Acronyms

A reference list of acronyms commonly used in computing, networking, and cybersecurity.

A

AES: Advanced Encryption Standard. 128-bit block cipher, the current encryption standard.
AES-CBC: Advanced Encryption Standard Cipher Block Chaining. AES in CBC mode, commonly used for disk encryption.
AES-CFB: Advanced Encryption Standard Cipher FeedBack. AES in CFB mode, provides stream-like encryption.
AES-CTR: Advanced Encryption Standard Counter Mode. AES in counter mode, parallelizable encryption.
AES-ECB: Advanced Encryption Standard Electronic Code Book. AES in ECB mode, not recommended as patterns remain visible.
AES-GCM: Advanced Encryption Standard Galois/Counter Mode. AES with authenticated encryption.
AES-NI: Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions. CPU instructions for hardware-accelerated AES.
AES-OFB: Advanced Encryption Standard Output FeedBack. AES in OFB mode, provides stream-like encryption.
ANSI: American National Standards Institute. US standards organization.
API: Application Programming Interface. Interface for software communication.
APU: Accelerated Processing Unit. CPU and GPU combined on one chip.
ASIC: Application-Specific Integrated Circuit. Custom chip designed for a specific task.
ATA: Advanced Technology Attachment. Interface standard for storage devices.

B

BYOD: Bring Your Own Device. Policy allowing personal devices at work.

C

CaaS: Content as a Service. Cloud-based content delivery model.
CBC-MAC: Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code. Authentication method used in CCMP.
CCMP: Counter Mode with CBC-MAC Protocol. AES-based encryption protocol in WPA2/WPA3.
CLI: Command-Line Interface. Text-based interface for computer interaction.
CMOS: Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor. Chip technology, also stores BIOS settings.
CPU: Central Processing Unit. Main processor in a computer.
CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check. Error-detecting code, not cryptographically secure.

D

DDR: Double Data Rate. Memory type that transfers data twice per clock cycle.

E

eMMC: Embedded Multi-Media Card. Flash storage used in mobile devices.
EMS: Element Management System. Software for managing network devices.

F

FaaS: Function as a Service. Serverless computing model.
FIPS: Federal Information Processing Standard. US government computer security standards.
FPGA: Field-Programmable Gate Array. Reconfigurable integrated circuit.

G

GAL: Generic Array Logic. Type of programmable logic device.
GCM: Galois/Counter Mode. Authenticated encryption mode.
GCMP: Galois/Counter Mode Protocol. GCM-based encryption in WPA3.
GDDR: Graphics Double Data Rate. High-speed memory for GPUs.
GPU: Graphics Processing Unit. Processor optimized for parallel computations.
GTK: Group Temporal Key. Wi-Fi key for broadcast/multicast traffic.

H

HDD: Hard Disk Drive. Magnetic storage device.
HDL: Hardware Description Language. Language for designing digital circuits.

I

IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service. Cloud computing model providing VMs, storage, and networks.
IC: Integrated Circuit. Electronic circuit on a semiconductor chip.
ICV: Integrity Check Value. CRC-32 checksum used in WEP.
IDE: Integrated Development Environment. Software for writing code.
IDE: Integrated Drive Electronics. Legacy hard drive interface.
IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Standards organization.
IoT: Internet of Things. Network of connected physical devices.
IV: Initialization Vector. Random value ensuring unique ciphertext.

J

JBOD: Just a Bunch Of Disks. Multiple disks without RAID configuration.

K

KRACK: Key Reinstallation Attack. 2017 attack against WPA2 handshake.

L

LAN: Local Area Network. Network in a limited area such as home or office.

M

MAC: Media Access Control. Hardware address of a network interface.
MAC: Message Authentication Code. Cryptographic integrity check.
MIC: Message Integrity Code. Integrity check in Wi-Fi, called "Michael" in TKIP.
MMF: Multi-Mode Fiber. Fiber optic cable for short distances.
MOSFET: Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor. Common transistor type in circuits.

N

NAT: Network Address Translation. Maps private IPs to a public IP.
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology. US agency setting tech standards.
NVRAM: Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory. RAM that retains data without power.

O

OSPF: Open Shortest Path First. Routing protocol for IP networks.

P

PaaS: Platform as a Service. Cloud model for app development platforms.
PATA: Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment. Legacy parallel hard drive interface.
PBKDF2: Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2. Derives encryption keys from passwords.
PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect. Computer expansion bus standard.
PCIe: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. High-speed serial expansion bus.
PIC: Programmable Interface Controller. Microcontroller family.
PMF: Protected Management Frames. Encryption of Wi-Fi management frames.
PMK: Pairwise Master Key. Wi-Fi master key derived from password and SSID.
PRF: Pseudo-Random Function. Function to derive session keys.
PSK: Pre-Shared Key. Password-based Wi-Fi authentication.
PTK: Pairwise Transient Key. Wi-Fi session key for unicast traffic.

Q

QDR: Quad Data Rate. Memory transferring 4x per clock cycle.
QSFP: Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable. High-speed network transceiver.

R

RADIUS: Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service. Enterprise authentication protocol.
RAID: Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. Multiple disks for performance or redundancy.
RAM: Random-Access Memory. Volatile working memory.
RC4: Rivest Cipher 4. Stream cipher used in WEP/TKIP, now deprecated.
RFC: Request For Comments. Internet standards documents.
RFI: Request For Information. Formal inquiry to vendors.
RFID: Radio Frequency Identification. Wireless identification technology.
ROM: Read-Only Memory. Non-writable memory.

S

SAE: Simultaneous Authentication of Equals. WPA3's password authentication method based on Dragonfly.
SATA: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. Current hard drive interface standard.
SDLAN: Software-Defined Local Area Network. Programmable LAN infrastructure.
SDN: Software-Defined Network. Network managed by software controllers.
SDR: Single Data Rate. Memory transferring 1x per clock cycle.
SDRAM: Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory. Common RAM type synchronized to clock.
SDWAN: Software-Defined Wide Area Network. Programmable WAN infrastructure.
SFP: Small Form-factor Pluggable. Compact network transceiver.
SLA: Service Level Agreement. Contract defining service expectations.
SMF: Single Mode Fiber. Fiber optic cable for long distances.
SNIA: Storage Networking Industry Association. Storage industry trade association.
SoC: System on Chip. Complete system on a single chip.
SPoF: Single Point of Failure. Component whose failure stops the entire system.
SSD: Solid State Drive. Flash-based storage device.
SSID: Service Set Identifier. Wi-Fi network name.

T

TKIP: Temporal Key Integrity Protocol. WPA's encryption protocol, now deprecated.
TSC: TKIP Sequence Counter. 48-bit sequence number in TKIP.

U

USB: Universal Serial Bus. Standard connector for peripherals.

V

VHDL: VHSIC Hardware Description Language. Language for designing digital circuits.
VHSIC: Very High Speed Integrated Circuit. US DoD program for fast ICs.
VPN: Virtual Private Network. Encrypted tunnel over a public network.

W

WAN: Wide Area Network. Network spanning a large geographic area.
WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy. Original Wi-Fi security from 1997, now completely broken.
WPA: Wi-Fi Protected Access. Interim Wi-Fi security standard from 2003.
WPA2: Wi-Fi Protected Access 2. IEEE 802.11i security standard from 2004.
WPA3: Wi-Fi Protected Access 3. Current Wi-Fi security standard from 2018.