Cybersecurity is necessary for any business that operates in today’s economy. There are few businesses that can survive without a presence online and even fewer that can do so without having their systems exposed to hackers and other cybercriminals. While cybersecurity is paramount to the flourishing of any business no matter the industry, few businesspeople understand every cybersecurity term. Below is a glossary of terms that can serve as your guide to knowing what’s key when it comes to cybersecurity.
Access control: This means restricting access to locations where you may be storing sensitive cyber equipment or information. For example, only essential members of your team should have access to a room full of sensitive servers.
Cyber insurance: This is an insurance policy that protects your business from losses related to cybersecurity breaches, such as attacks or other covered incidents.
Cybersecurity: This encompasses all policies, standards and strategies relating to the security of company operations that occur in cyberspace.
Encryption: This is the process of converting data from a basic format into one that can’t be easily interpreted by those who are unauthorized to access it.
Hacker: An individual who attempts, through electronic means, to access funds, information or other business records he or she is not authorized to access.
Intrusion detection: This is a process that analyzes security systems information to determine whether an intrusion or security breach has occurred.
Keylogger: This is software used to record or monitor a user’s keystrokes in order to discover passwords or other sensitive information regarding a business.
Macro virus: A macro virus can replicate and spread itself by attaching to documents and using the macro capabilities of an application.
Malware: This is software that attacks a system in order to bring it down or otherwise weaken it.
Passive attack: This attack is used to obtain information from an existing system rather than altering or compromising it.
Phishing: This refers to attempts to deceive people into providing sensitive information.
Redundancy: These are fallback or additional subsystems that can take over when your primary systems fail or are attacked and go down. A backup system can kick in and keep your business functioning while your IT company works to fix the damage.
Social engineering: This scam is focused on how people act and think so you don’t even realize there is a cybersecurity issue as someone else tries to gain access to your systems.
Spoofing: This type of attack uses an email address that impersonates a valid email address to fool users into allowing access to a system to an unauthorized person.
Trojan horse: This computer program masquerades as a desirable program but, when downloaded, corrupts or otherwise harms a business’s systems.