Glossary of technology topics

Draft: Glossary of Technology and Cybersecurity Terms

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This glossary of technology and cybersecurity terms is a list of definitions for terms and concepts relevant to computer science, networking, and information security.

A

Access Control

The process of granting or denying specific requests to obtain and use information or related services, or to enter physical facilities. It is often categorized into DAC, MAC, and RBAC.

Acceptable Risk

A level of residual risk that has been evaluated and deemed manageable by an organization based on its risk tolerance and cost-benefit analysis.

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)

A symmetric-key algorithm for encrypting digital data, established by NIST in 2001 and used globally to secure sensitive information.

API (Application Programming Interface)

A set of protocols and tools for building software applications, specifying how software components should interact.

B

Backdoor

A method, often secret, of bypassing normal authentication or encryption in a computer system, product, or embedded device.

Bandwidth

The maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. In digital systems, it is typically measured in bits per second (bps).

BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)

The standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet.

BIOS

See Basic Input/Output System.

C

Cloud Computing

The on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user.

Containerization

A form of operating system virtualization through which applications are run in isolated user spaces called containers, all using the same shared operating system.

CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

The four basic functions of persistent storage, often used in the context of database management and RESTful APIs.

D

Data Plane

The part of a network that carries user traffic. Also known as the forwarding plane. Contrast with Control Plane.

DevOps

A set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the systems development life cycle and provide continuous delivery.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

A network management protocol used on Internet Protocol networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters.

E

Edge Computing

A distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the sources of data, such as IoT devices, to improve response times and save bandwidth.

Exfiltration

The unauthorized transfer of data from a computer. It can be manual and carried out by someone with physical access to the computer or automated and carried out via a network.

F

FaaS (Function as a Service)

A category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage application functionalities without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure.

Firewall

A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.

G

Gartner Hype Cycle

A graphical representation of the maturity, adoption, and social application of specific technologies.

Governance

The framework of rules and practices by which a board of directors ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in an organization's relationship with its all stakeholders (e.g. financiers, customers, management, government, and the community).

H

Honeypot

A computer security mechanism set to detect, deflect, or, in some manner, counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems.

Hypervisor

A piece of computer software, firmware, or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is called a host machine.

I

Idempotency

The property of certain operations in mathematics and computer science whereby they can be applied multiple times without changing the result beyond the initial application (frequently used in REST API design).

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

The process of managing and provisioning computer data centers through machine-readable definition files, rather than physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools.

L

Least Privilege

An information security concept which maintains that a user or process must be able to access only the information and resources that are necessary for its legitimate purpose.

S

SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)

A field within the field of computer security, where software products and services combine security information management and security event management.

Z

Zero Trust

A security framework requiring all users, whether in or outside the organization’s network, to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated for security configuration and posture before being granted or keeping access to applications and data.

Further reading

   Dictionary of Computing. Oxford University Press. 2016. Search this book on 

   Emmett Dulaney (2023). CompTIA Security+ Study Guide. Search this book on 

External links

   NIST Computer Security Resource Center Glossary

   ISO Online Browsing Platform

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