16 Hacking Abbreviations And What They Mean

If you are new to hacking, you will be surprised by the number of technical terms thrown around. Not to mention that the list of abbreviations is also not short. As a newbie hacker, it will come in handy if you are familiar with abbreviations and what they mean. Below is a list of some of the most common and important abbreviations and short forms in hacking terminology.

1. DoS

Denial of Service is a type of cyber attack where a hacker overwhelms the target with unnecessary traffic.

2. DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service is a type of DoS attack that is more lethal and uses a botnet to launch an attack on the victim.

3. MITM

Man in the middle is also a type of cyber attack where the hacker inserts himself or herself between two parties having a conversation. In MITM, the attacker controls the communication unbeknownst to the parties.

4. RAT

RAT is short for remote access tool or remote access trojan. It is a type of trojan that can allow a hacker to completely control a system from a remote location. As a tool, it is also used for the same purpose, but for a non-malicious intention.

5. SQL

SQL or Structured Query Language is a language used to manage data in a database. SQL injections are a common type of cyber attack in which an unsanitized input can allow the attacker to trick the database into revealing information.

6. XSS

XSS or cross-site scripting is a type of attack where the hacker inserts malicious code into legitimate webpages.

7. MAC

MAC is short for Media Access Control. It is a unique identifier and a physical address for a computer, but it is related to the hardware, unlike an IP address that is related to the software. MAC address is assigned to the NIC (Network Interface Controller) on your computer.

8. TLS

Transport Layer Security, formerly SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a form of cryptographic security in digital communication.

9. HTTPS

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure is an extension of HTTP. Websites that use HTTPS are more secure than HTTP websites since their communication is encrypted using the TLS or Transport Layer Security.

10. CEH

Certified Ethical Hacker – CEH is a highly recognized certification by EC-Council, which is widely accepted as a mark of a competent ethical hacker.

11. VM

Virtual Machine is an imitation of a physical computer and can act like a computer within a computer.

12. Skid

Short for script kiddies, this refers to those hackers who lack the technical skills to perform advanced hacks. These hackers rely on existing scripts by other hackers or backdoors to attack systems and networks.

13. Nmap

Also known as Network Mapper, Nmap is a highly popular tool for port scanning and network exploration. It finds out about the hosts and services running on a system.

14. OSINT

This refers to Open Source Intelligence. It is one of the first steps of hacking in which a hacker uses open-source tools to find out as much about its target as it can.

15. EOL

EOL is short for ‘end of life’. It is also known as End of Sale or End of Service. This refers to that software which has reached its end of life cycle and will not be supported any further by the manufacturer. Using EOL software is a huge security issue as any vulnerabilities found in such software will not be patched by the manufacturers.

16. EC-Council

Short for the International Council for Electronic Commerce Consultants, the EC-Council certifies individuals in cybersecurity skills. It also provides ethical hacking training, computer forensics & incident handling training, network defense training, and other training programs to interested students.