Cloud Security Glossary

Explore our in-depth glossary to learn about key cloud security terms, technologies, risks, and foundational concepts.

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Audit logs are chronological records of system activity that provide visibility into user actions, system events, and configuration changes across digital environments. In cloud security, audit logs play a crucial role in tracking access to cloud resources, identifying anomalous activity, and supporting compliance and forensic investigations. What are audit logs? Audit logs (or audit trails) […]

Attack Vector

An attack vector is a pathway or method used by threat actors to gain unauthorized access to a system, network, or cloud environment. It represents the specific tactics or techniques adversaries leverage to exploit vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or human error to compromise data, escalate privileges, or disrupt operations. In cloud security, attack vectors span a wide […]

Attack Based Vulnerability Management (ABVM)

Attack Based Vulnerability Management (ABVM) is a security methodology that prioritizes vulnerability remediation based on real-world exploitability and attack paths, rather than static severity scores alone. By identifying which vulnerabilities can realistically be used in multi-step attacks to compromise sensitive systems, ABVM enables security teams to focus on what truly matters. What is Attack Based […]

Application Security Posture Management (ASPM)

Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) is a comprehensive approach to continuously monitoring, assessing, and improving the security posture of applications throughout their entire lifecycle, from development to production. What is Application Security Posture Management (ASPM)? ASPM provides organizations with centralized visibility into application security risks, vulnerabilities, and compliance status across diverse development environments and deployment […]

Attack Path Analysis

Attack Path Analysis is the automatic identification of risk combinations that create dangerous attack paths that can be exploited by attackers. This powerful security approach visually represents the possible routes threat actors can use to navigate through your cloud environment to reach sensitive data and critical assets. As organizations increasingly migrate to complex cloud environments, […]

Application Security

Application security is the practice of protecting software applications from threats across their entire lifecycle—from initial development through deployment and runtime. As organizations adopt cloud-native technologies, securing applications has become more complex, requiring a shift in focus from just securing code to securing everything around the application, including infrastructure, containers, dependencies, and secrets. A robust […]

AI Security

AI security, also known as AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM), refers to the strategies, tools, and best practices used to secure artificial intelligence systems and protect the data, infrastructure, and workflows involved in building and operating AI models. As organizations accelerate adoption of AI and machine learning (ML), new security challenges emerge—including sensitive data exposure, […]

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Blue Team

The Blue Team refers to the cybersecurity professionals responsible for defending an organization’s systems, networks, and cloud environments from cyber threats. Blue Teams are tasked with detecting, analyzing, and responding to suspicious activity, managing security configurations, and maintaining continuous monitoring to ensure a strong security posture. In cloud environments, Blue Team operations extend to securing […]

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Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)

Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a proactive cybersecurity strategy focused on continuously identifying, assessing, and prioritizing exploitable security exposures across an organization’s complete attack surface. Unlike traditional vulnerability management, which often emphasizes technical flaws in isolation, CTEM evaluates exposures in context—factoring in the relationships between assets, misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and threat actor behavior. This approach […]

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is a standardized framework used across the cybersecurity industry to assess and communicate the severity of software vulnerabilities. Maintained by the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), CVSS provides a numerical score ranging from 0.0 to 10.0, helping organizations prioritize remediation efforts based on the potential impact […]

CNCF

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is an open-source foundation that fosters the development and adoption of cloud-native technologies. As part of the Linux Foundation, CNCF was founded in 2015 to serve as the vendor-neutral home for projects like Kubernetes, Prometheus, Envoy, and more. CNCF’s mission is to make cloud-native computing ubiquitous by supporting a […]

Cloud Detection and Response (CDR)

Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) is a cybersecurity strategy that focuses on continuously monitoring, detecting, and responding to threats across cloud-native environments. As organizations move critical workloads and data to the cloud, they face an evolving threat landscape marked by dynamic resources, decentralized architectures, and increasing complexity. CDR provides purpose-built tools and processes for securing […]

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of computing resources—including servers, storage, databases, networking, analytics, and software—over the internet. Instead of owning and operating physical infrastructure, organizations can rent access to these services from cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This approach enables businesses to innovate faster, […]

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting digital systems, networks, applications, and data from unauthorized access, disruption, manipulation, or destruction. As businesses, governments, and individuals increasingly rely on digital infrastructure, cybersecurity has become a foundational pillar of risk management, regulatory compliance, and operational continuity. Cybersecurity encompasses a broad range of disciplines—from network defense and endpoint protection […]

Cyberattack

A cyberattack is a deliberate and malicious attempt to breach, disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to digital systems, networks, or data. Carried out by threat actors ranging from individual hackers to state-sponsored groups, cyberattacks can target a wide variety of entities, including government agencies, corporations, cloud infrastructure, and individual users. The goal of a […]

CWE

CWE, or Common Weakness Enumeration, is a community-developed list of software and hardware weaknesses that can lead to security vulnerabilities. Unlike CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which documents specific, real-world vulnerabilities, CWE focuses on underlying flaws in code, architecture, or configuration that attackers often exploit. Maintained by the MITRE Corporation with support from industry partners […]

CVE

CVE, which stands for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, is a publicly available system that catalogs known cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Maintained by the MITRE Corporation and overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the CVE program assigns unique identifiers to documented security flaws in software and firmware. Each CVE entry […]

Cloud-Native Development

Cloud-native development is the practice of designing, building, and deploying applications specifically for cloud environments. It emphasizes scalability, agility, and automation—allowing organizations to deliver features faster, respond to change more efficiently, and take full advantage of cloud infrastructure. Unlike legacy applications that are simply migrated to the cloud, cloud-native apps are engineered from the ground […]

Cloud Native

Cloud native refers to an approach to building and running applications that fully leverages the scalability, flexibility, and resilience of cloud computing. Cloud native applications are designed to thrive in dynamic environments like public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud platforms. They are typically built using microservices, deployed in containers, orchestrated with tools like Kubernetes, and delivered […]

Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure refers to the foundational technology and services that support computing resources in cloud environments. It includes virtual servers, storage, networking, and the platforms and tools used to deploy and manage applications. Cloud infrastructure enables organizations to scale quickly, reduce hardware costs, and operate more flexibly than with traditional on-premises environments. Cloud infrastructure can […]

Cloud Identity

Cloud identity refers to the management and control of user, service, and machine identities within cloud environments. As organizations move to cloud-native architectures and adopt distributed systems, identity becomes the new perimeter—determining who or what can access resources and services, and under what conditions. Effective cloud identity management is essential for securing data, enforcing least […]

Cloud Compliance

Cloud compliance refers to the process of ensuring that an organization’s cloud infrastructure, data, and operations adhere to regulatory requirements, industry standards, and internal security policies. As businesses migrate workloads to public, private, and hybrid clouds, maintaining compliance becomes more complex—and more critical. Cloud compliance ensures that sensitive data is handled responsibly, risks are mitigated, […]

CI/CD Security

CI/CD security refers to the set of practices and tools used to secure continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, which are foundational to modern software development. As development teams increasingly adopt DevOps and cloud-native approaches, the CI/CD pipeline has become a high-value target for attackers seeking to tamper with source code, inject malicious components, […]

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Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST, or Dynamic Application Security Testing, is a security testing methodology that analyzes applications during their operating states to identify vulnerabilities and security flaws. Unlike static testing approaches that examine source code, DAST simulates real-world attacks on running applications to detect exploitable weaknesses—without requiring access to the underlying codebase. DAST tools are commonly used in […]

DevOps

DevOps is a collaborative approach that brings together development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams to streamline the software development lifecycle. By aligning goals, automating processes, and fostering shared accountability, DevOps enables organizations to deliver software faster, more reliably, and at scale. DevOps is not a specific tool or job title—it’s a cultural and technical philosophy […]

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Endpoint Security

Endpoint security refers to the strategies, tools, and practices used to protect endpoint devices—such as laptops, desktops, servers, smartphones, and tablets—from cyber threats. These devices serve as entry points into enterprise networks and are often the first line of attack for threat actors looking to steal data, deploy malware, or gain unauthorized access to systems. […]

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a category of cybersecurity technology focused on detecting, investigating, and responding to suspicious activity on endpoint devices. Endpoints—such as laptops, desktops, servers, mobile devices, and virtual machines—are frequent targets of cyberattacks, making them critical components of an organization’s security strategy. EDR solutions collect and analyze telemetry from these endpoints […]

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Hybrid Cloud Security

Hybrid cloud security refers to the policies, technologies, and best practices used to protect data, applications, and workloads deployed across a combination of public and private cloud environments. In a hybrid cloud model, organizations leverage both on-premises infrastructure and one or more cloud providers—requiring a unified approach to visibility, access control, and risk management. Effective […]

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Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a method of provisioning and managing computing infrastructure through machine-readable configuration files rather than manual processes. By defining infrastructure—such as networks, virtual machines, databases, and permissions—as code, teams can automate deployments, improve consistency, and scale environments efficiently across development, testing, and production. IaC is a foundational practice in DevOps and […]

Incident Response

Incident response is the structured approach organizations use to identify, investigate, contain, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. Its goal is to minimize damage, reduce recovery time and cost, and prevent the recurrence of similar threats. Incident response is a foundational element of modern cybersecurity programs—helping organizations maintain operational continuity and regulatory compliance in the face […]

IaC Security

IaC Security refers to the practice of securing infrastructure as code (IaC) artifacts to prevent misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and policy violations before infrastructure is deployed. As organizations increasingly rely on automation to build and manage cloud environments, IaC Security plays a critical role in shifting security left—catching issues early in the development lifecycle before they reach […]

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Kubernetes Security

Kubernetes security encompasses the tools, processes, and best practices used to protect containerized applications, infrastructure components, and data running in Kubernetes environments. As Kubernetes becomes the de facto standard for orchestrating containers in cloud-native applications, securing it is critical to preventing unauthorized access, privilege escalation, data breaches, and operational disruptions. Kubernetes security must be applied […]

Kubernetes (K8s)

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Originally developed by Google and now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Kubernetes has become the industry standard for running containerized workloads in cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments. Kubernetes simplifies complex application operations by abstracting away […]

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Lateral Movement

Lateral movement is a technique used by attackers to expand their foothold within a compromised environment by moving from one system, service, or identity to another. After gaining initial access—whether through a phishing email, misconfigured cloud resource, or exploited vulnerability—threat actors often perform lateral movement to escalate privileges, discover sensitive assets, and progress toward their […]

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MITRE ATT&CK® Framework

The MITRE ATT&CK® Framework is a globally accessible knowledge base of adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) based on real-world observations. Developed and maintained by MITRE, a U.S. government-funded research organization, the ATT&CK (Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge) framework is used by security teams to understand attacker behavior, improve threat detection, and strengthen defense […]

Malware

Malware, short for malicious software, refers to any software intentionally designed to cause damage, steal data, or gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or users. It includes a broad range of threats such as viruses, worms, ransomware, spyware, Trojans, rootkits, and more. Malware is a key weapon in the arsenal of cybercriminals, state-sponsored actors, and […]

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National Vulnerability Database (NVD)

The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) is the U.S. government’s official repository of publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NVD provides detailed information about Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), including severity scores, impact metrics, and links to relevant resources. The NVD is an essential source of vulnerability […]

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Observability

Observability is the ability to measure, monitor, and understand the internal state of a system based on the data it produces—such as logs, metrics, and traces. Originally a control theory concept, observability in modern computing enables engineers and security teams to answer key questions about application behavior, performance, and reliability without needing direct access to […]

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Public Cloud

Public cloud refers to a cloud computing model in which computing resources—such as servers, storage, and applications—are provided by a third-party vendor and shared across multiple customers via the internet. Public cloud providers own and manage the infrastructure, while customers access resources on demand through a pay-as-you-go model. Public cloud is widely adopted for its […]

Private Cloud

Private cloud refers to a cloud computing environment that is dedicated to a single organization. Unlike public cloud services—where infrastructure is shared among multiple customers—a private cloud is isolated and configured exclusively for one entity, offering greater control, customization, and privacy. Private clouds can be hosted on-premises within an organization’s data center or off-premises by […]

Patch Management

Patch management is the process of identifying, acquiring, testing, and applying updates—or patches—to software and systems in order to fix vulnerabilities, improve performance, or add new functionality. These updates may apply to operating systems, applications, cloud services, firmware, or third-party libraries. Patch management is a critical component of cybersecurity and IT operations. Unpatched systems are […]

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Runtime Security

Runtime security refers to the continuous protection of applications, workloads, and infrastructure while they are actively running. It involves monitoring live systems for behavioral anomalies, unauthorized access, exploits, or policy violations in real time. Unlike pre-deployment checks, runtime security focuses on safeguarding systems during actual execution, making it essential for detecting threats that bypass static […]

Repository

A repository is a centralized location used to store, organize, and manage digital assets such as source code, configuration files, software packages, and infrastructure templates. Repositories are essential in modern software development and cloud-native operations, enabling collaboration, version control, automation, and secure delivery of applications and services. Repositories can be local or remote, public or […]

Reachability Analysis

Reachability analysis is a security technique used to determine whether a vulnerability within a system, application, or cloud environment is accessible and exploitable from a given source. By evaluating the paths through which an attacker could potentially reach a vulnerable component, reachability analysis helps prioritize remediation efforts by focusing on vulnerabilities that pose actual risks. […]

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)

RBAC, or Role-Based Access Control, is a method of managing user permissions by assigning access rights based on a user’s role within an organization. Rather than granting permissions directly to individuals, RBAC assigns roles that encapsulate specific sets of privileges, simplifying access management and reducing the risk of excessive or inappropriate permissions. RBAC is widely […]

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Software Supply Chain Attack

Software supply chain attacks are a type of cyberattack in which threat actors compromise software at some point in its development, build, or distribution process in order to introduce malicious code or backdoors into downstream systems. Unlike traditional attacks that target individual systems or users, supply chain attacks exploit the trusted relationships and dependencies that […]

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) is a method used to identify and manage open-source and third-party components within software applications. SCA tools analyze codebases to detect known vulnerabilities, licensing risks, outdated dependencies, and other security or compliance concerns associated with software supply chains. With the growing reliance on open-source software, SCA has become essential for organizations […]

Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is a formal, structured inventory of all the components, libraries, and dependencies that make up a piece of software. It provides visibility into the software supply chain by listing open-source and proprietary components, their versions, licensing information, and known vulnerabilities. SBOMs are critical for securing applications, managing risk, and complying […]

Security Operations Center (SOC)

SOC, short for Security Operations Center, is a centralized team or facility responsible for continuously monitoring, detecting, analyzing, and responding to cybersecurity threats across an organization’s IT infrastructure. A SOC serves as the command center for cybersecurity operations, bringing together people, processes, and technology to protect against internal and external threats. SOC teams use a […]

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

SIEM, short for Security Information and Event Management, is a cybersecurity solution that aggregates and analyzes security data from across an organization’s IT infrastructure in real time. SIEM systems centralize the collection of logs and security events from sources such as endpoints, servers, firewalls, cloud services, and applications, enabling security teams to detect threats, investigate […]

Secrets Detection

Secrets detection is the process of identifying sensitive information—such as API keys, passwords, tokens, and encryption keys—that has been inadvertently exposed in source code, configuration files, or other parts of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Detecting these secrets is crucial to prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security incidents. In modern development environments, where […]

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Threat Modeling

Threat modeling is a structured approach to identifying, analyzing, and mitigating potential threats to a system, application, or environment. It helps organizations anticipate how attackers might exploit vulnerabilities and allows teams to proactively design defenses, prioritize risks, and strengthen overall security posture. Threat modeling is most effective when performed early in the software development lifecycle […]

Threat Actor

Threat actor is a term used in cybersecurity to describe any individual, group, or entity that intentionally conducts malicious activities against digital systems, networks, or data. Threat actors can vary widely in their sophistication, resources, motivations, and tactics, but their goal is typically to cause harm, gain unauthorized access, or disrupt operations. Understanding the different […]

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Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability scanning is the automated process of identifying security weaknesses, misconfigurations, and known vulnerabilities in systems, applications, and cloud environments. It is a foundational component of vulnerability management and is used to uncover issues that attackers could exploit to compromise assets, data, or services. Vulnerability scanning is widely adopted across IT and security teams as […]

Vulnerability

Vulnerability refers to a weakness or flaw in a system, application, network, or configuration that could be exploited by a threat actor to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Vulnerabilities can result from coding errors, misconfigurations, design oversights, or insecure defaults and are among the most common entry points for cyberattacks. Managing vulnerabilities effectively is critical […]

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Workload

Workload in the context of cloud computing refers to an application, service, or computing task that consumes cloud resources to perform a specific function. Cloud workloads can include virtual machines (VMs), containers, databases, serverless functions, batch jobs, microservices, and other units of compute that run in cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle […]

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a security solution that monitors, filters, and blocks malicious traffic to and from web applications. It is designed to protect applications from common web-based attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), file inclusion, and other threats defined in the OWASP Top 10. A WAF operates at the application layer […]

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Zero-Day Vulnerability

Zero-day vulnerability refers to a security flaw in software, hardware, or firmware that is unknown to the vendor or developer and, therefore, has no official patch or fix at the time it is discovered or exploited. The term “zero-day” highlights the fact that defenders have had zero days to address or mitigate the vulnerability before […]

Zero Trust Security

Zero Trust Security is a cybersecurity model based on the principle of “never trust, always verify.” It assumes that threats can exist both outside and inside the network perimeter and enforces strict identity verification and access controls for every user, device, and application attempting to access resources—regardless of location or network origin. Unlike traditional security […]

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