Key-Words Glossary from Blog Posts

Keywords Glossary from Blog Posts

Blog Posts can be found on the CyberTech website

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AircrackNG

• A software that uses word and number combinations to try and break into passwords.

Antivirus

• A software program that is created and established to search, detect, prevent, and remove viruses and malware, along with learning about them to prevent future attacks. Most companies charge for antivirus services.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• A process in which computers aim to imitate the human brain and the way that information is processed and digested. Some examples that use AI are speech and facial recognition.

ARPANET

• Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first public packet-switched computer network. It was first used in 1969 and finally decommissioned in 1989. ARPANET's main use was for academic and research purposes.

Audio Steganography

• Hides information inside audio clips or files. This type requires tools to uncover the hidden information.  

Automated Processes

• Automating a process through software and digital tech to complete functions and accomplish tasks it was assigned to complete.

Backdoors

• A way to enter or gain access to a computer without authorization, typically without the computer’s user knowing. Data can be stolen through a backdoor or viruses can be installed.

Back Propagation

• When it retraces its steps to see how close the output was to the expected output and calculates the difference and edits as needed.

Batches and Epochs

• The time it takes for one whole dataset to go from one end of the network to the other. This is often broken up and done in batches and iterations as well as being done multiple times to fine-tune the parameters.

BBN Technologies

• Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. is an American research and development company. They are found in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Bitwarden

• An Open Source password manager, with easy-to-use mobile apps, browser extensions, and a web portal.

Breaches

• A security incident where a malicious or unauthorized person enters or gets access to information that is not supposed to be obtainable publicly.

Catfishing

• When a stalker or someone pretends to be someone than who they are and convince the victim to communicate with them.

Code Injection

• Injecting malicious code into a network.

Computer Virus

• Malware infects a computer that it enters and then creates copies of itself to spread to other devices and cause more damage.

Container

• Containers are similar to virtual machines but they strip out all data that isn’t needed for their specific task to reduce disk space. The operating system that they run is a hybrid, sharing most core components with the physical system hosting it.

Cowpathy

• A software that uses word and number combinations to try and break into passwords. Used specifically to break into certain networks

CrowdStrike

• A cybersecurity company founded in Texas provides anti-virus software to protect devices from digital threats.

Crypto-jacking

• An online threat where someone can penetrate through a system's firewall and run strategic mathematical code in the background without the victim noticing. There are three forms, file, browser, and cloud-based.

Cyber Attacks

• Malicious attempts to damage, disrupt, or gain access to unauthorized systems.

Cyberbullying

• It is found online on social media or communication platforms by users who target a victim or victims through threats, aggressive comments, and videos.

Cybercrime

• When a malicious individual commits a crime online, on a network, or a digital device.

Cybersecurity

• The protection of all internet systems, software, and data against malicious attacks.

Cyberstalking

• A stalker also may send threatening messages, such as threats of bodily harm, or explicit messages or images to disturb through online resources. Some may try and connect to the victim by following them through unfamiliar accounts. Cyberstalkers may pretend to be the victim online through impersonation to steal information or to threaten and harass others by portraying the abuser as said victim.

Dark Web

• An area of the WWW (Word Wide Web) that cannot be accessed normally and by the public. It requires special software that lets users into the dark web anonymously.

Deep Learning

• Deep neural networks are not much different from previous machine learning algorithms but now they can take in data. It can learn from the data and optimize and refine its output for the most accurate response.

Denial-of-Service (DoS)

• Overfills a network with messages that make it unusable.

DNS Tunneling

• The attacker re-routes DNS requests to their server instead of the user.

Docker

• A type of platform that creates containers to deploy applications in any environment. They are highly configurable and can be customized to fit the user’s needs.

Doxxing

• The act of a person searching for and posting private information about someone online to cause them distress or panic.

Forward Propagation

• when the data is sent through the network and guesses what the output should be.

Hacking

• Using digital methods to break into or attempt to access a computer or device without the user’s consent, typically to steal data from within or to infect it with viruses.

HIPAA

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was a federal law created to protect sensitive information about any individual without the person’s consent. This Act can be found in healthcare insurance or healthcare information.

Hosting Environments

• The components needed to create an environment usually created by the hosting providers for the users. The components include the hardware, software, network connectivity, and support needed to run the system.

Hosting Providers

• A company that provides others, such as individuals or businesses, space on the web and internet connection to host websites Some examples include Bluehost, WP Engine, Rocket.net, and GreenGeeks.

HTTPS

• Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is a protocol used to send data between the web browser and the website and is the more secure version of HTTP through the encryption of data. HTTPS websites usually show a lock symbol next to the URL.

IBM

• International Business Machines Corporation is a multinational computer technology and IT support corporation that develops computers and hardware that people can purchase.

IBM Qradar

• Another example of a SIEM tool that contains several advanced features that enhance security but it specializes in being pre-equipped with popular threat feeds and threat detection.  

Identity-Based

• When an attacker uses a real user’s credentials maliciously.

Image Steganography

• Uses the fact that different colors look similar to each other so certain rules can be encoded into pixels of an image. These rules can change colors to hide data within them. The image looks the same but the meaning is different to the computer.

Insider Threats

• Attackers who are associated with or work in the company that has been attacked.

Internet Service Providers

• A company that provides customers with the internet. Customers will pay a certain price to get a certain speed of internet provided to them. Ex: Verizon, AT&T, Comcast.

Internet of Things (IoT)-Based

• Any cyberattack that targets Internet of Things devices.

IP Addresses

• Internet Protocol Addresses are a unique string of numbers that give the device an identification on the internet or a local area network.

ISP Throttling

• When the ISP deliberately restricts internet bandwidth or internet speed without telling the user. It can also be used as a tactic to clear up network congestion, to slow down certain applications to discourage users from using them, or if many people are using a cell tower at one time to distribute bandwidth.

Jailbreaking

• The process of altering a piece of hardware or software to remove certain restrictions that the manufacturer had put in place.

JavaScript

• A programming language is a commonly used application that is used on a day-to-day basis, such as websites.

Keyloggers

• A type of hardware that uses malicious software to keep track of keystrokes that is typed on the computer, which is by recording what buttons are pressed on the keyboard.

LAN

• Local Area Network consists of one server and other devices that are communicating with that one server.

Malware

• Malicious software that is coded to impact a computer, network, or server harmfully. Three of the most notorious subsets of malware include trojan horses, ransomware, and keyloggers.

MalwareBytes

• A company that provides antivirus protection and installs a program onto the computer to search and remove found malware and viruses on devices.

Man-in-the-Middle

• A technical term describing when a malicious user listens on the connection between a personal user’s device and a server. The attacking user can gain access to the traffic that the user is sending to the server, such as billing information and addresses.

Model Parameters

• A variable within the model that can be altered to fine-tune the response.

Net Neutrality

• The concept that the internet should remain as free and open as possible and that no one should have the power to take control of it and block certain data.

NoCoin extensions

• No coin is an extension that can be added to block coin miners. Coin miners are people who use other computers to gather process transitions to gather cryptocurrency such as bitcoin. No coin extensions prevent this from happening.

Online Shopping

• When someone makes purchases through an online marketplace. The items being ordered are then delivered to a location that the customer chooses.

Operating System

• A key part of any software that runs on a computer. The OS program manages all software and hardware applications. Examples include Microsoft Windows, Linux Operating System, and Apple iOS.

Password Manager

• Applications that store passwords and other sensitive information. This makes it so passwords can be more complex without hindering login speed

Passive-Sniffing

• a tool that is used to monitor traffic on a network, such as a public network where data transmitted can be taken.

PCI

• The Peripheral Component Interconnect standard supports the functionality of the processor data highway or bus.  It is a local computer bus used for attaching hardware to the computer.

PDP-10

• A vital invention of computers was created by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1966. The basis of ARPANET, which is now the Internet.

Personal Information

• An umbrella term for many different types of data such as social security numbers (SSNs), health records, location, internet address, email, phone number, or social media posts and information.

Phishing

• Uses emotional and social manipulation to gain an individual’s sensitive information. Can be found in emails, text messages, and phone calls.

Propagation

• The process that is used when data is being passed through the network.

Ransomware

• Malicious software that infects devices and takes away data. Then the malicious user demands the victim to pay to get the stolen data back. Most of the time the data isn’t returned and the attacker escapes with the money.

Raspberry Pi

• A small but extremely powerful microcomputer. It’s great for education and self-teaching because its operating system, design, and documentation are all open-source, which means it can be modified and redistributed as one sees fit.

Remote Code Execution (RCE)

• When an attacker maliciously accesses a user’s computer or device without authorization to make changes remotely, no matter where the device can be found.

Security Event Management (SEM)

• Collects events that occur from devices on a network and oftentimes visualizes the events.

Security Information Management (SIM)

• Involves collecting security data from different endpoints that exist in a network, and primarily collects data from logs related to these endpoints by analyzing data as it comes through the network.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

• SIEM is a software product that uses both security information management and security event management, (SIM) and (SEM). The company is a Security Operations Center, (SOC), that provides managed services and security solutions.

Smart Home Devices

• Home appliances that are controlled electronically, typically through Wifi, Bluetooth, or both, via a smartphone. Ex: speakers, lights, door locks, baby monitors.

SMS Phishing (smishing)

• Techniques used by cyber attackers to gain access to sensitive data through short message services such as text messages on phones.

Social Engineering

• Using social interactions in public places or through devices to deceive and manipulate others into giving personal or company information.

Social Engineer Toolkit (SET)

• The tool was created to test and check for vulnerabilities within a network. The testing area consists of the users connected to it, as well as the entire network infrastructure. While the purpose of this tool is only supposed to be for good, some use the toolkit to gain and extract information from unsuspecting users.

SOX

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is a federal law created for the financial sector to ensure companies and shareholders are more public with disclosures.

Spear Phishing

• A phishing attack that targets an individual, trying to get sensitive information based on personalized messages.

SPLUNK

• It serves as an extensive index of massive amounts of data from various sources on devices on the network. It processes every piece of data in real-time and allows it to extensively search through with its search query.

Splunk Search Processing Language (SPL)

• Narrows down searches and is an overall highlight that separates Splunk from the rest of the tools making it more flexible.

Spoofing

• A form of phishing in which the attacker disguises themselves as an authority.

Supply Chain

• When the attack is directed at an important third-party servicer.

Steganography

• The practice of hiding information within other pieces of information. It is made from the two Greek words, “steganos” which means hidden, and “graph,” which means to write. Steganography can hide malware within innocuous files, waiting for certain programs to read and execute the hidden payload to damage devices.

Text Steganography

• Hides information inside bodies of text. It can be very difficult to spot depending on the rules used to encode the message into the larger body of text.

Trojan Horse

• A type of malware that is entered into the computer system through an installation that is disguised as harmless software.

Troubleshooting

• An approach to solving a problem by determining what went wrong and finding the solution to fix it through descriptions.

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

• A security system that requires at least two separate, distinct forms of identification required to access potentially sensitive data.

Vaultwarden

• A type of password manager that allows anyone to use the 2FA features of the Bitwarden apps and browser extensions and is a Docker-based server

Virtual Kidnappings

• A scam that uses devices to let attackers pretend to be government officials to convince victims to give payments or hide, then the attackers contact friends or family members for a ransom of the victim. Typically this scam is used on people who have moved to a country and have family elsewhere.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

• A private network that can be used on a public network. Using a VPN protects information, and makes it invisible to potential hackers or unauthorized users.

VLAN

• A virtual local area network is a virtual connection to multiple computers or devices that share a single LAN, or local area network.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

• The set of standards/technology that allows for the delivery of telephone calls or other vocal communications over the Internet.

WAN

• Wide Area Networks are multiple servers and devices that cross-communicate between different servers.

Whaling

• When phishing messages are directed to a company for malicious intent.

WiFi

• Wireless network protocols are used in local areas with a limited range to connect devices to the internet.

WifiPhisher/Evil Twin

• When a hacker creates a wifi network that looks identical to a trusted network.