Cybersecurity Forecast 2026: What to Expect – New Report

Glossary

Clear Definitions for Complex Cybersecurity Concepts!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

  • In the context of cybersecurity, alert fatigue means the diminished capacity of a security team to effectively distinguish, prioritise and act on meaningful security alerts because the volume, repetition or noise of alerts has desensitised the analysts.
  • Anomaly is any data point or behaviour that deviates from the norm or usual pattern. Anomaly detection, or outlier detection, is a method to identify these abnormalities in an efficient way. This helps organizations and security team to catch errors, threats, or attack attempts at the earliest to enhance overall protection.
  • An apex predator is like a lion or shark—top of the food chain. In cybersecurity, it means the most powerful and dangerous attackers.
  • An organization’s attack surface is made up of different kinds of weaknesses. These are usually grouped into three main categories: Digital Attack Surface, Physical Attack Surface, and Social Engineering Attack Surface.

B

  • Behavioral analytics studies normal user and system activity on a network, then spots any behavior that deviates from it.
  • The blind spot definition encompasses network segments, endpoints, applications, and data flows that exist outside the reach of security monitoring tools.
  • A blue team is made up of cybersecurity experts who protect an organization’s systems, networks, and data, focusing on constant defense against threats. Blue teams make sure security efforts are proactive and support the organization’s goals.

C

  • Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management, or CIEM, is a way to help you manage and control who has access to what in your cloud environments. It makes sure that the right people and services can reach the right resources — and nothing more.
  • Command and Control, commonly known as C2, is the infrastructure and mechanisms used by attackers to remotely control compromised systems inside a target network.
  • Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures is referred to as CVE. This open-access database lists known cybersecurity vulnerabilities in network, hardware, and software systems.
  • Cyber extortion is essentially online blackmail of businesses. Here, the attackers break into systems and gain access to data or accounts without permission.
  • A cyber threat can be any malicious activity executed or initiated by criminals to: Damage data, Steal confidential information, or Disrupt digital operations.
  • Cyber warfare can affect government networks, power grids, financial systems, or military communications, and create effects similar to a situation that has devolved into armed conflict.
  • Cyberterrorism is when attackers use digital weapons to cause real-world chaos. We’re not talking about stealing credit cards or holding files for ransom – that’s regular cybercrime.
  • Cyberwarfare is when a country attacks another digitally to disrupt systems, steal data, or cause harm. Instead of soldiers, the fight uses malware, phishing, and hacking. It’s quiet but can be as damaging as regular war.

D

  • Data at rest sits idle in storage systems like hard drives, databases, backup tapes, cloud buckets, archived files.
  • A data breach is a security incident in which unauthorized individuals or entities gain access to confidential or sensitive data held by your organization.
  • Learn what data exfiltration means in cybersecurity, the signs of data exfiltration, and the difference between data exfiltration and a data breach.
  • Data in motion is exactly what it sounds like information on the move. It’s those emails flying across the internet, files uploading to cloud drives, video calls streaming, databases syncing, apps talking to each other.
  • Data in use is data that’s actively being worked on, whether it’s loaded into RAM, crunched by the CPU, pulled from a database, edited in a document, or used by an app.
  • Data Masking ensures that the original data, like personal details or financial records, stays safe while still allowing systems and applications to work normally.
  • Understand what data protection is, why it matters, key regulations, and best practices to safeguard personal and business data from misuse.
  • Learn what data security is, why it matters, key types, and how organizations protect sensitive data from breaches, loss, and cyber threats.
  • Deception decoys are, by definition, a subset of deception technology. Decoys pretend to be any legitimate system, network, application, or data asset to attract cyber attackers.
  • DevSecOps is a software development methodology that incorporates security into every stage of the DevOps process – from planning and development, to deployment and maintenance.
  • DFIR, short for Digital Forensics and Incident Response, is the process of investigating and responding to cybersecurity incidents. It helps you understand how an attack happened, what systems were affected, and how to recover safely.
  • A digital footprint refers to the data trail you leave behind when using the internet—such as the websites you visit, emails you send, or information you submit online.
  • Digital forensics is a dedicated branch of forensic science that focuses on finding, preserving, and presenting digital evidence. Digital forensics is important for solving cyber crimes such as hacking, data leaks, and identity theft.
  • DLP systems detect policy violations by inspecting content (file types, keywords, metadata) and context (user behavior) across endpoints, networks, and cloud services.
  • Learn what dwell time means in cybersecurity, why attackers stay hidden, and how reducing this risk window improves threat detection and response.

E

  • An endpoint can be defined basically just as any device connected to a network, which also means that it functions as either an entry or exit point for the transfer of data.
  • An Endpoint Protection Platform is an endpoint security capability designed to protect systems from compromise by preventing malicious software from executing.

F

  • A false negative occurs when a security control overlooks genuine malicious activity and labels it as benign. The threat slips through unchallenged, so no alert fires and no defensive action is taken.
  • A false positive arises when a security control mistakes normal, harmless activity for malicious behavior. The tool raises an alert, analysts investigate, yet no real threat exists.
  • Encryption method that protects individual files rather than entire drives. Works by applying cryptographic algorithms to specific documents based on how sensitive they are.
  • Digital forensics involves examining electronic evidence after security breaches occur. Investigators look at compromised systems to understand what happened and which information attackers accessed.
  • Full-Disk Encryption is a process that encrypts all data on your storage drive, not just selected files. This includes: Operating system files, Application data, User documents, and Temporary files and caches.

G

  • The acronym GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation and in its simplest terms the GDPR establishes standards for collecting, processing, keeping, and deleting personal information.

H

  • A hacker is a person skilled in computers and networks who uses their knowledge to access, test, or sometimes exploit systems. Hacking is not always illegal; it can be used to test systems and improve cybersecurity.
  • An HIDS or Host-based Intrusion Detection System is a tool that watches a device’s files, processes, and logs for suspicious activity.

I

  • provides on-demand resources and lets businesses use infrastructure without owning data centers. IaaS is flexible and cheap, but weak settings or old systems can be risky.
  • Think of infrastructure as code like a recipe for your cloud kitchen. Terraform files tell AWS to spin up three web servers behind a load balancer....
  • IDS works by continuously monitoring network events and analyzing them to detect suspicious activities like unauthorized access, policy breaks, or signs of security incidents, before they escalate.
  • Breaches occur when unauthorized users access sensitive information. This includes: Personal details such as: Social Security numbers, Banking information, Medical records, and Corporate data, including Customer databases, Intellectual property, Financial documents.

J

  • Just-in-Time (JIT) access can help organizations with it! It’s a cutting-edge method of access management intended to reduce hazards without sacrificing efficiency or adaptability.

M

N

  • NDR stands for Network Detection and Response in cybersecurity term - Learn its meaning and how it fits into modern threat detection strategies.
  • A network anomaly happens when something unusual occurs in your network that breaks away from typical patterns.
  • Learn the meaning of network forensics in cybersecurity, its role in detecting, analyzing, and responding to cyberattacks effectively.
  • Understand what network security is, how it protects systems from cyber threats, and the essential tools and strategies used to secure modern networks.

O

  • Learn what malware obfuscation is, how attackers hide malicious code, and why understanding it is vital for stronger cybersecurity defenses.
  • Learn about OnPremise, On-premise detection and response and On-premise differs from cloud detection and response.

P

  • PCAP stands for Packet Capture. Learn what it means, what a PCAP file is, and why it's important in network traffic analysis and cybersecurity.
  • Discover what perimeter defense means in cybersecurity, how it protects network boundaries, and why it remains vital in layered security.
  • Learn what preemptive cybersecurity means and how proactive defense strategies help detect, predict, and stop threats before they occur.
  • A public cloud is a type of cloud computing environment where computing resources such as servers, storage, and applications are hosted and managed by a third party provider and made available to multiple organizations or the general public over the internet.

R

  • Remote Code Execution means an attacker can run malicious code on your device or server from a remote location, often without your permission or even your knowledge. Once they do, they can control your system, access files, steal data, or install more malware.
  • Understand cyber reconnaissance — the intelligence-gathering phase of a cyberattack. Learn how attackers profile systems before launching threats.
  • Explore the definition of Red Team in cybersecurity. Learn how Red Team exercises test defenses, improve security, and identify vulnerabilities.
  • Discover what a Risk Score means in cybersecurity. Learn how it measures potential threats and helps assess your organization’s security posture.

S

  • SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. Learn what it means and how it monitors and controls industrial processes.
  • A Secure Web Gateway (SWG) filters web traffic to block threats, enforce policies, and protect users. Learn its definition and how it works.
  • In enterprise security, sensitive data encompasses a broad spectrum of information types, including sensitive personal data, personally identifiable information (PII), regulated data, and critical corporate data.
  • SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a system that collects, analyzes, and correlates security data from across networks to detect threats and respond faster.
  • A signature is a unique identifier derived from known malicious code or behavior—such as a specific sequence of bytes, file hash, or pattern of network activity.
  • Learn what SMTP is, how it works for email delivery, and why it’s essential for sending and receiving emails securely across the internet.
  • SOAR is a cybersecurity approach and technology platform designed to help security teams manage and respond to security incidents more efficiently.

T

  • Discover what TCP/IP means in cybersecurity, its role in secure data transfer, and why it’s vital for protecting networks from cyber threats.
  • Discover what TDIR means in cybersecurity. Learn its role in threat detection, investigation, and response to improve security operations.
  • Learn what threat modeling is in cybersecurity, its key steps, and how it helps identify and mitigate potential security risks effectively.
  • Understand cybersecurity triage — the process of assessing and prioritizing security alerts to manage incidents efficiently.
  • Learn what TTP (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) means in cybersecurity and how it helps identify, analyze, and defend against cyber threats.

U

  • Learn the meaning of UEBA in cybersecurity, how User and Entity Behavior Analytics works, and its role in detecting insider threats.

V

  • Discover the meaning of vulnerability in cybersecurity. Learn how system weaknesses are exploited and why managing them is critical for security.

X

  • XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is a security approach that integrates multiple tools to detect, analyze, and respond to cyber threats.

Y

  • Learn what YARA rules are in cybersecurity, how they detect malware patterns, and why they’re vital for modern threat hunting and defense.