Question: What are some common terms and acronyms used in the field of cybersecurity? Glossary of Common Cybersecurity Terms, Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms

Cybersecurity, like many technical fields, has its own nomenclature, filled with terms, abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms that reference the various agencies and organizations, titles and certifications, methods and strategies, and tools and technologies that are familiar to cybersecurity professionals. This glossary is designed to provide those who are not familiar with cyber terminology with a convenient guide to the field’s most commonly used terms, and to assist students who are considering a cybersecurity degree program with an overview of many of the terms they may encounter while researching programs and careers in the field.

Abbreviation, Acronym, or Initialism	Meaning
2FA	Two-Factor Authentication
aaS	as a Service
ACL	Access Control List
AES	Advanced Encryption Standard
AI	Artificial Intelligence
API	Application Programming Interface
AP	Access Point
APT	Advanced Persistent Threat
APWG	Anti-Phishing Working Group
ATT&CK	Adversarial Tactics, Techniques and Common Knowledge
AV	Anti-Virus
BAS	Breach, Attack and Simulation Tools
BCP	Business Continuity Plan
BGP	Border Gateway Protocol
C2	Command and Control
CARO	Computer Antivirus Research Organization
CEH	Certified Ethical Hacker
CERT	Computer Emergency Response Team
CIS	Center for Internet Security
CISA	Certified Information Systems Auditor
CISM	Certified Information Security Manager
CISO	Chief Information Security Officer
CISSP	Certified Information Systems Security Professional
CMDB	Configuration Management Database
CNA	Computer Network Attack
CND	Computer Network Defense
CNE	Computer Network Exploitation
CRISC	Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control
CSA	Cloud Security Alliance
CSP	Cloud Service Provider
CREST	Council for Registered Ethical Security Testers
CTI	Cyber Threat Intelligence
CVVS	Common Vulnerability Scoring System
DDoS	Distribute Denial of Service
DHS	Department of Homeland Security
DLP	Data Loss Prevention
DNS	Domain Name Server
DoD	Department of Defense
EC-Council	International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants
EDR	Endpoint Detection and Response
FISMA	Federal Information Security Modernization Act
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
FWaaS	Firewall as a Service
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation
GIAC	Global Information Assurance Certification
GIS	Geospatial Information Systems
GRC	Governance, Risk Management and Compliance
HIPPA	Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act
HTTPS	Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol
IA	Information Assurance
IaaS	Infrastructure as a Service
IAM	Identity and Access Management
IBE	Identity Based Encryption
IDS	Intrusion Detection System
IoT	Internet of Things
IPS	Intrusion Prevention System
IR	Incident Response
ISC²	Information Systems Security Certification Consortium
ISMS	Information Security Management System
ISP	Internet Service Provider
ISSA	Information Systems Security Association
ISSAF	Information System Security Assessment Framework
ISSO	Information Systems Security Officer
IT	Information Technology
LAN	Local Access Network
MDR	Managed Detection and Response
MFA	Multifactor Authentication
ML	Machine Learning
MSP	Managed Service Provider
MSSP	Managed Security Service Provider
NAC	Network Access Control
NGFW	Next-Generation Firewall
NICCS	National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies
NICE	National Institute for Cybersecurity Education
NIST	National Institute of Standards and Technology
OISSG	Open Information Security Systems Group
OSI	Open Systems Interconnection
OWASP	Open Web Application Security Project
PaaS	Platform as a Service
PCI-DDS	Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
PTES	Penetration Testing Execution Standard
SaaS	Software as a Service
SCF	Secure Controls Framework
SIEM	Security Information and Event Management
SOC	Security Operations Center
SQL	Structured Query Language
SWG	Secure Web Gateway
TCP/IP	Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
UTM	Unified Threat Management
VPN	Virtual Private Network
WAN	Wide Access Network
WAP	Wireless Application Protocol
WSTG	Web Security Testing Guide
ZTNA	Zero Trust Network Access

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