IT Jargon You Need To Know: Part 1

Understanding language when dealing with cybersecurity and IT can be difficult if you don’t know the right terminology. This blog post will explain just a few of the key IT terms and why they are important to be familiar with.

Algorithm

WHAT IS AN ALGORITHM?

An Algorithm is a set of instructions designed to perform a specific task, solve a problem or perform a computation. They act as exact list of instructions that conduct specified actions step by step in either hardware or software routines.

WHY ARE ALGORITHMS IMPORTANT?

Algorithms are important as they can help business take a large amount of data and make sense of it. This helps them improve their decision-making process and their overall business performance. For example, in marketing, algorithms help marketers utilize customer-specific knowledge, demographics, previous behavior, fellow customers choices to create customized offers and deliver them. Furthermore, it will then track customers and promote products. Algorithms are important in IT because they help software developers create efficient and error free programs.

AZURE

WHAT IS AZURE?

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform. It provides software as service, platform as services and infrastructure as a service and supports many different programming languages, tools and frameworks. It can be used for services such as analytics, virtual computing, storage and networking.

WHY IS AZURE IMPORTANT?

Azure is important as it can enhance and implement backup and disaster recovery, which is so essential. It also is a tool to help develop web and mobile apps and innovate with IoT (Internet of Things).

BROWSER FINGERPRINTING

WHAT IS BROWSER FINGERPRINTING?

Browser fingerprinting is a method that websites use to collect information about your browser type and version, as well as your operating system, active plugins, time zone, language, screen resolution and various other settings on your computer.

WHY IS BROWSER FINGERPRINTING IMPORTANT?

This data might seem generic and don’t seem tailored to identify one specific person. However, there is a significantly small chance for another user to have 100% matching browser information. Panopticlick found that only 1 in 286,777 other browsers will share the same ‘fingerprint’.

BRUTE-FORCE ATTACKS

WHAT ARE BRUTE-FORCE ATTACKS?

A brute-force attack is a cyber attack which uses trial and error method to guess login information or encryption keys. Hackers work strategically through all possible combinations to guess correctly. The word brute-force means that they use excessive forceful attempts and “force’ their way into private accounts.

Although being an old-fashioned cyber attack method, it is still both effective and popular with hackers, where cracking the information can take anywhere from a few seconds to years.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE OF BRUTE-FORCE ATTACKS?

Being aware of brute-force attacks is important because brute-force attackers can profit from collecting and using your data, stealing personal data such as credit card credentials, spreading malware to cause disruptions, hijacking your system for malicious activity and ruining a websites reputation.

CLOUD COMPUTING

WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING?

Cloud computing refers to applications and services offered over the internet. These centres are offered from data centres all over the world, which collectively are referred to as the “cloud.” This metaphor represents the intangible, yet universal nature of the Internet. The idea of the "cloud" simplifies the many network connections and computer systems involved in online services.

WHY IS CLOUD COMPUTING IMPORTANT?

Cloud Computing is important because it not only changes how so many businesses store and access data, but it is also changing how many of these businesses operate. Cloud computing offers flexibility, data recovery, little to no maintenance, easy access and a higher level of security.

CRYPTOGRAPHY

WHAT IS CRYPTOGRAPHY?

Cryptography in cyber security is the practice of encoding information in a way that makes it unreadable to everyone except the intended recipient. Cryptography is often used to refer to the wider aspects of information security that go beyond just encoding data. It also involves protecting computers from infiltration and hacking attempts and ensuring that data can only be accessed by authorized users. The main reason cryptography is important is

WHY IS CRYPTOGRAPHY IMPORTANT?

Cryptography is important as it is a vital tool for protecting sensitive information in all industries. it allows for data to be transmitted and stored in a secure manner. Without it, internet users would not be able to trust each other, and banks would not be able to trust their customers.

DECRYPTION

WHAT IS DECRYPTION?

Decryption is the conversion of encrypted data into its original form. It is generally the reverse process of encryption. It decodes the encrypted information so that an authorized user can only decrypt the data because decryption requires a secret key or password.

WHY IS DECRYPTION IMPORTANT?

Decryption is important because it reverses all that and changes it back to its readable original form. These processes are very important for keeping confidential data such as usernames and passwords safe from hackers.

DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

WHAT IS A DIGITAL FOOTPRINT?

A digital footprint is a trail of data you create while using the Internet. It includes the websites you visit, emails you send, and information you submit to online services.

WHY IS YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT IMPORTANT?

A digital footprint is important because it can contain sensitive data about your online activity. Your footprint tells others, like advertisers and potential employers, where you’ve been online, what your interests are, and what you might be interested in in the future.

ENCRYPTION

WHAT IS ENCRYPTION?

Encryption is a way of ‘scrambling’ data so that only authorised parties can understand the information. In technical terms, it is the process of converting human-readable plaintext to incomprehensible text, also known as ciphertext. In simpler terms, encryption takes readable data and alters it so that it appears random. Although encrypted data appears random, encryption proceeds in a logical, predictable way, allowing a party that receives the encrypted data and possesses the right key to decrypt the data, turning it back into plaintext. Truly secure encryption will use keys complex enough that a third party is highly unlikely to decrypt or break the ciphertext by brute force — in other words, by guessing the key.

WHY IS ENCRYPTION IMPORTANT?

Encryption is important because encryption protects your data, ensures a businesses integrity, functionality and efficiency. It is a vital component of data security, protecting files in storage and while transferring information.

MFA

WHAT IS MFA?

MFA or multiple factor authentication is a security measure that requires two forms of authentication to access an account. It works in a combination of username and password with extra layers. This extra layer could include a four-to-six-digit, one-time code sent to email or to the users’ mobile phone, a PIN/passcode or a secret question. This is not an exclusive list of MFA examples.

WHY IS MFA IMPORTANT?

When hackers steal usernames and passwords, they can gain unauthorized access to a company’s network. MFA is important because it adds an extra layer of authentication that hackers will not be able to acquire when trying to log into your system.

PENETRATION TESTING

WHAT IS PENETRATION TESTING?

Pentest, short for penetration testing, means testing a network, computer or system for weaknesses. Also known as ethical hacking, it involves attempting to hack in to check for vulnerable spots that real attackers could exploit. Results of the penetration tests are then compiled into a report detailing the specific vulnerabilities that were exploited, sensitive data that was accessed and the amount of time the pen tester was able to remain in the system undetected.

WHY IS PENETRATION TESTING IMPORTANT?

The main reason penetration tests are crucial to an organization’s security is that they help personnel learn how to handle any type of break-in from a malicious entity. Pen tests serve to examine whether an organization’s security policies are genuinely effective.

RANSOMWARE

WHAT IS RANSOMWARE?

Ransomware holds victims' devices and data hostage or makes systems unusable until a ransom is paid. Acting as a block when deployed, this will prohibit your access to your device until you pay the ‘ransom’ fee to its creator, often being very expensive and difficult to remove

VPN

WHAT IS A VPN?

A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. It works by hiding your IP address by letting the network redirect it through a specially configured remote server run by a VPN host. A VPN encrypts your connection and disguises your data traffic online and protects it from external access.

WHY ARE VPNS IMPORTANT?

While not making you invincible on the internet, it will hide your IP address protecting your data which increases the level of cyber security.

If you want help decoding IT lingo or want to discuss your cyber strategy going forward, contact one of our team today.