The FREE Cybersecurity Glossary by Thor Pedersen!

Incident response - Response/mitigation: Response refers to the actions taken to address the incident and minimize its impact. This may include isolating affected systems, blocking access to malicious websites, or restoring data from backups. Mitigation involves taking steps to prevent future incidents from occurring, such as patching vulnerabilities or implementing additional security measures. For example, a company may use firewalls to block incoming traffic from known malicious IP addresses or implement two-factor authentication to improve the security of user accounts.

Incident response - Review and improvement: Review and improvement involves evaluating the effectiveness of the incident response process and making improvements as needed. This may include reviewing the incident response plan, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes to enhance the organization's ability to handle future incidents. For example, a company may conduct a review of its incident response plan after a data breach to identify any gaps or weaknesses and make changes to improve its effectiveness.

Incident response team (IRT): A group of individuals trained and equipped to handle security incidents. IRTs are typically composed of IT and security professionals who have the knowledge and expertise to respond to a wide range of security threats. An example of an IRT could be a group of cybersecurity analysts and engineers who are responsible for identifying and mitigating cyberattacks within an organization.

Incidents: An event that poses a potential threat to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an organization's information or systems. Incidents can include data breaches, malware infections, or phishing attacks. Organizations need processes to identify and respond to incidents to prevent or minimize potential damage. Incidents can also refer to any event that hinders a service or a company's goals, not limited to cybersecurity.

Incomplete parameter checking: Incomplete parameter checking occurs when a software application does not fully validate user input, potentially leading to vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, buffer overflows, or cross-site scripting (XSS). These vulnerabilities can be exploited by attackers to manipulate the application, gain unauthorized access, or compromise data integrity.

Inconsequential deficiency: A minor security weakness that does not significantly affect the overall security of a system. While these deficiencies are low-risk and typically don't demand urgent action, they should still be resolved to uphold overall system security. An example includes a non-critical software configuration that needs updating.