered outdated and insecure.

• Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems (WIPS)
  Systems that monitor wireless networks for threats and protect against wireless attacks.

• Wi-Fi
  A wireless network based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, allowing devices to connect within an access point’s range.

• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
  A security protocol that uses TKIP encryption and RC4 for stronger authentication and encryption in wireless networks.

• Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)
  An upgrade to WPA that mandates AES-based encryption with CCMP for stronger security.

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X

• Xmas Scan
  An inverse TCP scan where FIN, URG, and PUSH flags are set to send a TCP frame to a remote device, used to probe for open ports.

• XML External Entity (XXE) Attack
  A server-side request forgery (SSRF) attack where a vulnerable XML parser processes input from an unreliable source, allowing attackers to access internal files or execute code remotely.

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Y

• Yagi Antenna
  A unidirectional antenna, also called Yagi-Uda, is commonly used for communications in the 10 MHz to VHF and UHF frequency bands.

• YAK (Yet Another Key Exchange)
  A public-key-based Authenticated Key Exchange (AKE) protocol used to securely exchange keys between parties.

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Z

• Zero Trust Network
  A security model that treats every incoming connection as untrusted and requires verification before allowing access to the network.

• Zero-trust Principles
  A security approach that requires every user to be authenticated and verified before accessing any resource, with no exceptions.

• Zones and Conduits
  A network segregation technique that isolates networks and assets to enforce strict access controls.