Cybersecurity Glossary

Safeguards are protective measures prescribed to meet the security requirements (i.e., confidentiality, integrity, and availability) specified for an information system. Safeguards may include security features, management constraints, personnel security, and security of physical structures, areas, and devices. Synonymous with security controls and countermeasures.

Security goals are the five security goals are confidentiality, availability, integrity, accountability, and assurance.

Secure state is a condition in which no subject can access any object in an unauthorized manner.

Security content automation protocol (SCAP) is a method for using specific standardized testing methods to enable automated vulnerability management, measurement, and policy compliance evaluation against a standardized set of security requirements.

Social engineering is a non-technical technique that intrusion hackers commonly use. This approach relies on human interaction and often involves tricking people into breaking normal security procedures.

Scavenging is the process of searching through data residue in a system or a network to gain unauthorized knowledge of sensitive information.

Separation of duties (SOD) is also known as “segregation of duties”. It is based on the principle of splitting privileges among multiple individuals or systems.

A security net control system is a management system overseeing and controlling implementation of network security policy.

A security attribute is a security-related quality of an object. Security attributes may be represented as hierarchical levels, bits in a bit map, or numbers. Compartments, caveats, and release markings are examples of security attributes. A security attribute is also an abstraction representing the basic properties or characteristics of an entity with respect to safeguarding information; typically associated with internal data structures (e.g., records, buffers, files) within the information system which are used to enable the implementation of access control and flow control policies; reflect special dissemination, handling, or distribution instructions; or support other aspects of the information security policy.

A signature is a distinct pattern in network traffic that can be identified by a specific tool.