An Abuse Mailbox is the destination of user-reported suspicious emails sent to IT and security teams for further evaluation. It's a crucial part of tracking and stopping potential email threats.

Account takeovers happen when cybercriminals steal login credentials to access an email account. If a malicious actor successfully compromises an account, they can use it to commit fraud, send phishing emails, steal data, and more.

AI TRiSM is an acronym coined by Gartner that refers to a framework for how organizations should identify and mitigate risks surrounding reliability, security, and trust within AI models and applications. AI TRiSM stands for trust, risk, security management.

An AI-powered cyberattack, also known as an AI-enabled or offensive AI attack, leverages AI/ML algorithms to carry out malicious activities. These attacks use AI to automate and enhance the capabilities of traditional cyberattacks, making them more sophisticated, targeted, and challenging to detect.

Alert fatigue happens when security teams get overwhelmed by too many alerts, making them less effective at catching real threats.

An attack surface is the total set of points an attacker can exploit to access a system, including digital, physical, and human vulnerabilities.

Bad Rabbit is a notable ransomware attack from 2017 where a file was maliciously installed through a bogus Adobe Flash installer. It encrypted user data and requested a Bitcoin ransom payment, with a similar code structure to the Petya attack. Bad Rabbit originated in Russia and Ukraine, and was spotted in several other countries.

A botnet is a network of compromised devices controlled by attackers to launch cyberattacks, spread malware, or steal information.

A brute force attack refers to a trial-and-error attempt to steal passwords, login credentials, and encryption keys. Brute force attacks are conducted manually or, more often, with the help of a computer. There are several effective defenses against these attacks–increasing password length, requiring CAPTCHA answers, or limited password attempts.

BEC is currently the most expensive type of cybercrime. These socially engineered attacks evade traditional email security systems. Learn how and why BEC works, and how to stop it.

Catfishing uses fabricated online identities to manipulate victims through emotional deception, creating enterprise security risks when employees share credentials or expose corporate data through compromised personal relationships.

CEO fraud is a type of business email compromise (BEC) where criminals impersonate a CEO in an attempt to trick employees into paying invoices, sharing sensitive information, or otherwise compromising a company’s cybersecurity infrastructure.

Clone phishing occurs when attackers create a convincing clone of a legitimate email. They compromise or impersonate the original sender and use the copycat email to dupe victims into entering login credentials, paying an invoice, downloading malware, or sharing sensitive data. These emails are often identical to a previous email the victim has received, except a malicious attachment or link is included.

A cloud access security broker (CASB) is a security policy that sits between cloud service providers and users. A wide ranging CASB can authenticate users, help monitor and stop suspicious activity, prevent malware, and more.

Cloud-based email is an email delivery and storage method hosted and maintained by an outside provider. It allows organizations and users to securely send, receive, and store emails. This is unlike on-premise email hosting which is physically housed and maintained internally within an organization's servers and IT environment.

Cloud security protects data, applications, and infrastructure in cloud environments through shared responsibility models, encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring across public, private, and hybrid deployments.

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is a set of tools and processes designed to keep cloud-based environments secure by identifying misconfigurations and enforcing security policies.

In cybersecurity, compliance monitoring refers to evaluating security processes for adherence to legal and internal regulations. Certain industries and regions have specific cybersecurity standards. Compliance monitoring helps organizations ensure they operate legally, protect their data, and avoid potential fines.

A computer virus is a program, software, or piece of code designed to negatively affect the device or network it infects. They’re spread by malware, phishing scams, social engineering, or virtually any cyberattack method.

Consent phishing is a specialized type of phishing targeting user permissions for third-party applications. Third-party apps frequently ask permission to access certain features to run properly. But attackers can use fraudulent app permission requests to gain access to a person's account.

Credential stuffing uses stolen login credentials across multiple websites, using bots for mass log-in attempts.

Cryptojacking is the use of a device to mine cryptocurrency, without the device owner’s knowledge or permission. It’s usually done by installing malware on an unsuspecting victim’s device, like a computer, phone, or tablet. Mining cryptocurrency requires substantial resources, which makes cryptojacking useful for criminals.

Cyber risk scoring measures how vulnerable an organization is to cyber threats by assigning a number based on its security controls and digital infrastructure.

A cyberattack is a wide-ranging term for a malicious attempt to breach networks, systems, or computer infrastructure of an individual or organization. Cyberattacks can take a variety of forms and can come from single actors or organized groups.

Cybersecurity is a catch-all term for the practice of securing systems, networks, and technologies from attacks and unauthorized access. A strong cybersecurity policy is vital to every modern organization.

Cybersecurity awareness is the knowledge and practices that help individuals and organizations recognize, prevent, and respond to cyber threats through training, vigilance, and security best practices.

Data archiving is the process of moving inactive or infrequently accessed data to a separate storage system for long-term retention.

A data breach occurs when confidential and sensitive information is stolen by an unauthorized group or individual. Data breaches are one of the end goals of many cyberattacks.

A data leak happens when sensitive information is exposed to unauthorized individuals due to internal errors. Data leaks are often a result of poor data security and sanitization practices, outdated systems, or a lack of employee training.

Data loss prevention refers to a set of software and processes that work to prevent breaches and unauthorized access of sensitive data. DLP is a critical component in protecting and securing data.

A DoS attack is a common cyberattack where a server, machine, or network is maliciously rendered unusable by a service crash or a flood of requests. DoS attacks prevent legitimate users from accessing the service, usually by overloading it with bogus traffic. These attacks can quickly crash a website.

Digital forensics is the investigation and analysis of electronic data to uncover evidence of cybercrime, security breaches, or policy violations.

A DDoS attack is a cyberattack where a server, system, or network is overloaded with traffic and rendered nonfunctional. A DDoS attack is different from a regular DoS attack in that it is committed by multiple IP addresses or machines, rather than just one.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an email authentication method that uses cryptographic signatures to verify that an email was sent by an authorized server for a given domain.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is a standard email authentication protocol. It helps mail administrators and domain owners prevent email spoofing from cyberattackers. Servers can look up the DMARC policy of an incoming email to validate that its DKIM signature is valid, the headers align with the proper domain, and the address matches the domain.

DNS spoofing (or DNS poisoning) is a cyberattack where a malicious actor corrupts DNS data to redirect users to fraudulent websites without their knowledge.

An MX record, or mail exchange record, is a type of DNS record that routes emails to specified email servers. MX records essentially point to the IP addresses of a mail server’s email domain.

Doxxing weaponizes publicly available information to expose private details about executives and employees, creating enterprise security risks.

Dwell time reduction means shortening how long attackers stay hidden in a system after breaking in, which limits the damage they can cause.

Email archiving is the process of securely storing emails, making it easy to search for and retrieve them. It helps store old emails that you don’t need immediate access to, but don’t want to delete.

Email filtering is the act of processing emails, incoming and sometimes outgoing, to classify and categorize them. This is usually done by an SMTP server. Email filtering is often used to detect spam, viruses, and malware before they reach a user.

Email protection is a combination of software and processes designed to defend an organization’s inboxes from email-based cyberattacks. This ranges from email security software that scans and detects malicious content and intent in messages to security awareness training for end users.

Email Quarantine is a dedicated storage area that isolates harmful messages detected by security solutions from reaching your end-users inboxes.

Email scams are cyberattacks that use social engineering to deceive recipients into sharing sensitive information, sending money, or downloading malware.

Email security is a set of processes and technologies to protect email accounts, users, and organizations from unauthorized and malicious messages.

Email spoofing is the act of forging a sender's address to trick recipients and deliver spam or phishing emails. A strong email security framework helps detect and block spoofed messages.

Encryption is the process of disguising data so it’s impossible to decipher without authorization. Encryption often involves changing information from plaintext to ciphertext. It’s a vital practice for strong data privacy and security.

A firewall is a type of network security that filters incoming and outgoing traffic. It acts as a barrier between a trusted, internal network and an unknown, external network–like the Internet.

GDPR is a data privacy law in the European Union that regulates the collection and processing of personal data. Businesses that operate in the EU need a strong cybersecurity framework to comply with the GDPR to avoid substantial penalties.

Graymail is a promotional email from a legitimate sender that varies in value to different users. Different from spam, the variance in content and in relevance to users makes it more challenging to filter with rules or policies. It may be a bulk email that a recipient has subscribed to in the past, like a newsletter, or a cold call from a vendor.

HIPAA compliance requires implementation of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards protecting patient health information while ensuring data privacy, security, and breach notification protocols.

An impersonation attack is a type of cybercrime where a criminal poses as a known person or organization to steal confidential data or money.

Indicators of Compromise (IOC) are forensic clues and evidence of a potential breach within an organization's network or system. IOCs give security teams essential context in discovering and remediating a cyberattack.

An insider threat is a person within an organization who poses a cyber security risk. This person uses their credentials and trusted status to compromise a network or leak data to unauthorized people outside the organization, intentionally or accidentally.

Integrated cloud email security (ICES) is a cloud-based email security solution that supplements the native security capabilities of a cloud email provider like Microsoft or Google. ICES is a relatively new term coined by Gartner to describe the evolving offerings in the email security market.

IP reputation measures the behavioral quality of an IP address and how many unwanted requests it sends. If an IP address sends authentic, spam-free emails, it gets a positive IP reputation score. On the other hand, if associated with bulk spam, malware, dangerous domains, or suspicious locations, an IP address will have a poor IP reputation.

Keyloggers are surveillance tools that secretly record keystrokes to steal passwords, financial data, and confidential information from compromised systems.

Lookalike domains are subtly manipulated domain names designed to impersonate legitimate brands, used by threat actors to launch phishing attacks, harvest credentials, and facilitate business email compromise.

Malware is a type of malicious software (hence the name) designed to disrupt a victim’s computer, server, or network. It’s a catch-all term for software like viruses, trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, worms, and more.

Malware is malicious software that infiltrates systems to steal data, disrupt operations, and compromise security.

A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack happens when a cybercriminal positions themselves between two parties to intercept and eavesdrop on private communications. They can then trick users into revealing sensitive data like passwords or banking credentials.

Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) measures the average time it takes an organization to identify a security incident or system failure after it occurs.

Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) measures how long it takes to detect, investigate, and resolve security incidents.

A multi-factor authentication (MFA) bypass is a broad term referring to an attack method where a cybercriminal navigates around MFA requirements to gain unauthorized access to an account.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) fatigue attack is a social engineering tactic where attackers send numerous calls or push notifications to a person's authenticator app or phone, hoping the person will eventually accept one. The attackers then gain access to the account. In some cases, the attacker may pose as a trusted figure like a coworker in IT.

MITRE ATT&CK is a free database of real hacker tactics that helps organizations detect and defend against cyberattacks.

Multi-factor authentication secures accounts by requiring two or more verification methods beyond passwords.

Network security protects computer networks from unauthorized access, data theft, and cyberattacks through multiple defense layers, including firewalls, encryption, and access controls.

OAuth is an open authorization standard that enables applications to access user resources across different platforms without sharing passwords, using secure tokens instead of credentials.

Packet loss is a data transmission error when pieces of data (packets, in this case) don’t make it to their intended destination. Packet loss is usually caused by network congestion, software bugs, cyberattacks, or hardware issues.

Penetration testing simulates real cyberattacks to identify exploitable vulnerabilities before criminals find them.

Pharming is a cyberattack that secretly redirects users from legitimate websites to fake copies, typically through malware or by tampering with internet systems. Since users believe they're on the correct site, they often enter passwords, payment information, or other sensitive data before realizing anything is wrong.

Phishing is a social engineering attack where criminals send fraudulent messages—usually by email—purporting to be a legitimate business, organization, or person. The goal: trick a user into sharing sensitive data like login credentials or deploying malware.

A proxy server acts as an intermediary or gateway between a user and the Internet. It’s the middleman between an end user and a network resource and it can provide an added layer of security.

QR code phishing, also known as quishing, is a cyberattack where malicious QR codes are used to trick users into visiting fake websites or downloading harmful content.

Ransomware is a type of malware that can lock computers, networks, and systems until a ransom is paid. It's a growing problem for businesses and individuals alike.

A sandbox is a computer security term for an isolated environment where any suspicious or unknown code can run without putting the host device or network at risk. Sandboxes are vital in cybersecurity to vet and analyze potential threats.

A secure email gateway (SEG) is a security solution that monitors and filters inbound and outbound email traffic to protect organizations from threats like phishing, malware, and spam.

Security awareness training minimizes security risks by empowering employees with tools and knowledge against cyber threats. It's a necessary part of cybersecurity–organizations are only as safe as their users.

Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email authentication protocol that helps verify an email’s true sender. Receiving servers use SPF to check that an email comes from a server approved by the purported sending domain.

Shadow IT is when employees use unapproved software, devices, or online services at work without the IT department’s knowledge or permission.

Smishing is a type of phishing attack conducted over text messages. It's increasingly common due to the ease of setting up spoofed numbers and the lack of spam filters for SMS messaging.

SMTP is a common language used to send email. It’s a universal set of rules that allow servers and email clients to communicate via the internet. It helps increase email deliverability and reduce spam by verifying email senders. Think of SMTP as the language your computer uses to tell a server where an email goes, what’s in the email, what’s attached, and more.

In information security, social engineering refers to deceptive and manipulative practices used by bad actors to trick people into sharing sensitive data or sending money to a threat actor. Social engineering is a cornerstone of many successful cyberattacks, and it's unique from other attacks in that it doesn't require technical skills.

Spam email is unsolicited and often bulk-sent electronic messages designed to advertise, scam, or deliver malicious content.

Spear phishing is a highly targeted cyberattack in which criminals research a victim and send convincing phishing emails. It's effective and can have potentially devastating effects.

Spyware is surveillance malware that covertly monitors enterprise systems to steal credentials, intellectual property, and sensitive business data.

Supply chain attacks happen when a criminal compromises a trusted vendor, opening the door for attacks across a supply chain. They can infect shared infrastructure with malware, or send convincing phishing attacks from the trusted vendor.

Telemetry is the automated collection and transmission of data from remote devices and systems, enabling real-time monitoring, performance analysis, and security threat detection.

Threat actors are human adversaries who deliberately exploit vulnerabilities for profit, espionage, or disruption.

Threat actor attribution determines which individuals, groups, or countries launched cyberattacks by analyzing technical evidence, behavior patterns, and intelligence data.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a protocol that secures internet communications, protecting sensitive data from interception, tampering, and unauthorized access across networks.

Trojan horses are deceptive malware that disguises itself as legitimate software, representing the dominant cybersecurity threat facing enterprises due to their sophisticated social engineering and multi-stage attack capabilities.

Vishing is a phishing attack conducted entirely over the phone. Americans face millions of scam calls every month, thanks in part to new technologies that make vishing easy and effective.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure technology that encrypts internet traffic and hides user IP addresses to protect privacy and enable safe remote access.

WannaCry was a massive ransomware attack in 2017 that impacted over 200,000 computers across 150 countries, causing billions of dollars in damages. Several sources identified North Korea as the origin of the attack.

A watering hole attack is a threat vector that targets a specific group of users by compromising a website they frequently visit. The watering hole refers to predators who wait for prey by the watering hole—in this case, a compromised website.

Whaling is a type of spear phishing attack that specifically targets or impersonates high-value targets—like C-suite executives–to steal sensitive data and, ultimately, money. Whaling attacks are a form of social engineering that utilize false urgency and deep research to trick victims.

Zero Trust is a cybersecurity approach in which no user, device, or action is trusted by default. Everything must be verified before access is allowed.

Zero-day vulnerabilities are unknown software flaws that cybercriminals exploit before vendors can patch them, creating severe security risks for enterprise systems.