Cyber security glossary

Get a handle on the key terms around cyber security so you can understand the common forms of cyber attack, and the measures your school can put in place.

Last reviewed on 2 July 2024
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Contents
  1. Key terms to understand
  2. Download your glossary
  3. Understand your responsibilities

We’ve picked out the key terms you need to be familiar with from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) glossary.

Key terms to understand

Antivirus: software designed to detect, stop and remove malicious software and viruses.

Breach: when your data, systems or networks are accessed or changed in a non-authorised way.

Cloud: where you can store and access your resources (including data and software) via the internet, instead of locally on physical devices.

Cyber attack: an attempt to access, damage or disrupt your computer systems, networks or devices maliciously.

Cyber incident: where the security of your system or service has been breached.

Cyber security: the protection of your devices, services and networks (and the information they contain) from theft or damage.

Firewall: hardware or software which uses a defined rule set to constrain network traffic – this is