The FREE Cybersecurity Glossary by Thor Pedersen!

Flooding: A type of security attack where the network or system is overwhelmed with traffic or data, resulting in overconsumption of available resources. It could lead to system slowdowns or, in extreme cases, cause the system to crash entirely. Common types of flooding include Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, where an attacker inundates a network with unwanted traffic, often from a botnet.

Footprinting: The initial step where information gatherers collect as much data as possible about a target, such as an individual, a group, or an organization. This can be performed through various methods, including search engines, social media platforms, WHOIS databases, network tools, and more. This is a commonly used technique in ethical hacking to understand the security posture of a target system and find potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

Forced Encryption: A policy where data is automatically encrypted before it is stored or transmitted, ensuring that the information remains secure and inaccessible to unauthorized users. This process can be performed at different levels, such as at the file, disk, or network level, and is key in protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access or potential data breaches.

Foreign Key: In databases, a foreign key is a column or set of columns in a relational database table that provides a link between data in two tables. It refers to the primary key of another table, establishing a relationship between the two tables and enforcing referential integrity. The foreign key identifies a column or a set of columns in one (referencing) table that matches the primary key or a unique key in another (referenced) table. The relationship between the two keys ensures that the data in the two tables remains consistent.

Forensic audit: An investigation into financial information or activities to determine if there has been any wrongdoing or fraud. It is used to uncover evidence of illegal or unethical behavior, such as embezzlement or money laundering. Examples of forensic audits include investigations into financial fraud or the mismanagement of company funds.

Forensic examination: The methodical collection and analysis of digital evidence to reconstruct past events. This can include activities like recovering deleted files, analyzing system logs, extracting data from databases, or examining network traffic. The goal is to understand what actions were performed, by whom, and when to establish the facts of a case or incident.