Security Technology Glossary

Attack surface management refers to the never-ending process of detecting and monitoring digital assets for flaws that could serve as attack vectors or entry points. An attack surface comprises all weaknesses and vulnerabilities that adversaries could exploit to gain access to a network or system. The more attack vectors an organization has, the larger its attack surface.

With entities across most industries ramping up their digital transformation with artificial intelligence (AI), interconnected devices, and cloud migration, attack surfaces are continuously growing. Attack surface management aims to mitigate attack vectors to ultimately reduce an organization’s attack surface.

A cybersecurity assessment tool (CSAT) is a program that experienced security experts developed to help users quickly assess their current cybersecurity status and recommend improvements based on its findings. CSATs collect relevant security data from an organization’s entire IT environment. To do that, it scans endpoints, active directories, and installed applications. CSATs also employ a questionnaire to collect information about policies and other vital indicators.

CSATs compare the data obtained from all network-connected systems with policies and indicators of compromise (IoCs) to see if anything poses risks to the organization. Think of them as sensors scattered throughout a premise that requires utmost protection from outsiders and insiders alike. Each time an unauthorized entry is detected, CSATs sound an alarm to alert security personnel.

A data security platform (DSP) is a data security solution that combines several traditionally standalone security tools into one. Most DSPs are designed to find and secure data in internal servers and systems and the cloud.

A DSP normally discovers and classifies data, tracks user privileges and permissions, analyzes user identities and behaviors, monitors for compliance, and audits for environmental changes. But all these features are accessible via a single interface. That way, security teams won’t have to deal with several applications to implement and manage cybersecurity.

Exposure management is a proactive cybersecurity process that aims to identify, assess, and address potential vulnerabilities and security threats that malicious actors can exploit.

You can think of exposure management as taking a comprehensive look around your digital perimeter and ensuring no open doors or windows can allow attackers to sneak in, such as weaknesses or misconfigurations in applications, websites, networks, and other systems that make up your IT infrastructure.

An information security management system (ISMS) is a detailed documentation of an organization’s information security and privacy policies. It describes a systematic approach toward risk management that consists of security controls covering people, processes, and technologies.

While organizations can include both globally accepted and industry-specific security standards in their ISMSs, they can use several frameworks for them. One example is ISO 27001, which provides specific requirements for an effective ISMS. Although ISO 27001 certification is not obligatory, several organizations worldwide implement the standard to guide their ISMS implementations. That is because ISO 27001 describes best practices in securing digital assets, such as intellectual property, employee information, customer data, and other information entrusted to an organization.

Network security technology is a tool that protects a company’s infrastructure from compromise by disallowing the entry and spread of cyber threats. As such, it maintains the network’s usability and integrity.

Think of network security technology as your advanced home security system. It protects your home from thieves by alerting you to their presence as soon as they break in. Some may even trigger a lockdown, trapping thieves until the police come.

Next-gen endpoint protection integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into network and device security solutions to better protect against cyber threats. It is next-level or more advanced security that not only detects and blocks known threats or malicious files, webpage links, and emails that have been flagged as harmful to systems. It also identifies and prevents suspicious communications similar to those made by malicious entities from reaching networks and computers.

As such, next-gen endpoint protection provides much better security than traditional cybersecurity solutions.

A security suite is a solution designed to protect computers, servers, and other digital devices against malware using advanced real-time cloud-based technologies. It has taken the place of yesteryears’ antivirus.

These days, almost all of the former providers of antivirus solutions now offer security suites that offer protection against more digital threats.