Cybersecurity Glossary

A cyberattack is any attempt to breach the security perimeter of a logical environment. It can involve stealing information, damaging business processes, exploiting flaws, monitoring targets, interrupting business tasks, extracting value, causing damage to logical or physical assets, or using system resources to support attacks against other targets. Cyberattacks can be initiated through a vulnerability in a publicly exposed service, tricking a user into opening an infectious attachment, or causing automated installation of exploitation tools through innocent website visits.

Cyberespionage is the act of violating an organization's privacy and security to leak confidential information. It can be performed by individuals, organizations, or governments to benefit themselves at the expense of the violated entity.

Cybersecurity involves designing, implementing, and maintaining security measures for an organization's network connected to the Internet. It includes logical/technical, physical, and personnel-focused countermeasures and controls, defined in a security policy, verified through evaluation techniques, and updated over time in response to evolving threats.

A DDoS attack is a type of DoS attack that aims to block access to a resource by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. The attack can include flooding, connection exhaustion, and resource demand. The goal is to overload larger and more protected victims, which is often done using botnets.

DLP is a set of security mechanisms that prevent data loss or leakage. It includes strict access controls, blocking email attachments, network file exchange, cut-and-paste, social networks, and encrypting stored data.