Network Security Definitions

Search Definitions
  • A

    access control list (ACL)

    An access control list (ACL) is a list of rules that specifies which users or systems are granted or denied access to a particular object or system resource.

  • Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

    Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a protocol that maps dynamic IP addresses to permanent physical machine addresses in a local area network (LAN).

  • D

    What is the domain name system (DNS)?

    The domain name system (DNS) is a naming database in which internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

  • F

    firewall as a service (FWaaS)

    Firewall as a service (FWaaS), also known as a cloud firewall, is a service that provides cloud-based network traffic analysis capabilities to customers as part of an overall cybersecurity program.

  • G

    What is geo-blocking?

    Geo-blocking is blocking online content based on its location.

  • I

    What is ingress filtering?

    Ingress filtering is a method used by enterprises and internet service providers to prevent suspicious traffic from entering a network.

  • What is IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)?

    Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a set of specifications from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is responsible for identifying network devices and routing traffic across the internet.

  • L

    Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)

    Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is an extension of the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) used by an internet service provider (ISP) to enable the operation of a virtual private network (VPN) over the internet.

  • M

    microsegmentation

    Microsegmentation is a security technique that splits a network into definable zones and uses policies to dictate how data and applications within those zones can be accessed and controlled.

  • N

    network access control (NAC)

    Network access control (NAC), also called network admission control, is a method to bolster the security, visibility and access management of a proprietary network.

  • network segmentation

    Network segmentation is a networking architectural design that divides a network into multiple segments (subnets) with each functioning as a smaller, individual network.

  • What is NetOps? Everything you need to know

    NetOps, also referred to as NetOps 2.0 and NetDevOps, is an approach to networking operations that uses DevOps tools and techniques to make network changes more efficiently and effectively than in the past.

  • What is network security? Definition and best practices

    Network security encompasses all the steps taken to protect the integrity of a computer network and the data within it.

  • What is network visibility?

    Network visibility is an awareness of the components and data within an enterprise computer network.

  • What is nslookup?

    Nslookup is the name of a program that lets users enter a hostname and find out the corresponding Internet Protocol address or Domain Name System record.

  • What is the Nessus vulnerability scanning platform?

    Nessus is a platform developed by Tenable that scans for security vulnerabilities in devices, applications, operating systems, cloud services and other network resources.

  • P

    packet filtering

    Packet filtering is the process of passing or blocking data packets at a network interface by a firewall based on source and destination addresses, ports or protocols.

  • S

    SD-WAN security

    SD-WAN security refers to the practices, protocols and technologies protecting data and resources transmitted across software-defined wide area network infrastructure.

  • secure access service edge (SASE)

    Secure access service edge (SASE), pronounced sassy, is a cloud architecture model that bundles together network and cloud-native security technologies and delivers them as a single cloud service.

  • Snort

    Snort is an open source network intrusion detection system (NIDS) created by Sourcefire founder and former CTO Martin Roesch.

  • stateful inspection

    Stateful inspection, also known as dynamic packet filtering, is a firewall technology that monitors the state of active connections and uses this information to determine which network packets to allow through the firewall.

  • SYN scanning

    SYN scanning is a tactic that a malicious hacker can use to determine the state of a communications port without establishing a full connection.

  • T

    tunneling or port forwarding

    Tunneling or port forwarding is the transmission of data intended for use only within a private -- usually corporate -- network through a public network in such a way that the public network's routing nodes are unaware that the transmission is part of a private network.

  • U

    What is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)?

    A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a unique identifier used to locate a resource on the internet.

  • What is User Datagram Protocol (UDP)?

    User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a communications protocol primarily used to establish low-latency and loss-tolerating connections between applications on the internet.

  • V

    What is a VPN (Virtual Private Network)? Definition, Benefits & How It Works

    A virtual private network (VPN) is a service that creates a safe, encrypted online connection.