2020 Top Cybersecurity Acronyms

If your CISO is asking whether your SOAR is CCPA complaint… what the hell does that mean?

Based on photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

Technology is inundated with acronyms, and cybersecurity egregiously so. Here’s a quick cheatsheet you help you through your next certification, job interview, or day job. I’ve broken these down into categories here, but as always CTRL-F is your friend here.

I’ve purposely excluded protocols and crypto-related terminology from this list. Please feel free to share anything you think I should include in the comments or if you’d like to see a more complete extension of this list.

The Classics

CIA

Also know as AIC, ICA, or the CIA Triad. This isn’t the US intelligence agency, but rather stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability, which are considered by many to be the primary pillars of Cybersecurity.

CVE

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures. CVEs are commonly known software and system vulnerabilities and Exposures. The Mitre Corporation maintains and controls the list of CVEs.

CWE

Common Weakness Enumeration. CWEs are a way to categorize software weaknesses and vulnerabilities based on similarities in effect or…