Words worth knowing
Plain-language definitions of terms you will encounter in security conversations.
- Attack surfaceAttack surface
- The ways an asset can be reached or influenced.
- AuthenticationAuthentication
- Checking who a user or process claims to be.
- AuthorizationAuthorization
- Deciding what an identified user is allowed to do.
- Least privilegeLeast privilege
- Granting only the access needed for a task.
- False positiveFalse positive
- A signal that looks like a problem but is not one.
- Threat modelThreat model
- A structured description of what could go wrong with a system.
- Recovery codeRecovery code
- A backup way to regain access when the usual factor is unavailable.
- Log retentionLog retention
- How long event records are kept before deletion.
- Trust boundaryTrust boundary
- A point where permissions or assumptions about data change.
- PatchPatch
- An update that fixes a defect or security issue.
- HashHash
- A fixed-length output derived from input data using a hash function.
- Incident triageIncident triage
- The first structured assessment of a possible security event.