Cyber 101

Cybersecurity Technologies

Architecture Mapping

Automatically generating visual diagrams of how your cloud infrastructure and application components are connected, often overlaying them with risk data.

CSPM

Continuously monitoring cloud configurations (AWS, GCP, Azure) to identify misconfigurations, policy drift, and deviations from security best practices.

EASM

Continuously monitors your company's external exposure (websites, domains, IP addresses) to find forgotten assets or weak points hackers could exploit.

GRC Tools

Governance, Risk, and Compliance software (like Vanta or Drata). These tools manage policies, procedures, and audits.

Pen Testing

Human-led ethical hacking where experts manually try to break into the system (code, network, or business logic) to find flaws automated tools miss.

SAST

Automatically scanning application source code (while it's not running) to find coding flaws, secrets, and known vulnerabilities in dependencies.

SIEM

Security Information and Event Management. A tool that collects and analyzes security logs from all your systems in real-time to spot suspicious activity or attacks.

Vulnerability Scanning

Actively probing running networks and applications to identify open ports, unpatched software versions, and known weaknesses.

Cybersecurity Terms

Alert Fatigue

Being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of security warnings and notifications, causing teams to ignore or miss important alerts.

Attack Vector

The specific path or method an attacker uses to gain unauthorized access to a system or network.

Code-to-Cloud

A term for security that covers the entire lifecycle of your software, from when a developer writes the code to when it's running in production.

Exploit

A piece of software, data, or code written specifically to take advantage of a vulnerability and cause unintended behavior.

Incident Response

The organized approach a company takes to manage and recover from a security breach or cyberattack.

Malware

Malicious software designed to gain unauthorized access or cause damage, including viruses, spyware, and ransomware.

Misconfiguration

A setting in your cloud environment that is set incorrectly, accidentally creating a security flaw.

Phishing

A fraudulent attempt to trick someone into revealing sensitive information like usernames, passwords, or credit card details.

Ransomware

Malware that encrypts or locks a victim's files or system and demands a ransom payment to restore access.

Security Silo

When security functions use different, non-integrated tools that don't share information, creating blind spots.

Threat

The possibility of damage or loss. A threat (like a hacker) exploiting a vulnerability (like an open port).

Threat Hunting

Proactive searching through your security logs and data to find evidence of threats that haven't triggered an automatic alert yet.

Vulnerability

A weakness in your code, software, or system settings that an attacker could potentially exploit (e.g., an outdated library, an exposed secret).

Zero Trust

A security model based on the principle of never trust, always verify.

Governance Risk and Compliance

Compliance Mandates

Audit standards or legal requirements proving sensitive data is handled securely.

GDPR

An E.U. regulation governing how organizations handle the personal data of European citizens.

HIPAA

A U.S. federal law setting national standards for protecting healthcare information.

ISO 27001

A globally recognized standard defining requirements for an Information Security Management System.

SOC 2 Type 1

An audit report verifying that security controls are designed correctly at a specific point in time.

SOC 2 Type 2

An audit report verifying that security controls operated effectively over an extended period.