CompTIA Security+ Acronyms

Cards · 60

CIA

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability: The foundational security triad guiding risk assessment and control selection.

AAA

Authentication, Authorization, Accounting: Framework used in access control architectures like RADIUS and TACACS+.

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication: Requiring two or more distinct credential categories (something you know, have, or are).

RBAC

Role-Based Access Control: Assigning access rights based on organizational roles rather than individual identity.

ABAC

Attribute-Based Access Control: Granting permissions dynamically based on user, resource, and environmental attributes.

SSO

Single Sign-On: Allowing users to log in once to gain access to multiple independent software systems.

SAML

Security Assertion Markup Language: XML-based standard used for exchanging authentication and authorization data for SSO.

RADIUS

Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service: Networking protocol providing centralized AAA management for network access.

TACACS+

Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus: Cisco-proprietary protocol separating AAA functions, encrypting all packet payloads.

LDAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol: Software protocol used to query and modify directory service providers like Active Directory.

PKI

Public Key Infrastructure: Framework managing digital certificates and public-key encryption to secure communications.

CA

Certificate Authority: Trusted entity that issues, signs, and manages digital certificates.

CRL

Certificate Revocation List: List of digital certificates invalidated by the CA before their scheduled expiration date.

OCSP

Online Certificate Status Protocol: Real-time query protocol used to check the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate.

CSR

Certificate Signing Request: Message sent by an applicant to a CA to request the issuance of a digital certificate.

AES

Advanced Encryption Standard: Symmetric block cipher widely used to protect data at rest and in transit.

RSA

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman: Asymmetric cryptographic algorithm used for secure data transmission and digital signatures.

ECC

Elliptic Curve Cryptography: Public-key encryption offering equivalent security to RSA with significantly smaller key sizes.

TLS

Transport Layer Security: Cryptographic protocol providing end-to-end communication security over networks.

IPsec

Internet Protocol Security: Suite of protocols used to authenticate and encrypt IP packets to secure VPN connections.

WPA3

Wi-Fi Protected Access 3: Wireless security standard providing stronger encryption and protection against brute-force attacks via SAE.

SAE

Simultaneous Authentication of Equals: Secure key-exchange protocol used in WPA3 Personal to prevent offline dictionary attacks.

NAC

Network Access Control: Enforcing security policies and health posture checks on endpoint devices before network admission.

VLAN

Virtual Local Area Network: Logical network partitioning used to segment traffic and isolate sensitive hosts.

DMZ

Demilitarized Zone: Perimeter network segment exposing external-facing services while isolating internal private networks.

UTM

Unified Threat Management: Single security appliance consolidating firewall, antivirus, IDS/IPS, and content filtering.

NGFW

Next-Generation Firewall: Deep-packet inspection firewall operating up to Layer 7 with integrated threat prevention.

WAF

Web Application Firewall: Specialized filter inspecting HTTP/HTTPS traffic to block web exploits like SQL injection and XSS.

IDS

Intrusion Detection System: Passive device or software monitoring network traffic and generating alerts upon detecting threats.

IPS

Intrusion Prevention System: Active inline appliance that monitors traffic and automatically blocks detected threats.

SIEM

Security Information and Event Management: Platform aggregating and correlating log data across systems for real-time analysis.

SOAR

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response: Technology enabling automated workflows and incident remediation tasks.

EDR

Endpoint Detection and Response: Integrated host security tool continuously monitoring endpoint behavior to detect advanced threats.

XDR

Extended Detection and Response: Unified security platform integrating detection data across endpoints, networks, and cloud workloads.

DLP

Data Loss Prevention: Software controls preventing unauthorized exfiltration or exposure of sensitive data.

CASB

Cloud Access Security Broker: Policy enforcement point placed between cloud consumers and cloud service providers.

CSPM

Cloud Security Posture Management: Tool automating the identification and remediation of risks and misconfigurations in cloud setups.

IAM

Identity and Access Management: Framework of policies and technologies ensuring appropriate user access across enterprise systems.

APT

Advanced Persistent Threat: Prolonged, stealthy cyberattack usually executed by well-funded nation-states or organized groups.

DoS

Denial of Service: Cyberattack intended to disrupt service availability by overwhelming a target system with bogus traffic.

DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service: DoS attack leveraging botnets across multiple compromised systems to flood a target.

MITM

Man-in-the-Middle: Attack where an adversary intercepts and relays communications between two parties without their knowledge.

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol: Protocol mapping IP to MAC addresses; often targeted by ARP spoofing/poisoning attacks.

DNS

Domain Name System: Resolves domain names to IP addresses; secured using DNSSEC to prevent cache poisoning.

SQLi

SQL Injection: Code injection technique exploiting unsanitized input to manipulate a back-end database.

XSS

Cross-Site Scripting: Vulnerability allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts into legitimate web pages viewed by others.

CSRF

Cross-Site Request Forgery: Attack forcing an authenticated end user to execute unwanted actions on a trusted web app.

CVE

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: Publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities cataloged with standardized identifiers.

CVSS

Common Vulnerability Scoring System: Standardized numeric scoring framework used to assess the severity of software vulnerabilities.

BIA

Business Impact Analysis: Systematic assessment predicting consequences of business disruptions to guide disaster recovery.

RTO

Recovery Time Objective: Maximum targeted duration of downtime permissible before business processes must be restored.

RPO

Recovery Point Objective: Maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time preceding a disruptive incident.

MTBF

Mean Time Between Failures: Metric representing the expected operating hours between natural hardware breakdowns.

MTTR

Mean Time to Repair: Average time required to repair a failed component or recover a disrupted system.

SLA

Service Level Agreement: Formal contract specifying service commitments, performance targets, and uptime guarantees.

MOU

Memorandum of Understanding: Non-binding preliminary agreement outlining common intentions between collaborating organizations.

NDA

Non-Disclosure Agreement: Legal contract designed to prevent the unauthorized sharing of proprietary confidential information.

BYOD

Bring Your Own Device: Corporate policy permitting employees to use personal devices for enterprise business.

MDM

Mobile Device Management: Software enabling administrators to configure, monitor, and enforce security policies on mobile devices.

MAM

Mobile Application Management: Software provisioning and controlling access to specific enterprise apps on mobile devices.