{"id":213794,"date":"2017-06-03T15:30:10","date_gmt":"2017-06-03T13:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=213794"},"modified":"2019-05-06T04:42:35","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T02:42:35","slug":"cybersecurity-glossary-a-beginners-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/213794-cybersecurity-glossary-a-beginners-guide.html","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity glossary – A beginner’s guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Words like worm, trojan horse and zombie may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but they\u2019re part of the reality of life online.<\/p>\n

Now that we communicate, work and entertain ourselves on the internet, these familiar terms start to take on new meaning. They\u2019re just a few of the cybersecurity threats we face.<\/p>\n

While most of us would rather leave the problem to the IT department, it\u2019s essential we all have an understanding of cybersecurity so we can protect ourselves, and that means understanding some key terms.<\/p>\n

This glossary, which is by no means exhaustive, is a first step.<\/p>\n

The cybersecurity glossary<\/h3>\n

Backup:<\/strong> Ensuring all important data is stored in a secure, offline location to protect it from being lost, if a computer is hacked. It\u2019s important to routinely copy files to a USB flash drive<\/a>, for example, or secure them in cloud storage.<\/p>\n

Blackhat hacker:<\/strong> A person who uses programming skills to cause damage to a computer system, steal data and in general conduct illegal cyber activities.<\/p>\n

Botnet:<\/strong> A grouping of computer systems, potentially anywhere in the world, that has been infected by a malicious piece of software. This software allows them to be networked together by the hacker (or bot-herder), giving them full control of all the \u201cbots\u201d in the network to conduct malicious tasks, including denial of service attacks (see below).<\/p>\n

\"Botnet\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Breach:<\/strong> The moment a hacker successfully exploits a vulnerability in a computer or device, and gains access to its files and network.<\/p>\n

Brute force attack:<\/strong> A technique a hacker can use to break into a computer system. They do this by trying to \u201cguess\u201d its password (either manually or with a computer application).<\/p>\n

Cloud:<\/strong> A technology that allows us to access our files through the internet from anywhere in the world. More technically, it is a collection of computers with large storage capabilities that remotely serve customer file requests.<\/p>\n

\"Cloud\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Command-and-control server:<\/strong> An application that controls all bots in a botnet (see above). The hacker will send a command through this server, which then relays it to all compromised computers in the network.<\/p>\n

DDoS:<\/strong> An acronym that stands for distributed denial of service \u2013 a form of cyber attack. This attack aims to make a service such as a website unusable by \u201cflooding\u201d it with malicious traffic or data from multiple sources (often botnets).<\/p>\n

Domain:<\/strong> The networking of computers and devices. A domain is a group of computers, printers and devices that are interconnected and governed as a whole. Your computer is usually part of a domain at your workplace.<\/p>\n

Encryption:<\/strong> An algorithmic technique that takes a file and changes its contents into something unreadable to those outside the chain of communication. If we use a Caesar cipher<\/a> on the word \u201chello\u201d, for example, we can replace each letter with a fixed number of places in the alphabet. The encrypted form of \u201chello\u201d would become \u201cifmmp\u201d.<\/p>\n