CompTIA Acronyms A–Z

120 acronyms from the CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ objective lists, with plain-English definitions. Study them as flashcards in the app.

AAA

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting - A framework for intelligently controlling access to computer resources, enforcing policies, auditing usage, and providing the information necessary to bill for services.

AES

Advanced Encryption Standard - A symmetric encryption algorithm widely used to secure sensitive data.

APIPA

Automatic Private IP Addressing - A feature in operating systems that enables computers to automatically self-configure an IP address.

APT

Advanced Persistent Threat - A stealthy threat actor, typically a nation-state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a network.

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol - A communication protocol used for discovering the link layer address, such as a MAC address.

AUP

Acceptable Use Policy - A document stipulating constraints and practices that a user must agree to for access to a corporate network or the internet.

BCP

Business Continuity Plan - A document that consists of the critical information an organization needs to continue operating during an unplanned event.

BGP

Border Gateway Protocol - A standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous systems.

BIA

Business Impact Analysis - A systematic process to determine and evaluate the potential effects of an interruption to critical business operations.

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System - Firmware used to perform hardware initialization during the booting process.

BYOD

Bring Your Own Device - A policy that allows employees to bring their own personal mobile devices to work.

CA

Certificate Authority - An entity that issues digital certificates.

CIA Triad

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability - The three core principles of information security.

CPU

Central Processing Unit - The primary component of a computer that acts as its processing core.

CSIRT

Computer Security Incident Response Team - A group of experts that handles security incidents.

CSR

Certificate Signing Request - A message sent from an applicant to a certificate authority in order to apply for a digital identity certificate.

CTI

Cyber Threat Intelligence - Information describing threats and threat actors that helps mitigate a cyberattack.

CVE

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures - A list of entries for publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

CVSS

Common Vulnerability Scoring System - An industry standard for assessing the severity of computer system security vulnerabilities.

CWE

Common Weakness Enumeration - A category system for software weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

DAM

Database Activity Monitoring - A database security technology for monitoring and analyzing database activity.

DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service - A cyberattack where multiple compromised systems attack a target to cause a denial of service.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - A network management protocol used to automatically assign IP addresses to devices.

DIMM

Dual Inline Memory Module - A module that contains one or several random access memory (RAM) chips.

DLP

Data Loss Prevention - A set of tools and processes used to ensure that sensitive data is not lost, misused, or accessed by unauthorized users.

DMZ

Demilitarized Zone - A physical or logical subnetwork that contains and exposes an organization's external-facing services to an untrusted network.

DNS

Domain Name System - The phonebook of the internet, translating domain names (like google.com) to IP addresses.

DRM

Digital Rights Management - A set of access control technologies for restricting the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works.

DRP

Disaster Recovery Plan - A documented process or set of procedures to execute an organization's disaster recovery processes and recover and protect a business IT infrastructure.

DVI

Digital Visual Interface - A video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group.

EAP

Extensible Authentication Protocol - An authentication framework frequently used in network and internet connections.

ECC

Error Correction Code - A type of data storage that uses an algorithm to detect and correct single-bit errors.

EDR

Endpoint Detection and Response - A cyber technology that monitors and responds to cyber threats.

EIGRP

Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol - An advanced distance-vector routing protocol that is used on a computer network for automating routing decisions and configuration.

FIM

File Integrity Monitoring - An internal control or process that validates the integrity of operating system and application software files.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol - Standard network protocol used for the transfer of computer files between a client and server.

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation - A legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the European Union.

GPU

Graphics Processing Unit - Specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images.

GRC

Governance, Risk, and Compliance - A strategy for managing an organization's overall governance, enterprise risk management and compliance with regulations.

HDMI

High-Definition Multimedia Interface - A proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data.

HIDS

Host-based Intrusion Detection System - An intrusion detection system that monitors and analyzes the internals of a computing system.

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - A US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients' medical records and other health information.

HOTP

HMAC-based One-Time Password - An OTP algorithm based on the HMAC algorithm.

HSM

Hardware Security Module - A physical computing device that safeguards and manages digital keys for strong authentication and provides crypto-processing.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol - An application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems.

HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure - An extension of HTTP that is used for secure communication over a computer network.

IDS

Intrusion Detection System - A device or software application that monitors a network or systems for malicious activity or policy violations.

IOC

Indicator of Compromise - Forensic evidence on a device or network that suggests a security breach has occurred.

IP

Internet Protocol - The principal communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries.

IPS

Intrusion Prevention System - A network security/threat prevention technology that examines network traffic flows to detect and prevent vulnerability exploits.

IPv4

Internet Protocol version 4 - The fourth version of the Internet Protocol, using 32-bit addresses.

IPv6

Internet Protocol version 6 - The most recent version of the Internet Protocol, using 128-bit addresses.

ISO

International Organization for Standardization - An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

LAN

Local Area Network - A computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area.

MAC

Media Access Control - A unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address.

MAN

Metropolitan Area Network - A computer network that interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic region of the size of a metropolitan area.

MDM

Mobile Device Management - An industry term for the administration of mobile devices.

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication - An electronic authentication method in which a user is granted access to a website or application only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence.

MOA

Memorandum of Agreement - A document written between parties to cooperatively work together on an agreed upon project or meet an agreed upon objective.

MOU

Memorandum of Understanding - A type of agreement between two or more (bilateral/multilateral) parties.

MTTR

Mean Time To Repair - The average time required to repair a failed component or device.

NAS

Network Attached Storage - A file-level computer data storage server connected to a computer network.

NAT

Network Address Translation - A method of mapping an IP address space into another by modifying network address information.

NDA

Non-Disclosure Agreement - A legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes.

NFC

Near Field Communication - A set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices to establish communication within 4 cm.

NGFW

Next-Generation Firewall - A part of the third generation of firewall technology, combining a traditional firewall with other network device filtering functions.

NIDS

Network Intrusion Detection System - An intrusion detection system that attempts to detect hacking activities, denial of service attacks or port scans on a computer network.

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology - A non-regulatory government agency that produces standards and guidelines.

NOC

Network Operations Center - A centralized location where IT technicians can directly support the efforts of remote monitoring and management (RMM) software.

NVMe

Non-Volatile Memory Express - Interface specification for accessing computer non-volatile storage media attached via PCI Express.

OSI Model

Open Systems Interconnection Model - A conceptual framework used to describe the functions of a networking system (7 layers).

OSINT

Open-Source Intelligence - Data collected from publicly available sources to be used in an intelligence context.

OSPF

Open Shortest Path First - A routing protocol for Internet Protocol networks; it uses a link state routing algorithm.

OWASP

Open Web Application Security Project - An online community that produces freely-available articles, methodologies, documentation, tools, and technologies in the field of web application security.

PAN

Personal Area Network - A computer network for interconnecting electronic devices within an individual person's workspace.

PAT

Port Address Translation - An extension to network address translation that permits multiple devices on a LAN to be mapped to a single public IP address.

PCI DSS

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard - An information security standard for organizations that handle branded credit cards.

PKI

Public Key Infrastructure - A set of roles, policies, and hardware/software needed to create, manage, and revoke digital certificates.

POE

Power over Ethernet - A technology for wired Ethernet LANs that allows the electrical current necessary for the operation of each device to be carried by the data cables.

POST

Power-On Self-Test - Diagnostic testing sequence that a computer's firmware executes before the OS runs.

PSU

Power Supply Unit - Hardware component that supplies power to an electrical device.

QoS

Quality of Service - The description or measurement of the overall performance of a service, particularly the performance seen by the users of the network.

RADIUS

Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service - A networking protocol that provides centralized Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting management.

RAID

Redundant Array of Independent Disks - A data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical disk drive components.

RAM

Random Access Memory - Volatile memory used for temporary storage while the computer is running.

RFID

Radio Frequency Identification - Uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.

RIP

Routing Information Protocol - One of the oldest distance-vector routing protocols which employs the hop count as a routing metric.

ROE

Rules of Engagement - Internal rules or directives among military forces (also used in Pen Testing) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions, may be applied.

RPO

Recovery Point Objective - The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time.

RTO

Recovery Time Objective - The targeted duration of time and a service level within which a business process must be restored.

SAN

Storage Area Network - A specialized, high-speed network that provides block-level network access to storage.

SATA

Serial AT Attachment - Bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices.

SCAP

Security Content Automation Protocol - A method for using specific standards to enable automated vulnerability management, measurement, and policy compliance evaluation.

SIEM

Security Information and Event Management - A solution that provides real-time analysis of security alerts generated by applications and hardware.

SLA

Service Level Agreement - A commitment between a service provider and a client.

SOAR

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response - Technologies that enable organizations to collect inputs and automate security responses.

SOC

Security Operations Center - A centralized unit that deals with security issues on an organizational and technical level.

SODIMM

Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module - A smaller alternative to a DIMM, roughly half the size, often used in laptops.

SSD

Solid State Drive - A storage device that uses flash memory to store data, offering faster speeds than traditional HDDs.

SSH

Secure Shell - A cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network.

STIX

Structured Threat Information eXpression - A language and serialization format used to exchange cyber threat intelligence.

STP

Spanning Tree Protocol - A network protocol that builds a logical loop-free topology for Ethernet networks.

TACACS+

Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus - A separate protocol that handles authentication, authorization, and accounting services.

TAXII

Trusted Automated eXchange of Indicator Information - An application layer protocol for the communication of cyber threat information in a simple and scalable manner.

TCP

Transmission Control Protocol - A standard that defines how to establish and maintain a network conversation via which application programs can exchange data.

TOTP

Time-based One-Time Password - A computer algorithm that generates a one-time password (OTP) that uses the current time as a source of uniqueness.

TPM

Trusted Platform Module - A specialized chip on an endpoint device that stores RSA encryption keys specific to the host system for hardware authentication.

TTP

Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures - Describes the behavior of a threat actor.

UBA

User Behavior Analytics - A cybersecurity process about detection of insider threats, targeted attacks, and financial fraud.

UDP

User Datagram Protocol - A communications protocol that is primarily used for establishing low-latency and loss-tolerating connections.

UEBA

User and Entity Behavior Analytics - An extension of UBA that also tracks devices and other entities.

UEFI

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface - A modern replacement for BIOS that supports larger hard drives and faster boot times.

USB

Universal Serial Bus - An industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols.

VGA

Video Graphics Array - A standard analog computer display standard.

VLAN

Virtual Local Area Network - A logical subnetwork that groups a collection of devices from different physical LANs.

VPN

Virtual Private Network - Extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks.

WAF

Web Application Firewall - A specific form of application firewall that filters, monitors, and blocks HTTP traffic to and from a web service.

WAN

Wide Area Network - A telecommunications network that extends over a large geographical area.

WPA

Wi-Fi Protected Access - A security standard for users of computers equipped with Wi-Fi wireless connections.

XDR

Extended Detection and Response - A SaaS-based, vendor-specific, security threat detection and incident response tool that integrates multiple security products into a cohesive security operations system.