Glossary of Cyber Security Terms

Packet

A packet is a courier in the digital world, carrying a fraction of a larger data set or message from source to destination. Characterized by the recipient's address, these packets, or datagrams, are the backbone of IP networks.

Packet-Switched Network

In the realm of packet-switched networks, data travels like hikers charting their own paths. Here, data is divided into units called packets, which find their way independently from source to destination.

Partitions

Think of partitions as the rooms within the house of hard disk storage. They are distinct sections that organize and separate the physical storage space.

Password Authentication Protocol (PAP)

PAP is like a basic padlock - simple but not very secure. This protocol involves users entering their password, which is then transmitted over the network, often without any form of encryption.

Password Cracking

Password cracking is the digital equivalent of lock-picking, a practice of guessing or decoding passwords using information from password files.

Password Sniffing

Password sniffing is like eavesdropping on a network, a covert activity usually carried out on a local area network (LAN) to capture passwords by passively listening to network traffic.

Patch and Patching

Patching is the act of applying bandaids to software bugs. A patch is an update issued by a software vendor to fix known bugs and issues, while patching is the process of applying these updates.

Payload

Payload refers to the cargo of a data transmission – the actual, functional data enclosed in a packet or other transmission unit.

Penetration and Penetration Testing

Penetration in cybersecurity is like a successful heist, representing unauthorized access to protected data by breaching a system's security measures. Penetration testing is the act of simulating such attacks to evaluate a network or system's security.

Permutation

In the world of cryptography, permutation is akin to a jigsaw puzzle, where the positions of characters within a text are rearranged to encrypt the message.

Personal Firewalls

Personal firewalls are like security guards for individual computers, regulating incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.

Pharming and Phishing

Pharming is a sophisticated form of cyberattack, hijacking a user's online session to a counterfeit website, while phishing uses deceitful emails that seem trustworthy, tricking users into giving up their credentials on a fraudulent site.

Ping of Death, Ping Scan, and Ping Sweep

Ping of Death is a cyberattack that sends an oversized and improperly formed ping to crash a system. A Ping Scan checks networked devices' availability, and a Ping Sweep identifies potential targets for a cyberattack by sending ICMP echo requests to a range of IP addresses.

Plaintext

In cryptography, plaintext is the bare, unencrypted text or message that is readable and understandable without any need for decryption.

Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) and Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)

PPP is like a dedicated line, enabling a direct connection between two nodes, like a computer and a network server. PPTP extends the reach of private networks, creating private "tunnels" over the public internet.

Poison Reverse

Poison Reverse is a routing technique, marking unreachable destinations with an infinite metric, signifying these routes are not accessible.

Polyinstantiation and Polymorphism

Polyinstantiation in databases allows multiple records to share the same key, preventing inference attacks. Polymorphism in malware is a shape-shifting technique that continually alters the underlying code to evade detection.

Port and Port Scan

In computer networking, a port is like a dedicated post box, uniquely identifying a communication endpoint or a process on a machine. Port Scanning is a method used by attackers to identify potential network services for exploitation.

Possession

In terms of information security, possession is control and the ability to use specific information.

Post Office Protocol, Version 3 (POP3)

POP3 is like a digital post office, an internet protocol that lets client workstations access and retrieve mail messages stored on a server host.

Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (Perl)

Perl is a powerful scripting language, a Swiss army knife of Unix facilities, sporting a syntax similar to C.

Preamble

In network communications, a preamble is the green flag that synchronizes the transmission timing among different systems, ensuring they understand when data transfer begins.

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)™

PGP is the secret handshake of the digital world, a software program that uses cryptography to protect email and other digital communications on the internet.

Private Addressing

Private addressing is the assignment of IP address ranges for private or non-Internet-connected networks, as specified in RFC 1918.

Program Infector and Program Policy

A program infector is a malware that attaches itself to existing executable files to propagate. A program policy, on the other hand, is a high-level directive setting the strategic direction for an organization's security program.

Promiscuous Mode

In networking, promiscuous mode is when a network device captures all packets, regardless of the intended recipient, much like an all-seeing CCTV camera.

Proprietary Information

Proprietary information is the business world's secret sauce, unique, non-public information giving a business a competitive edge.

Protocol and Protocol Stacks (OSI)

In telecommunications, a protocol is a rulebook dictating how data is exchanged between different devices, while protocol stacks are the collection of network protocol layers enabling communication between networked systems.

Proxy Server

A proxy server is the go-between in internet communications, an intermediary providing security, administrative control, and caching service between a client and the internet.

Public Key, Public Key Encryption, and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

The public key is the open part of a pair of cryptographic keys used for asymmetric cryptography. Public key encryption and PKI provide a framework for managing public key cryptography, facilitating secure, private data exchange over public networks.

Public-Key Forward Secrecy (PFS)

PFS is like an amnesia spell for cryptographic protocols, ensuring that a compromised long-term private key can't compromise a previously established session key.