ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity
What does adequate security mean?
Security measures should match the level of risk and the possible damage if information is lost, misused, changed, or accessed without permission.
What is Administrative Controls?
Administrative controls are security measures created through policies, procedures, and management rules.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Artificial Intelligence is the ability of computers or machines to imitate human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and making decisions.
What is Assets?
Assets are anything valuable an organization owns, such as systems, equipment, buildings, data, or intellectual property.
What is Authentication?
Authentication is the process of verifying that a user, system, or sender is really who they claim to be before access is allowed.
What is Authorization?
Authorization is the permission given to a user or system to access a resource or perform certain actions.
What is Availability?
Availability means authorized users can access and use information when they need it.
What is Baseline?
A baseline is the minimum approved security configuration allowed by an organization or standard.
What are biometric methods?
Biometrics are physical traits such as fingerprints, voice, hand shape, or iris patterns used to identify a person.
What is Bot?
A bot is malicious software that lets an attacker remotely control an infected system like a robot.
What is Classified or Sensitive Information?
It is information that must be protected from unauthorized disclosure and is marked to show how sensitive it is.
What is Confidentiality?
Confidentiality means information is not shared with unauthorized people or processes.
What is Criticality?
Criticality measures how important information or a system is to the success of a mission or business function.
What is Data Integrity?
Data integrity means data stays accurate and is not changed in an unauthorized way while stored, processed, or transmitted.
What is Encryption?
Encryption is the process of converting readable data into unreadable ciphertext to protect it.
What is GDPR?
GDPR is a European Union law that protects personal data and treats privacy as a human right.
What is Governance?
Governance is how an organization is managed and how decisions are made using policies, roles, and procedures.
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA is a U.S. law that protects health information and sets privacy rules for healthcare data.
What is Impact?
Impact is the amount of harm or damage that could happen if a threat exploits a vulnerability.
What is Information Security Risk?
Information security risk is the possibility that unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction could cause harm.
What is Integrity?
Integrity means information stays complete, accurate, consistent, and useful for its intended purpose.
What is ISO?
ISO is an international organization that develops voluntary standards used around the world.
What is IETF?
IETF is the internet standards organization that develops protocol standards such as IP, TCP, and DNS.
What is Likelihood?
Likelihood is the chance that a vulnerability may be exploited by a threat.
What is Likelihood of Occurrence?
Likelihood of occurrence is an estimate of how probable it is that a threat can exploit a vulnerability.
What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)?
Multi-factor authentication uses two or more different authentication factors, such as something you know, have, or are.
What is NIST?
NIST is a U.S. organization that develops standards and guidance, including important cybersecurity standards.
What is Non-repudiation?
Non-repudiation means a person cannot deny doing an action such as creating, approving, sending, or receiving information.
What is PII?
PII is information that can identify a person, such as a name, Social Security number, or other linked personal details.
What is Physical Controls?
Physical controls are tangible security measures such as locks, guards, fences, walls, and badge readers.
What is Privacy?
Privacy is the right of an individual to control how information about them is collected, used, and shared.
What is Probability?
Probability is the chance that a threat can exploit a vulnerability.
What is PHI?
PHI is health-related information protected under HIPAA, such as medical details, treatment data, or payment information.
What is Qualitative Risk Analysis?
Qualitative risk analysis evaluates risk using labels such as low, medium, or high instead of numbers.
What is Quantitative Risk Analysis?
Quantitative risk analysis uses numbers to measure likelihood, impact, and possible financial loss or gain.
What is Risk?
Risk is the possibility of harm or loss caused by a potential event or circumstance.
What is Risk Acceptance?
Risk acceptance means deciding to live with a risk because the benefits are worth it and no extra action is taken.
What is Risk Assessment?
Risk assessment is the process of identifying and analyzing risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and existing controls.
What is Risk Avoidance?
Risk avoidance means not doing an activity because the risk is too high.
What is Risk Management?
Risk management is the process of identifying, evaluating, treating, and monitoring risks.
What is Risk Management Framework?
A risk management framework is a structured method for managing risk across an organization.
What is Risk Mitigation?
Risk mitigation means putting controls in place to reduce the likelihood or impact of a risk.
What is Risk Tolerance?
Risk tolerance is the amount of risk an organization is willing to accept to achieve a goal.
What is Risk Transference?
Risk transference means shifting the financial impact of a risk to another party, such as through insurance.
What is Risk Treatment?
Risk treatment is choosing the best way to deal with an identified risk.
What is Security Controls?
Security controls are safeguards or countermeasures used to protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
What is Sensitivity?
Sensitivity is how important information is to its owner and how much protection it needs.
What is Single-Factor Authentication (SFA)?
Single-factor authentication uses only one authentication factor, such as a password, token, or biometric.
What is State?
State is the condition an entity is in at a specific point in time.
What is System Integrity?
System integrity means a system works as intended and is free from unauthorized or improper changes.
What is Technical Controls?
Technical controls are security measures enforced by hardware, software, or firmware.
What is Threat?
A threat is any event or situation that could harm systems, information, people, or organizational operations.
What is Threat Actor?
A threat actor is a person or group that tries to exploit vulnerabilities to cause harm.
What is Threat Vector?
A threat vector is the method or path a threat actor uses to carry out an attack.
What is Token?
A token is a physical object a user has and uses to prove their identity.
What is Vulnerability?
A vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited by a threat.
What is IEEE?
IEEE is a professional organization that develops standards for fields like telecommunications and computer engineering.
What is Adverse Events?
Adverse events are events with harmful results, such as crashes, packet floods, web defacement, or malicious code.
What is Breach?
A breach happens when sensitive information is accessed, exposed, or obtained without proper authorization.
What is Business Continuity (BC)?
Business continuity is the actions, processes, and tools used to keep critical operations running during a disruption.
What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?
A business continuity plan is a documented set of instructions for keeping important business processes running during and after a major disruption.
What is a Business Impact Analysis (BIA)?
A business impact analysis identifies important functions, dependencies, and recovery priorities during a significant disruption.
What is Disaster Recovery (DR)?
Disaster recovery is the work needed to restore IT and communication services during and after an outage or disruption.
What is a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)?
A disaster recovery plan is a documented set of processes and procedures for restoring critical systems and technology after a disaster.
What is Event?
An event is any observable occurrence in a network or system.
What is Exploit?
An exploit is a specific attack that takes advantage of a vulnerability.
What is Incident?
An incident is an event that actually or potentially threatens the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information or systems.
What is Incident Response (IR)?
Incident response is the process of detecting, analyzing, and handling incidents to reduce their impact.
What is an Incident Response Plan (IRP)?
An incident response plan is a documented set of steps for detecting, responding to, and limiting the effects of a cyberattack.
What is Intrusion?
An intrusion is a security incident where someone gains, or tries to gain, unauthorized access to a system or resource.
What is a Security Operations Center (SOC)?
A Security Operations Center is a central team that monitors, detects, and analyzes security events to prevent business disruptions.
What is Zero Day?
A zero day is a previously unknown vulnerability that can be exploited before a fix or reliable defense is available.
What is Audit?
An audit is an independent review of records and activities to check whether controls, policies, and procedures are being followed.
What is CPTED?
CPTED is a design approach that uses building layout and environmental features to reduce the chance of crime.
What is Defense in Depth?
Defense in depth is a security strategy that uses multiple layers of protection instead of relying on just one control.
What is DAC?
DAC is an access control model where the owner of an object decides who can access it and what they can do.
What is Encrypt?
To encrypt means to convert information into a protected form that only authorized people can read.
What is Firewalls?
Firewalls are devices or software that filter network traffic based on security rules.
What is Insider Threat?
An insider threat is a trusted user or entity with authorized access that could misuse that access to cause harm.
What is iOS?
iOS is Apple’s operating system for mobile devices.
What is Layered Defense?
Layered defense means using several controls one after another to better protect an asset.
What is Linux?
Linux is an open-source operating system whose source code is publicly available.
What is Log Anomaly?
A log anomaly is an unusual pattern in log data that may need further investigation.
What is Logging?
Logging is the process of collecting and storing records of activities and events in systems and networks.
What is Logical Access Control Systems?
A logical access control system is an automated system that controls access to digital resources after verifying identity.
What is Mandatory Access Control (MAC)?
Mandatory access control is an access model where the system enforces access rules based on organizational policy.
What is Mantrap?
A mantrap is a controlled entrance with two doors where only one door can open at a time.
What is Object?
An object is a passive entity, such as a file, record, or device, that stores or receives information.
What is Physical Access Controls?
Physical access controls are tangible security measures such as locks, guards, fences, walls, and badge readers.
What is Principle of Least Privilege?
The principle of least privilege means users and programs should have only the minimum access needed to do their jobs.
What is Privileged Account?
A privileged account is an account with higher access rights than a normal user account.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is malware that locks systems or files until money is paid.
What is RBAC?
RBAC is an access control model where permissions are assigned based on a user’s role.
What is Rule?
A rule is an instruction used to allow or deny access based on an identity and an access list.
What is Segregation of Duties?
Segregation of duties means splitting tasks so one person alone cannot complete a sensitive process.
What is Subject?
A subject is an active entity, such as a user, process, or device, that accesses objects or changes system state.
What is Turnstile?
A turnstile is a one-person entry barrier that helps control physical access.
What is Unix?
Unix is an operating system commonly used in software development.
What is User Provisioning?
User provisioning is the process of creating, managing, and removing user accounts on a system.
What is an API?
An API is a set of rules and tools that allows software applications to communicate with each other.
What is Bit?
A bit is the smallest unit of digital data and can be either 0 or 1.
What is Broadcast?
Broadcast is a one-to-many way of sending network traffic to all devices on a segment.
What is Byte?
A byte is a unit of digital information that usually contains eight bits.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of shared computing resources such as servers, storage, and applications over a network.
What is Community Cloud?
A community cloud is a cloud environment shared by organizations with similar needs or concerns, such as security or compliance.
What is De-encapsulation?
De-encapsulation is the process of unpacking data that was previously wrapped inside another protocol or structure.
What is a DoS attack?
A denial-of-service attack prevents or delays access to systems or services for legitimate users.
What is DNS?
DNS is the system that translates domain names into IP addresses.
What is Encapsulation?
Encapsulation is the process of wrapping data inside another structure or protocol for transmission or protection.
What is FTP?
FTP is a protocol used to transfer files between systems over a network.
What is Fragment Attack?
A fragment attack breaks traffic into pieces in a way that can confuse or crash the receiving system.
What is Hardware?
Hardware is the physical part of a computer or device.
What is Hybrid Cloud?
A hybrid cloud combines private and public cloud services so some data stays private while other data uses public cloud resources.
What is IaaS?
IaaS is a cloud service model where the provider supplies core computing, storage, and networking resources.
What is ICMP?
ICMP is a network protocol used to report errors and check whether a host or service is reachable.
What is IPv4?
IPv4 is the standard protocol used to send data packets across networks.
What is Man-in-the-Middle?
A man-in-the-middle attack happens when an attacker secretly intercepts and possibly changes data between two parties.
What is Microsegmentation?
Microsegmentation divides a network into very small protected zones to limit movement and improve security.
What is Oversized Packet Attack?
An oversized packet attack sends packets that are too large for the target system to handle, which can cause failure.
What is Packet?
A packet is a unit of data used at Layer 3 of the OSI model.
What is Payload?
A payload is the harmful action performed by malicious code after it runs.
What is PCI DSS?
PCI DSS is a security standard for organizations that handle credit or debit card data.
What is PaaS?
PaaS is a cloud service model that provides a platform for building and deploying applications.
What is Private Cloud?
A private cloud is a cloud environment used by a single organization and controlled internally or by a dedicated provider.
What is Protocols?
Protocols are sets of rules that define how systems communicate.
What is Public Cloud?
A public cloud is a cloud service offered for open use by the general public.
What is SMTP?
SMTP is the standard protocol used to send email.
What is Software?
Software is the collection of programs and data that tell a computer what to do.
What is SaaS?
SaaS is a cloud service model where users access the provider’s software over the internet.
What is Spoofing?
Spoofing is pretending to be another system, address, or sender to trick a target.
What is the TCP/IP Model?
The TCP/IP model is a four-layer networking model used for communication across the internet.
What is VLAN?
A VLAN is a logical network grouping that makes devices act like they are on the same LAN even if they are separated.
What is a VPN?
A VPN is a secure private connection built over another network, usually the internet.
What is a WLAN?
A WLAN is a local network that uses wireless radio signals instead of cables.
What is Zenmap?
Zenmap is the graphical interface for Nmap, a tool used to scan networks and discover connected systems.
What is Zero Trust?
Zero Trust is a security model where no part of the network is automatically trusted and every access request is verified.
What is Application Server?
An application server is a computer that hosts applications for users or workstations.
What is Asymmetric Encryption?
Asymmetric encryption uses one key to encrypt data and a different key to decrypt it.
What is Checksum?
A checksum is a value used to detect errors in stored or transmitted data.
What is Ciphertext?
Ciphertext is unreadable encrypted data.
What is Classification?
Classification is the process of assigning a sensitivity level to information based on the harm that could result if it is exposed.
What is Configuration Management?
Configuration management is the process of ensuring that only approved and verified changes are made to a system.
What is Cryptanalyst?
A cryptanalyst is a person who studies cryptography to find weaknesses in algorithms or implementations.
What is Cryptography?
Cryptography is the practice of protecting information by transforming it into a secure form.
What is DLP?
DLP is technology designed to detect and stop unauthorized use or transmission of sensitive data.
What is Decryption?
Decryption is the process of converting ciphertext back into readable plaintext.
What is Degaussing?
Degaussing is a method of erasing magnetic media so data cannot be recovered.
What is Digital Signature?
A digital signature is a cryptographic method that proves origin, supports integrity, and helps with non-repudiation.
What is Egress Monitoring?
Egress monitoring is the monitoring of outgoing network traffic.
What is Encryption System?
An encryption system is the full set of hardware, software, algorithms, and procedures used to encrypt and decrypt data.
What is Hardening?
Hardening is the process of securely configuring and locking down systems to reduce the attack surface.
What is Hash Function?
A hash function is an algorithm that creates a fixed value that acts like a fingerprint for data.
What is Hashing?
Hashing is the process of applying a hash function to data to create a representative value.
What is Information Sharing?
Information sharing is the ability or requirement for systems and applications to exchange information with others.
What is Ingress Monitoring?
Ingress monitoring is the monitoring of incoming network traffic.
What is Message Digest?
A message digest is a hash value that uniquely represents data and changes completely if the data changes.
What is Operating System?
An operating system is the core software that runs a computer and manages hardware, applications, and files.
What is Patch?
A patch is a software update that directly changes files or settings to fix or improve another software component.
What is Patch Management?
Patch management is the process of identifying, testing, installing, and verifying software updates.
What is Plaintext?
Plaintext is data in its normal readable form before encryption.
What is Records?
Records are documented evidence of activities or results, used to show what happened or prove a process was followed.
What is Records Retention?
Records retention is the practice of keeping records for as long as needed and then destroying them at the proper time.
What is Remanence?
Remanence is leftover data that remains on storage media even after it has been cleared.
What is an RFC?
An RFC is a formal request to make a change to a system, process, or product.
What is Security Governance?
Security governance is the full set of policies, roles, and processes used to make security decisions in an organization.
What is Social Engineering?
Social engineering is the use of deception to trick people into revealing information or giving access.
What is Symmetric Encryption?
Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.
What is Web Server?
A web server is a computer and software setup that provides web content or services to users.
What is Whaling Attack?
A whaling attack is a phishing attack aimed at high-level people, often to trick them into approving large transfers.