The FREE Cybersecurity Glossary by Thor Pedersen!

Web server: A computer that stores, processes, and delivers web content, such as HTML pages, images, and files, to clients on the internet. It is used to host and serve websites and web applications. Examples include Apache, IIS, and Nginx.

Well-known ports: The standardized network port numbers used by internet protocols to identify and communicate with specific services and applications. It is used to ensure that network traffic is routed to the correct destination on the network. Examples include port 80 for HTTP, port 443 for HTTPS, and port 22 for SSH.

Whaling: A type of social engineering attack that specifically targets high-level executives or other significant individuals within an organization to gain access to sensitive information or manipulate decisions. Examples include spear phishing, pretexting, and baiting.

Whistleblowing: The act of reporting illegal or unethical behavior within an organization. It is often used in the field of IT security to report issues such as cyber-attacks, data breaches, or unauthorized access to sensitive information. Examples of whistleblowing in IT security might include reporting a colleague who has accessed company data without permission or alerting management to a cyber-attack that has occurred.

White box: In a white box context, all internal structures, designs, and implementations are fully visible and accessible. This term is often used in reference to types of testing where complete knowledge of the system is available. For instance, white box testing involves thorough testing of software components based on the understanding of the underlying code, algorithms, and system architecture. This allows testers to craft specific test cases to cover all paths and scenarios within the system.

White box testing: Also referred to as crystal-box testing or clear-box testing, is a method of software testing where the tester has full visibility of the internal workings of the software, including the code structure, algorithms, and logic. The tests are based on coverage of code statements, branches, paths, and conditions and are used to ensure that all the pathways through the code are tested. This approach requires a deep understanding of the system's internals and is often used to validate complex logical flows and security vulnerabilities.