Terminology

In this topic you will learn about the common terms used in cybersecurity, how they are applied and what they mean for you. This topic is an introduction that can be referred back to throughout your learning experience. While our list of common terms is not exhaustive, they will be among the most common phrases you will encounter. Use this topic as a point of reference throughout this course.

Objectives

By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

• Define common cybersecurity terms such as malware, firewalls, encryption and data breaches in your own words.
• Identify examples of cybersecurity threats and understand how they apply to a farming context.
• Understand security tools such as antivirus, firewalls and multi-factor authentication.
• Apply cybersecurity terminology in daily conversations.

The following list of terms is not an exhaustive list and contains many of the most common terms you will encounter.

• Malware – Software designed to cause harm, exploit or otherwise compromise a computer system and connected devices.
• Phishing – A technique used to trick people into providing sensitive information by pretending to be someone else or a trusted person/entity.
• Firewall – A security system monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on predefined rules.
• Encryption – The process of transforming data so that the information is unreadable, except for authorised parties who can reverse the transformation and recover the original data.
• Virus – A type of malware that self-replicates by spreading to other computers and inserting its own code.
• Antivirus – Software designed to detect and remove viruses.
• Trojan – A type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software to deceive users into installing it.
• Ransomware – Malware that encrypts users’ data then demands payment for the decryption key.
• Spyware – Software that secretly monitors and collects information about a user’s activities without their knowledge.
• Botnet – A network of connected computers and devices that are controlled by cybercriminals to perform coordinated tasks, such as DDoS attacks.
• DDoS Attacks -  Distributed Denial of Service attack where multiple systems target a system to overwhelm it with traffic, causing it to fail and crash.
• Zero-Day Exploit – A vulnerability in software that is unknown to the vendor and being actively exploited by attackers before a patch is made available.
• Patch – A software update that fixes a security vulnerability and other bugs in software.
• Authentication – The process of verifying the identity of a user, process or device.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – Authentication requiring two different forms of identification to be provided. This may include something users know (such as a password or PIN), something users have (such as an access code provided by a mobile phone app) or something users are (biometric information such as fingerprint or facial verification).
• Virtual Private Network (VPN) – A service that hides your online activity from prying eyes.
• Social Engineering – The use of deception to manipulate individuals to divulge sensitive information or perform certain tasks.
• Adware – Software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material when a user is online.
• Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MitM) – A type of attack where the cybercriminal intercepts and relays modified messages between parties, poisoning data in the process.

For an extensive glossary of all terminology please visit Glossary | Cyber.gov.au or Search ACSC | Cyber.gov.au