The AI, Cloud & Cybersecurity
Encyclopedia

Access control checks who you are, decides what you can do, and logs what you did. It’s the #1 OWASP…

Account takeover (ATO) is a cyberattack where hackers steal login credentials and gain unauthorized access to user accounts — email,…

Active Directory is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks that provides centralized authentication, authorization, and resource…

An advanced persistent threat is a sustained cyberattack where skilled intruders break into a network and stay hidden for months…

Adware is advertising-supported software that ranges from harmless free-app ads to aggressive malware that hijacks browsers and steals data. This…

AI detection and response (AIDR) is a new class of security built to protect AI models, prompts, agents, and data…

AI security protects AI systems, models, and data from threats unique to machine learning and generative AI. This guide covers…

AI social engineering has collapsed the economics of impersonation — voices cloned from three seconds of audio, deepfake video calls,…

AI-driven access control uses machine learning to make live, adaptive access decisions — replacing static rules with smart, context-aware choices.…

Antivirus finds, blocks, and removes harmful programs from your devices. Over 60,000 new malware samples are created every day. This…

API security is the practice of keeping APIs safe from attacks, data leaks, and misuse. This guide covers how API…

Application security (AppSec) is the practice of finding, fixing, and blocking security issues in software across its full lifecycle. This…

An attack surface is the total set of entry points where attackers can try to break into your systems. This…

Attack surface management (ASM) is the continuous process of discovering, classifying, prioritizing, and remediating every exposed asset across an organization’s…

Attribute-based access control uses attributes — like role, location, device, time, and data type — to make access decisions through…

Authentication factors are the types of proof used to verify your identity — something you know, something you have, and…

A botnet is a network of infected devices controlled by a single attacker called a bot herder. This article explains…

Business email compromise (BEC) is a targeted email scam where attackers impersonate trusted executives, vendors, or lawyers to trick employees…

A CASB (cloud access security broker) sits between users and cloud applications to enforce data security, access control, and threat…

Cloud detection and response has emerged because EDR, XDR, and SIEM were never built for cloud workloads. This guide walks…

Cloud security is the discipline of protecting data, applications, and infrastructure across cloud environments. This guide covers the shared responsibility…

A cloud workload protection platform (CWPP) secures virtual machines, containers, and serverless functions from runtime threats across multi-cloud and hybrid…

CNAPP (cloud native application protection platform) merges cloud posture management, workload protection, access control, data security, and build-time scanning into…

Context-aware access control checks real-time signals — like location, device, time, and behavior — before granting or denying every request.…

Continuous authentication verifies a user’s identity all through the session — not just at login. It uses behavioral biometrics, device…

Continuous authorization checks whether a user should still have access — not just at login, but for every action during…

CSPM stands for cloud security posture management — a cloud security technology that continuously monitors cloud environments to find and…

Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) turns raw threat data into actionable insight that drives threat detection, incident response, and proactive defense.…

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and sensitive data from cyber attacks, theft, and damage. This guide…

A data breach is a security incident where unauthorized parties access personal information, sensitive data, or confidential information. This guide…

Data exfiltration is the unauthorized transfer of data from your systems to an attacker-controlled location. This article covers how data…

Data security is the practice of keeping digital information safe from theft, loss, and misuse across its full lifecycle. This…

A DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack floods a target with traffic from thousands of devices to take it offline.…

Device posture assessment checks a device’s health — OS, patches, encryption, firewall, EDR — before and during access. Nearly 80%…

DevSecOps integrates security into every phase of the software development lifecycle by embedding automated security checks into the CI/CD pipeline.…

Discretionary access control lets the resource owner decide who can access it and what they can do — making it…

Email security protects email accounts, messages, and sensitive data from phishing attacks, business email compromise, and malware delivery. This article…

Endpoint detection and response (EDR) is an endpoint security solution that continuously monitors laptops, servers, and mobile devices to detect…

Endpoint security protects laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices from cyber threats, data breaches, and unauthorized access. This guide covers…

External attack surface management is the practice of finding, tracking, and securing every internet-facing asset your company exposes to the…

A firewall is a network security system that monitors incoming and outgoing traffic based on a rule set, blocking unauthorized…

Identity and access management (IAM) is the framework of tools and policies that controls who can reach what in your…

Identity threat detection and response (ITDR) is a security discipline that detects and stops attacks aimed at user identities, credentials,…

Identity-centric security treats identity as the new perimeter — checking who you are, what device you’re on, and what you’re…

Incident response is the process firms use to detect, contain, and recover from security incidents. This guide covers the NIST…

Indicators of compromise (IOCs) are forensic clues that a network or system has been breached — suspicious IPs, file hashes,…

An insider threat is a security risk from someone with valid access — employees, contractors, or vendors — who misuses…

Lateral movement is how attackers move through a network after gaining their first foothold, hopping from system to system using…

Malware — short for malicious software — is any program built to harm, steal from, or control computer systems without…

Managed detection and response (MDR) is a cybersecurity service that combines expert analysts with tools like EDR and XDR to…

MAC is the most secure access model — where a central authority controls everything and no user can change the…

Microsegmentation splits a network into small, isolated zones — each with its own access rules. If one zone is breached,…

82% of companies have BYOD policies — but 77% of employees haven’t received a single security briefing. This guide covers…

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires two or more verification steps to prove identity before granting access. This article explains how MFA…

Network security is the set of tools, rules, and practices that protect computer networks and data from cyber threats. This…

Network segmentation divides a computer network into isolated zones that stop threats from spreading, reduce congestion, and simplify compliance. This…

A next generation firewall goes beyond ports and protocols to inspect traffic at the application layer using deep packet inspection,…

Observability is the ability to understand a system’s internal state from the telemetry data it produces — logs, metrics, and…

Penetration testing (pen testing) simulates real-world attacks against your systems to find and fix security flaws before real attackers do.…

Phishing is a social engineering attack that tricks people into sharing login credentials, clicking malicious links, or giving up personal…