Computer Science Glossary

Hi, my name is Adam Nadam and I live in Laval. I am currently doing computer technology at Montmorency College and my course is Cybersecurity. I created this glossary to help my fellow students and new students in my program to help them further their knowledge in this field. Each word in this glossary is important and will be used frequently in classes.

Authentification

Noun

The process of verifying identity before access.

Example: Two-factor authentification makes accounts harder to hack.

DDoS

Noun

An attack that overload a system with traffic

Example: The website went offline due to a massive DDoS attack.

Encryption

Noun

The process of scrambling data so only authorized users can read it

Example: All messages are protected with strong encryption.

Firewall

Noun

A barrier that blocks unauthorized network traffic.

Example: The company installed a firewall to protect its servers

Malware

Noun

Software created to harm systems.

Example: The computer was infected with malware after downloading a fake program

Penetration testing

Noun

Simulated attacks to test security weaknesses.

Example: The team hired experts for penetration testing of their system

Phishing

Noun

A scam to steal sensitive information through fake messages

Example: She almost gave her password to a phishing email that looked real.

Social Engineering

Noun

Manupilating people to give away confidential info.

Example: The hacker used social engineering to trick employees into sharing passwords

VPN

Noun

A secure, private internet connection.

Example: He used a VPN to browse safely on public Wi-Fi.

Zero-Day

Adjective + Noun

A vulnerability unknown to the software maker.

Example: Hackers exploited a zero-day vulnerabilty in the browser

This glossary was made with the Virtual Writing Tutor glossary maker and grammar checker.