Bridewell | Cyber Glossary
Welcome to our Cyber Glossary. A comprehensive glossary designed to help you navigate the complex language of cyber security services.
A practical guide to terminology used across our services and solutions.
Whether you're reviewing a proposal, engaging with our consultants, or exploring new solutions, this resource ensures you understand every term with confidence and clarity
A–Z Glossary Navigation
Browse all terminology alphabetically. Click a letter to jump directly to the terms you need.
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| AAA | Authentication, authorisation, and accounting | A security framework that controls access to computer resources, enforces policies and audits usage. |
| AAD | Azure Active Directory | The former name for Entra ID - see EID. |
| ABAC | Attribute Based Access Control | An access control paradigm whereby a subject's authorisation to perform a set of operations is determined by evaluating attributes associated with the subject, object, requested operations, and, in some cases, environment attributes. |
| ACL | Access Control Lists | A list of rules that specifies which users or systems are permitted or denied access. |
| AD | Active Directory | A Microsoft directory service that manages permissions and access to networked resources. |
| ADFS | Active Directory Federation Services | This enables Federated Identity and Access Management by securely sharing digital identity and entitlements rights across security and enterprise boundaries |
| AES | The Advanced Encryption Standard | It is a symmetric encryption that uses the same key for encryption and decryption. |
| AMA | Azure Monitor Agent | A modern data collection agent used in Microsoft Azure to gather telemetry and performance data from virtual machines. |
| AMS | Application Management Server | A software platform that hosts and manages applications, handling the business logic and acting as a bridge between users and backend resources like databases. |
| AOSP | Android Open-Source Project | The project led by Google developing the Android Operating System and supporting architectural and application constructs. |
| API | Application Programming Interface | A set of rules that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. |
| APT | Advanced Persistent Threats | Long-term targeted cyber attacks conducted by well-resourced threat actors. |
| ARP | Address Resolution Protocol | Is a protocol that connects a changing IP address to a MAC address in a local-area network. |
| ASC | Azure Security Center | Provides security posture and hardening recommendations for devices within your AD. |
| ASDM | Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager | A web interface for management for Cisco ASA's. |
| ASG | Application Security Groups | Allows you to group virtual machines and apply security policies to the group. |
| AV | Antivirus | An antivirus product is a program designed to detect and remove viruses and other kinds of malicious software from your computer or laptop. |
| AWS | Amazon Web Services | Amazon’s cloud platform. |
| Abbreviations | Expansion | Description |
| BAK | Backup file suffix | A .bak file is a common suffix for backup copies of data used by many applications. |
| BAU | Business as usual | The usual processes and procedures for maintaining business. |
| BCP | Business Continuity Plan | A system of prevention and recovery from potential threats to the business |
| BGP | Border Gateway Protocol | A gateway protocol that enables the Internet to exchange routing information between autonomous systems |
| BIOS | Basic Input/Output System | Firmware used to perform hardware initialisation during the booting process. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| CA1 | Conditional Access | See 'CAP'. |
| CA2 | Certificate Authority | An entity that issues digital certificates to verify identities online. |
| CAB | Change Approval Board | Committee of people accountable for accepting risk and approving change method statements. |
| CAF | Cyber Assessment Framework | Cyber framework providing a comprehensive approach to assessing cyber risks and functions. |
| CAP | Conditional Access Policy | An evaluation that ensures a user completes an action before they’re allowed access. |
| CASB | Cloud Access Security Broker | Software that sits between cloud service users and cloud applications, and monitors all activity and enforces security policies. |
| CDP | Cisco Discovery Protocol | It is a protocol to show information on directly connected Cisco devices. |
| CI/CD | Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery | It is a method to deploy apps regularly through the introduction of automation into the development stages. |
| CI/DI | Continuous Integration and Delivery | A method of modern software development. |
| CIS | Center for Internet Security | Provides security guidance and best practices to help organisations protect against cyber attacks. |
| CLI | Command-Line Interface | A user interface to manage and interact with the environment. |
| CMDB | Configuration Management Database | A central repository storing information about the business IT infrastructure and environment. |
| COOP | Council of Oracle Protocol | This is a protocol used by Cisco ACI to communicate location and identity to the spine proxy. |
| CPE | Customer Premises Equipment | CPE refers to networking or communication equipment located at the customer’s site (routers, switches, or firewalls). It connects the customer’s network to a service provider’s infrastructure. |
| CSF | Cyber Security Framework | Guidelines for mitigating cyber security risks. |
| CSRF | Cross-site request forgery | This is an attack that inherits the identity and privileges of the victim to undertake the attack. |
| CVE | Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures | A list of publicly disclosed cyber security vulnerabilities. |
| CVSS | Common Vulnerability Scoring System | A standardised method for rating the severity of security vulnerabilities. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| DAST | Dynamic Application Security Testing | A method of testing a running application for vulnerabilities by simulating external attacks. |
| DC1 | Date Centre | A data centre is a physical facility that houses servers, storage, and networking equipment. It provides centralised infrastructure for hosting applications, data, and services securely. |
| DC2 | Domain Controller | A server that responds to security authentication requests within a Windows Server domain. |
| DDoS | Distributed Denial of Service Protection | Overwhelming a system by sending data or requests to it from a number of devices. |
| DFCI | Device Firmware Configuration Interface | DFCI enables Windows to pass management commands from Intune to UEFI for Autopilot deployed devices. |
| DHCP | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol | This is a protocol that automatically provides a device with an IP address. |
| DLP | Data Loss Prevention | A network protocol used to automate the process of configuring devices on networks. |
| DMZ | Demilitarized Zone | A network segment that acts as a buffer between an internal network and external networks. |
| DNS | Domain Name System | The Domain Name System is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources. |
| DR | Disaster Recovery | Strategies and processes for restoring IT systems after a disruption. |
| DSCP | Differentiated Services Code Point | A method of classifying network traffic in order to provide QoS within layer 3 networks. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| eCAB | Emergency Change Approval Board | Committee of people accountable for accepting risk and approving change method statements. |
| EID | Entra ID | Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management service. |
| EIGRP | Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol | A network layer protocol used to exchange routing decisions between routers. |
| EPG | End Point Group | A group configurable within the ACI for endpoints to allow the application of policies and forwarding restrictions to be applied. |
| EoL | End of Life | The point at which a product is no longer sold or maintained by the manufacturer. |
| EoS | End of Support | The date when a vendor stops providing support and updates for a product. |
| EPS | Events Per Second | Log events ingested into a Security Incident Event Monitoring tool. |
| ESXi | VMware's enterprise-class, type-1 hypervisor used to deploy and serve virtual machines. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| FCoE | Fibre Channel over Ethernet | A storage protocol that enables Fibre Channel (FC) communications to run directly over Ethernet. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| GCP | Google Cloud Platform | Google Cloud Platform provides a platform, infrastructure, or software as a service. |
| GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation | A regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy. |
| GMSA | Group Managed Service Account | A managed domain account used for services running on multiple servers. |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface | A graphics-based operating system interface that uses icons, menus and a mouse to manage interaction with the system. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| HA | High Availability | A system design approach that ensures continuous operation and minimal downtime. |
| HSRP | Hot Standby Router Protocol | A Cisco protocol for establishing a fault-tolerant default gateway. |
| HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol | A request response protocol that gives users a method to interact with web resources. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| IaC | Infrastructure as Code | The process of managing and provisioning computer data centres through the use of code. |
| IAM | Identity and Access Management | Frameworks and technologies for managing digital identities and access rights. |
| ICMP | Internet Control Message Protocol | A network layer protocol used by network devices to diagnose and monitor network communication issues and performance. |
| ID | Identifier | A unique value used to distinguish entities in a system. |
| IDP | Identity Provider | A service that stores and manages digital identities. |
| ILO | Integrated Lights-Out | HP's remote server management technology. |
| IOCs | Indicators of Compromise | Evidence that a system may have been breached or attacked. |
| IP | Internet Protocol | A set of rules for addressing and routing data across networks. |
| IPN | Inter-Pod Network | The method of connecting different ACI pods to enable pod-to-pod communication. |
| IPS/IDS | Intrusion Prevention/Detection System | Security systems that monitor and respond to malicious activity. |
| iPXE | Pre-boot eXecution Environment | A networking standard that enables the loading of an operating system over a network connection. |
| ISE | Cisco Identity Services Engine | An identity-based network access control and policy enforcement system. |
| ISN | Intersite Network | The method of connecting different ACI fabrics. |
| ISO | International Standards Organisation | An international, non-government organisation made up of national standards bodies that develop and publish a wide range of proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards. |
| IT | Information Technology | The use of computers and networks to store, retrieve, and transmit data. |
| ITIL | Information Technology Infrastructure Library | A set of detailed practices for IT management activities in a business |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| JIT | Just-In-Time | A security model that grants access only when needed and for a limited time. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicators | A performance measurement that enables the business to evaluate success in a given activity. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| LAA | Log Analytics Agent | LAA was a legacy agent used to collect telemetry data from Windows and Linux machines and send it to Azure Monitor Logs, Azure Security Center, or Microsoft Sentinel. |
| LAPS | Local Administrator Password Solution | Microsoft tool for managing local admin passwords securely. |
| LDAP | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol | It is a vendor neutral protocol for user management, attributes and authentication. |
| LLD | Low Level Design | Low-level design is a component-level design process that follows a step-by-step refinement process. This process can be used for designing data structures, required software architecture, and source code |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| MAM | Mobile Application Management | Management features that let you publish, push, configure, secure, monitor, and update devices for your users. |
| MDM | Mobile Device Management | Software that manages and secures mobile devices in an organisation. |
| MFA | Multi-Factor Authentication | An authentication method requiring multiple forms of verification. |
| MITM | Man-In-The-Middle | A cyber attack where the attacker intercepts communication between two parties. |
| MITRE ATT&CK | MITRE Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge | A knowledge base of cyberattack behaviors and techniques. |
| MMA | Microsoft Monitoring Agent | See LAA |
| MOTD | Message Of The Day | The banner displayed when a user connects to a Cisco device. |
| MPLS | Multi-Protocol Label Switching | MPLS is a high-performance routing technique that directs data along predetermined network paths using labels. It improves speed, efficiency, and quality of service in large-scale enterprise and telecom networks. |
| MTA | Mail Transfer Agent | A software application that transfers email messages from one computer to another using SMTP. |
| MTTD | Mean Time to Detect | The average time it takes to identify a security incident or failure. |
| MTTR | Mean Time to Respond | The average time it takes to resolve a failure or security incident after detection. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| NAC | Network Access Control | A networking security framework that provides port-based network access control, ensuring only authorized devices and users can connect to a network. |
| NCSC | National Cyber Security Centre | An organisation within the UK Government that is focused on cyber security guidance and support at a national scale. |
| NIC | Network Interface Controller | Allows a computer to connect to and communicate over a network. |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology | A United States government laboratory that works to develop, test, and recommend best practices for federal agencies and other organisations relating to online security. |
| NSG | Network Security Groups | A network security group contains security rules that allow or deny inbound network traffic to, or outbound network traffic from, several types of Azure resources. |
| NTP | Network Time Protocol | An Internet protocol used to synchronise with computer clock time sources in a network. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Detail |
| OLT | Optical Line Termination | An OLT is the endpoint hardware in a passive optical network (PON) located at the service provider’s facility. It manages traffic between customer ONTs and the wider service network. |
| ONT | Optical Network Termination | An ONT is the customer-side device in a passive optical network that converts fiber optic signals into data usable by home or enterprise devices. It connects directly to the OLT. |
| OOBC | Out-of-Band Communication | Communication that occurs outside the primary data channel for security or redundancy. |
| OSI | Open Systems Interconnection | A model that describes the seven layers that computer systems utilise to communicate over a network. |
| OSPF | Open Shortest Path First | A link state routing protocol that has been developed based on the Shortest Path First algorithm. |
| OTP | One Time Password | A one-time password, also known as a one-time PIN, one-time authorisation code or dynamic password, is a password that is valid for only one login session or transaction, on a computer system or other digital device. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| PaaS | Platform as A Service | An on-demand access to a complete, ready-to-use, cloud-hosted platform for developing, running, maintaining, and managing applications. |
| PAW | Privilege Access Workstation | A PAW is a hardened workstation dedicated to administrative or privileged tasks. It is isolated from general use to reduce the risk of compromise during sensitive operations. |
| PECN | Public Electronic Communications Network | A PECN is a communications network provided to the public, such as a national telephone or internet backbone. It is regulated to ensure secure and reliable access. |
| PECS | Public Electronic Communications Services | PECS are services (internet, mobile, or fixed-line telephony) provided over a PECN. They are regulated to ensure availability, security, and compliance with telecom standards. |
| PII | Personal Identifiable Information | Information that can identify an individual, such as name or SSN. |
| PIM | Privileged Identity Management | Tools and processes for managing privileged accounts and access. |
| PKI | Public Key Infrastructure | A system for managing encryption keys and digital certificates. |
| POAP | Power on Auto Provisioning | Automates the process of upgrading software images and installing configuration files on Cisco Nexus switches that are being deployed in the network for the first time. |
| PON | Passive Optical Network | A PON is a point-to-multipoint fiber network architecture where a single OLT connects to multiple ONTs via passive splitters. It enables high-speed broadband delivery without powered elements in the distribution network. |
| PoP | Point Of Presence | A PoP is a physical location where different networks interconnect, such as ISPs, carriers, or data centres. It is often used for peering, transit, and providing services closer to end users. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| RA | Registration Authority | An entity that verifies user identity before certificate issuance. |
| RACI | Responsibility, Accountability, Consulted, Informed | A responsibility assignment matrix which establishes roles and required tasks in business process. |
| RBAC | Role Based Access Control | Role-based access control or role-based security is an approach to restricting system access to authorised users. |
| RDP | Remote Desktop Protocol | A protocol that allows remote access to another computer's desktop. |
| RIP | Routing Information Protocol | A distance vector routing protocol. |
| RITM | Request Item | A form in Service-Now completed and submitted by the end user. |
| RPO | Recovery Point Objective | The maximum amount of data measured in time that can be lost after a recovery from a disaster. |
| RTO | Recovery Time Objective | The maximum acceptable amount of time to restore a system or application after a disruption. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| SAML | Security Assertion Markup Language | Open standard for exchanging authentication and authorisation data between parties. |
| SAN | Storage Area Network | A high-speed network that provides access to consolidated storage. |
| SASE | Secure Assess Service Edge | SASE is a cloud-delivered security framework that combines networking and security functions (SD-WAN, CASB, SWG, ZTNA). It enables secure, identity-driven access to resources from any location. |
| SAST | Static Application Security Testing | A method of analysing source code for security vulnerabilities without executing the program. |
| SCF | Secure Controls Framework | An open source project that provides free cyber security and privacy controls for businesses. |
| SFTP | Secure File Transfer Protocol | A network protocol for accessing and transferring large files securely. |
| SIEM | Security Incident Event Monitoring | Software that aggregates and analyses security data. |
| SKU | Stock Keeping Unit | A list of products that are available to purchase. |
| SLA | Service-Level Agreement | A service-level agreement is a commitment between a service provider and a customer regarding the quality and availability of the service provided. |
| SMB | Server Message Block | A protocol for sharing files, printers, and other resources on a network. |
| SME | Subject Matter Expert | A user or member of the team who has specialised knowledge of the environment or service. |
| SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol | A network protocol used for managing and monitoring network connected devices. |
| SNMPv3 | Simple Network Management Protocol | An Internet Standard Protocol for collecting information from managed network devices. |
| SNOW | Service-Now | A software company that provides cloud-based services for automating IT management workflows. |
| SOC | Security Operations Centre | A centralised unit that monitors and responds to security incidents. |
| SOX | Sarbanes-Oxley Act | A United States federal law that mandates certain practices in financial record keeping and reporting for corporations. |
| SQL | Structured Query Language | A programming language for storing and processing information in a relational database. |
| SRRP | Subscriber Resilience Routing Protocol | SRRP is a routing protocol designed to ensure high availability and resilience of subscriber services. It allows automatic failover to maintain connectivity during network outages or failures. |
| SSH | Secure Shell | A cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. |
| SSID | Service Set Identifier | A set of characters that names a Wi-Fi network. |
| SSIS | SQL Server Integration Services | A Microsoft tool for data integration, transformation, and migration tasks. |
| SSL | Secure Sockets Layer | A standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client. |
| SSO | Single Sign On | Single sign-on is an authentication scheme that allows a user to log in with a single ID to any of several related, yet independent, software systems. True single sign-on allows the user to log in once and access services without re-entering authentication factors. |
| SVI | Switch Virtual Interface | A layer 3 interface on a switch. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| TACACS | Terminal Access Controller Access Control System | A security protocol that provides centralised validation of users attempting to access a networking device. |
| TCP | Transmission Control Protocol | A communication standard that enables application programs and computing devices to transmit messages across a network. |
| TDE | Transparent Data Encryption | A method for encrypting database files to protect data at rest. |
| TLS | Transport Layer Security | A cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. |
| TOTP | Time-based One-time Password | Temporary passcode generated by an algorithm that uses the current time of day as one of its authentication factors. |
| TPM | Trusted Platform Module | A TPM chip is a secure crypto-processor that is designed to carry out cryptographic operations. |
| TSA | Telecoms Security Act | The TSA is a UK regulation requiring telecom providers to implement robust security measures to protect networks and services from cyber threats and national security risks. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| UAT | User Acceptance Testing | Acceptance testing to determine requirements or specifications are met. |
| UDP | User Datagram Protocol | A communications protocol that is primarily used to establish low-latency and loss-tolerating connections. |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator | Specifies the location of an object on a computer network. |
| UTC | Coordinated Universal Time | The primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| VLAN | Virtual Local Area Network | A logical overlay network that groups together a subset of devices that share a physical local area network. |
| VM | Virtual Machine | Virtualisation of a computer system. |
| VNET | Virtual Network | VNet is similar to a traditional network, however, based in the cloud. |
| VPC | Virtual Private Cloud | A virtual private cloud is a section of a public cloud that is only accessible by a specified tenant through virtualised isolation. |
| VPC SC | VPC Service Control | A GCP product that lets the user define security policies that prevent access to Google-managed services outside of a trusted perimeter, block access to data from untrusted locations, and mitigate data exfiltration risks. |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network | A virtual private network is a mechanism for creating a secure connection between a computing device and a computer network, or between two networks. |
| VPRN | Virtual Private Routed Network | A VPRN is a type of VPN that uses MPLS to create isolated, private IP routing domains over a shared provider backbone. It allows secure multi-site connectivity with distinct routing policies. |
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Description |
| WAF | Web Application Firewall | A web application firewall is a specific form of application firewall that filters, monitors, and blocks traffic to and from a web service. |
| WLAN | Wireless Local Area Network | A local area connection that utilises wireless communication. |
| WMI | Windows Management Instrumentation | The management data and operations on a Windows operating system. |
