Cheatography
https://cheatography.com
The must-know acronyms and key terms for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) — one-page rapid review.
This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.
Core Security Concepts
CIA triad |
Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability: the three pillars of security |
AAA |
Authentication, Authorization, Accounting: who you are, what you can do, what is logged |
Zero Trust |
Never trust, always verify: verify every user and device explicitly |
Least privilege |
Users get only the minimum access needed for their job |
Defense in depth |
Layered controls so one failure does not breach everything |
Threats & Attacks
APT |
Advanced Persistent Threat: long-term targeted intrusion, often nation-state |
DDoS |
Distributed Denial of Service: traffic flood from many sources |
MITM |
Man-in-the-Middle: attacker intercepts traffic between two parties |
SQLi |
SQL Injection: malicious SQL via unsanitized input |
XSS |
Cross-Site Scripting: malicious script injected into web pages |
XSRF/CSRF |
Cross-Site Request Forgery: forged requests using a victim's session |
Phishing / Whaling / Vishing |
Email / executive-targeted / voice-call social engineering |
Ransomware |
Malware that encrypts data and demands payment |
Cryptography & PKI
AES |
Advanced Encryption Standard: symmetric cipher (128/192/256-bit) |
RSA |
Asymmetric cipher used for key exchange and digital signatures |
PKI |
Public Key Infrastructure: CAs, certificates, trust chains |
CA |
Certificate Authority: issues and signs digital certificates |
CRL / OCSP |
Certificate Revocation List / online check for revoked certs |
Hashing (SHA-256) |
One-way integrity check; hashing is not encryption |
Digital signature |
Proves authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation |
TLS |
Encrypts data in transit (HTTPS); SSL is deprecated |
Network Security
IDS / IPS |
Intrusion Detection / Prevention System: detect vs detect-and-block |
HIDS / NIDS |
Host-based vs network-based IDS |
SIEM |
Security Information and Event Management: centralized log analysis |
SOAR |
Security Orchestration, Automation and Response |
WAF |
Web Application Firewall: filters HTTP attacks like SQLi and XSS |
NAC |
Network Access Control: enforces device compliance before joining |
DMZ |
Demilitarized Zone: buffer network between public and private |
VPN / IPsec |
Encrypted tunnel; IPsec suite for secure IP communications |
VLAN |
Virtual LAN: segments broadcast domains logically |
SPF / DKIM / DMARC |
Email authentication trio against spoofing |
Identity & Access
MFA |
Multi-Factor Authentication: two or more proof categories |
SSO |
Single Sign-On: one login for many apps |
SAML / OAuth / OpenID |
Federation and delegated authorization standards |
RADIUS / TACACS+ |
AAA protocols (TACACS+ encrypts the full payload) |
RBAC / ABAC |
Role-Based / Attribute-Based Access Control |
Kerberos |
Ticket-based auth, port 88; default in Active Directory |
LDAP |
Directory access protocol, port 389 (LDAPS 636) |
Operations & Governance
BIA |
Business Impact Analysis: identifies critical processes and recovery priorities |
RTO / RPO |
Recovery Time Objective / Recovery Point Objective |
SLA |
Service Level Agreement: uptime and performance contract |
Hardening |
Disabling unnecessary services and ports to reduce attack surface |
Patching |
Applying fixes; one of the highest-ROI controls |
Backups (3-2-1) |
3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite |
Incident response |
Preparation, Detection, Containment, Eradication, Recovery, Lessons learned |
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