The FREE Cybersecurity Glossary by Thor Pedersen!

Wassenaar Arrangement: An international accord that governs the export of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, such as advanced cryptographic systems, which can have both civilian and military applications. Its purpose is to prevent the proliferation of arms and sensitive technologies that could be misused to undermine security and stability, ensuring that transfers do not contribute to harmful military buildups or human rights abuses.

Waterfall development: A linear project management approach where progress flows downwards, similar to a waterfall, through various stages such as conception, initiation, analysis, design, construction, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Each stage must be fully completed before moving to the next, providing a structured, sequential process that leaves little room for backtracking or revising previous stages.

Weak key attack: An attack on cryptographic algorithms where specific keys, known as weak keys, lead to patterns or simplifications in the encrypted data. This can make decryption without the intended key more feasible and hence compromise the effectiveness of the cryptographic protection.

Weakly Typed - Programming Languages: A classification of programming languages in which data types are implicitly converted between different types, allowing for greater flexibility but also increasing the risk of type-related errors. In weakly typed languages, variables can be used interchangeably between types, which can lead to unintended behavior. Examples include JavaScript and Python, where type conversions may occur without explicit developer intervention.

Web application security: The process of protecting web applications by detecting, preventing, and responding to cyber threats. This discipline encompasses the security measures taken throughout the application's lifecycle, addressing vulnerabilities to prevent attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and data breaches.

Web proxy: An intermediary that sits between a user's device and the internet, intercepting requests and responses, often to provide functionalities like caching, security, or anonymity. It can be used to control, accelerate, or secure internet navigation, and can also mask the user's original IP address.