- Capacity Stress Testing The process of testing a system's ability to handle its intended workload without experiencing performance issues. This typically involves simulating high traffic or data loads and monitoring how the system handles them, which can help identify bottlenecks or points of failure that may need to be addressed to ensure optimal performance during peak usage times.
- Capital Expenditure/Expense (CAPEX) The spending of funds by an organization to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as buildings, equipment, or hardware infrastructure. In the context of digital security, it may include the purchase of servers, storage devices, security appliances, or other significant hardware tools that are used to enhance or maintain security measures within an organization.
- Captive Portal A web page that a user must view and interact with before accessing a public network. Upon connecting to the network, the user's browser is redirected to the captive portal, which may require authentication, payment, acceptance of EULA/usage policies, or other actions from the user. Captive portals are commonly used in public Wi-Fi networks to control access and ensure security.
- Card Swipe The action of reading the magnetic stripe of a card, such as a credit or debit card, through a card reader device. Card swipe technology is utilized to facilitate electronic transactions by securely transferring cardholder information to a point-of-sale (POS) system. Security measures are integral to card swipe systems to protect against fraud and unauthorized data breaches.
- Carlisle Adams/Stafford Tavares (CAST) A series of symmetric encryption algorithms, including CAST-128 and CAST-256. Named after their developers, Carlisle Adams and Stafford Tavares, these algorithms are used to secure data during transmission or storage, ensuring confidentiality and preventing unauthorized access. CAST-128 is commonly used in various encryption protocols, including Secure Shell (SSH) and OpenVPN.
- Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) A protocol used for controlling traffic in wireless networks to prevent collisions or simultaneous data transmissions that can cause data corruption. Before sending data, devices using CSMA/CA first check if the transmission medium is free. If it's occupied, the device waits for a random period before checking again, reducing the likelihood of multiple devices transmitting simultaneously and causing a collision.
- Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) A network protocol that operates at the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model, which manages communication between devices in a wired network, such as Ethernet. The protocol allows devices to detect whether the shared communication channel is busy before attempting to transmit data, thus avoiding potential collisions. If a collision is detected, the devices involved will stop transmitting, wait for a random period, and then attempt to transmit again. This process continues until a successful transmission is achieved. CSMA/CD is crucial in ensuring effective communication and data integrity in networks where multiple devices are competing for bandwidth.
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) A stylesheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language. CSS is commonly used in web development to control the appearance and layout of web pages. Examples of using CSS include defining the font, color, and size of text on a webpage or setting the position and size of images and other elements on the page.
- CBC-MAC (Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code) A cryptographic technique that provides data origin authentication and data integrity for block ciphers. In this method, input data is divided into fixed-size blocks, which are then encrypted and combined sequentially using a chaining mechanism. The final encrypted block serves as the MAC (Message Authentication Code) that can be verified by the recipient to ensure the message has not been tampered with or altered during transmission. As an essential component of secure communication protocols, CBC-MAC protects sensitive information from unauthorized access, manipulation, or impersonation attacks.
- CC (Certified in Cybersecurity)A key entry-level IT/Cybersecurity certification, the CC is a stepping stone for those new to the field. Offered by ISC2, it caters to the increasing number of individuals pursuing cybersecurity careers without prior IT experience. Achieving the CC signifies a fundamental understanding of essential technical concepts and an ability to learn on the job, giving employers confidence in the holder's capabilities.
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