Complete List of Cybersecurity Acronyms

Cybersecurity news and best practices are full of acronyms and abbreviations. Without understanding what each one means, it’s difficult to comprehend the significance of most major threats and the essential tools that help prevent them. Our list below contains 100 of the most common cybersecurity abbreviations that you may encounter in the cybersecurity industry.

Cybersecurity abbreviations

NumberAcronymMeaning
12FATwo-Factor Authentication
2ACAccess Control
3AIArtificial Intelligence
4AESAdvanced Encryption Standard
5APTAdvanced Persistent Threat
6APWGAnti-Phishing Working Group
7ASVApproved Scanning Vendor for PCI
8ATT&CKAdversarial Tactics, Techniques and Common Knowledge
9AUPAcceptable Use Policy
10AVAntivirus
11AVIENAntivirus Information Exchange Network
12BASBreach and Attack Simulation
13BBPBug Bounty Program
14BYODBring Your Own Device
15CASBCloud Access Security Broker
16CAPTCHACompletely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart
17CEHCertified Ethical Hacker
18CERTComputer Emergency Response Team
19CHAPChallenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol
20CIRTComputer Incident Response Team
21CISCenter for Internet Security
22CISACertified Information Systems Auditor/Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
23CISMCertified Information Systems Security Manager
24CISOChief Information Security Officer
25CISSPCertified Information Systems Security Professional
26COBITControl Objectives for Information and Related Technologies
27CSACloud Security Alliance
28CSOChief Security Officer
29CSPContent Security Policy
30CTICyber Threat Intelligence
31CVECommon Vulnerabilities and Exposures
32DASTDynamic Application Security Testing
33DCDomain Controller
34DLPData Loss Prevention
35DoSDenial of Service
36DDoSDistributed Denial of Service
37DNSDomain Name System
38DRPDisaster Recovery Plan
39EDREndpoint Detection & Response
40ERMEnterprise Risk Management
41FDEFull Disk Encryption
42FWaaSFirewall as a Service
43GDPRGeneral Data Privacy Regulation
44GRCGovernance, Risk, & Compliance
45HTTPSHypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
46IAMIdentity and Access Management
47IBEIdentity-Based Encryption
48IDSIntrusion Detection System
49IDPSIntrusion Detection and Prevention System
50IoTInternet of Things
51IPSIntrusion Prevention System
52IRPIncident Response Plan
53ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
54ISSEInformation Systems Security Engineer
55ISSOInformation Systems Security Officer
56ISSPMInformation Systems Security Project Manager
57ITAMIT Asset Management
58ITSMIT Service Management
59MDRManaged Detection and Response
60MFAMulti-Factor Authentication
61MSPManaged Service Provider
62MSSPManaged Security Service Provider
63NACNetwork Access Control
64NCSANational Cyber Security Alliance
65NGFWNext Generation Firewall
66NISTNational Institutes of Standards and Technology
67PAOBOAUProcess Acting On Behalf Of an Authorized User
68OPSECOperational Security
69OSINTOpen Source intelligence
70PAMPrivileged Access Management
71PCI-DSSPayment Card Industry Data Security Standard
72RMRisk Management
73RMFRisk Management Framework
74RPORecovery Point Objective
75RTORecovery Time Objective
76SASituational Awareness
77SASESecure Access Service Edge
78SD-WANSoftware Defined Wide Area Network
79SECaaSSecurity as a Service
80SIEMSecurity Information and Event Management
81SIMSecurity Information Management
82SOARSecurity Orchestration, Automation, and Response
83SOCSecurity Operations Center
84SSLSecure Sockets Layer
85SSOSingle Sign-On
86SWGSecure Web Gateway
87TCPTransport Control Protocol
88TLSTransport Layer Security
89TPRMThird-Party Risk Management
90UDPUser Datagram Protocol
91UEBAUser and Entity Behavior Analytics
92VPNVirtual Private Network
93WAFWeb Application Firewall
94WAPWireless Access Point
95WAAPaaSWeb Application and API Protection as a Service
96WPAWiFi Protected Access
97WPSWiFi Protected Setup
98WTLSWireless Transport Layer Security
99XDRExtended Detection and Response
100ZTNAZero Trust Network Access
Kaiti Norton
Kaiti Norton
Kaiti Norton is a Nashville-based Content Writer for TechnologyAdvice, a full-service B2B media company. She is passionate about helping brands build genuine connections with their customers through relatable, research-based content. When she's not writing about technology, she's sharing her musings about fashion, cats, books, and skincare on her blog.
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