M - Definitions

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  • M

    macro virus

    A macro virus is a computer virus written in the same macro language used to create software programs such as Microsoft Excel or Word.

  • mail bomb

    A mail bomb is a form of a denial-of-service (DoS) attack designed to overwhelm an inbox or inhibit a server by sending a massive number of emails to a specific person or system.

  • man in the browser (MitB)

    Man in the browser (MitB) is a security attack where the perpetrator installs a Trojan horse on the victim's computer that is capable of modifying that user's web transactions.

  • mandatory access control (MAC)

    Mandatory access control (MAC) is a security strategy that restricts the ability individual resource owners have to grant or deny access to resource objects in a file system.

  • MD5

    The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) hashing algorithm is a one-way cryptographic function that accepts a message of any length as input and returns as output a fixed-length digest value to be used for authenticating the original message.

  • Melissa virus

    Melissa was a type of email virus that initially become an issue in early 1999.

  • messaging security

    Messaging security is a subcategory of unified threat management, or UTM, focused on securing and protecting an organization's communication infrastructure.

  • metamorphic and polymorphic malware

    Metamorphic and polymorphic malware are two types of malicious software (malware) that can change their code as they propagate through a system.

  • MICR (magnetic ink character recognition)

    MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) is a technology invented in the 1950s that's used to verify the legitimacy or originality of checks and other paper documents.

  • Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Windows Defender ATP)

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint -- formerly Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection or Windows Defender ATP -- is an endpoint security platform designed to help enterprise-class organizations prevent, detect and respond to security threats.

  • Microsoft Schannel (Microsoft Secure Channel)

    The Microsoft Secure Channel, or Schannel, is a security support package that facilitates the use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption on Windows platforms.

  • mobile authentication

    Mobile authentication is the verification of a user's identity via a mobile device using one or more authentication methods for secure access.

  • mutual authentication

    Mutual authentication, also called two-way authentication, is a process or technology in which both entities in a communications link authenticate each other.

  • What is a message authentication code (MAC)? How it works and best practices

    A message authentication code (MAC) is a cryptographic checksum applied to a message to guarantee its integrity and authenticity.

  • What is a micro VM (micro virtual machine)?

    A micro VM (micro virtual machine) is a virtual machine program that serves to isolate an untrusted computing operation from a computer's host operating system.

  • What is machine identity management?

    Machine identity management focuses on the machines connected to and accessing resources on a network.

  • What is malware? Prevention, detection and how attacks work

    Malware, or malicious software, is any program or file that's intentionally harmful to a computer, network or server.

  • What is multifactor authentication?

    Multifactor authentication (MFA) is an IT security technology that requires multiple sources of unique information from independent categories of credentials to verify a user's identity for a login or other transaction.

  • What is MXDR, and do you need it?

    Managed extended detection and response (MXDR) is an outsourced service that collects and analyzes threat data from across an organization's IT environment.

  • What is the Mitre ATT&CK framework?

    The Mitre ATT&CK -- pronounced miter attack -- framework is a free, globally accessible knowledge base that describes the latest behaviors and tactics of cyberadversaries to help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity strategies.