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CVE-2026-0300 — Critical Buffer Overflow in PAN-OS User-ID Authentication Portal

May 1, 2026

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April 14, 2026

Microsoft Patch Tuesday: April 2026

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Ransomware

Explained

Understanding the Ransomware Ecosystem – From RaaS Operators to Ransom Demands to How Ransomware Attacks Work

While its origins stretch back decades, it’s only in more recent years that ransomware has become a major threat for organizations of all sizes and industries, with ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operators and affiliates dominating the threat landscape.

Understanding ransomware — from its origins to its impacts to the TTPs that allow ransomware gangs to exploit victim organizations and make off with millions in ransom payments and extortion fees — is the key to defending against it.

Even when a company employs leading-edge security tools and robust processes throughout its organization, it still is at risk. But exploring the world of ransomware and the motives of threat actors can help you better understand where your organization may be vulnerable and how you can protect it more effectively.

Table of Contents

  • 01

The History of Ransomware

The History of Ransomware

  • 02

Dominant Ransomware Groups

Dominant Ransomware Groups

  • 03

What Is the True Cost of Ransomware?

What Is the True Cost of Ransomware?

  • 04

Most Targeted Industries

Most Targeted Industries

  • 05

How Ransomware Works

How Ransomware Works

  • 06

How to Defend Against Ransomware

How to Defend Against Ransomware

01

The History of Ransomware

The ransomware we know today began decades ago with a floppy disk. Since then, it’s seen evolution after evolution, driven by technological advances such as email, bitcoin, and the dark web.

The highlights include:

1980s AND 90s

First Recorded Attack

Ransomware has existed since the 1980s, with the first recorded attack occurring in 1989. This first strain of ransomware — the AIDS Trojan — was easy to remove, rendering it ineffective.

Read More

EARLY 2000s

Archievus Appears

The first strain to use advanced RSA encryption —Archievus — appears.

2010s

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, gain popularity, giving threat actors an avenue for collecting often untraceable, digital payment.

Ransomware-as-a-service Arrives

The first instance of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) occurs with Reveton ransomware. The malware would impersonate local law enforcement, threatening victims with arrest or criminal charges if they did not pay.

WannaCry Impact

WannaCry ransomware hits hundreds of thousands of devices across more than 150 countries, making it one of the biggest ransomware attacks in history.

Data Exfiltration

Ransomware starts to utilize data exfiltration, first executed with the GrandCrab strain, which was integrated with a file-stealing malware.

Dark Web Leak Sites

Leak sites begin to pop up on the dark web, exposing victims to further financial and reputational losses, as well as allowing for stolen credentials and personally identifiable information (PII) to be used in future attacks.

VIEW FULL TIMELINE

Want to explore ransomware’s dark history in full?

See our complete timeline.

View Full Timeline

02

Ransomware Groups Behind Dominant Ransomware Variants in 2024

Focusing on engagements in which the Arctic Wolf Incident Response team confidently attributed an attack to a particular ransomware variant, the five variants we encountered the most in 2024 were BlackCat (AlphV), LockBit 3.0, Akira, Royal, and BlackBasta.

Group Name

Akira

First Observed

2023

Victims in 2024

215

Preferred Initial Access Method

Lack of MFA

Full Breakdown

Akira

First Observed:

2023

Claimed Victims in 2024:

215

Preferred Initial Access Method:

Lack of MFA Accessing VPNs without multi-factor authentication (MFA) for initial network access. Read Blog

Key Traits

Akira practices multi-extortion tactics and hosts a dark site where, should a victim fail to comply with ransom demands, they are listed alongside stolen data.

Notable Moments:

Starting in October 2023, Arctic Wolf Labs has investigated several cases of Royal and Akira ransomware victims being targeted1 in follow-on extortion attacks, which have involved victims being contacted for extortion after the original compromise took place.

Sources

Group Name

LockBit 3.0 Initially “ABCD,” changed name to LockBit in 2020

First Observed

2020

Victims in 2024

775

Preferred Initial Access Method

Varies

Full Breakdown

LockBit 3.0

First Observed:

2019Initially “ABCD,” changed name to LockBit in 2020

Claimed Victims in 2023:

926

Preferred Initial Access Method:

VariesThe group has been known to brute-force remote desktop protocols (RDP) or employ phishing attacks for initial access.

Key Traits

Known for targeting critical infrastructure, LockBit 3.0 functions as an RaaS model and often extorts data while demanding extremely high ransoms. They also tend to publish data to dark web leak sites before payment,1 promising to delete the data upon payment.

Notable Moments:

LockBit 3.0 is one of the most prolific groups operating and is responsible for more than 1,700 attacks since 2020, taking in over $91 million USD in ransoms.2 In February 2024, the National Crime Agency (NCA) of Britain and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the seizure of the group’s infrastructure (including their leak site), 34 servers, the closure of 14,000 rogue accounts, and the freezing of 200 cryptocurrency accounts, as well as five indictments against members of the group.

Sources

Group Name

Play

First Observed

2022

Victims in 2024

386

Preferred Initial Access Method

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tool exploitation and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) exploitation

Full Breakdown

Play

First Observed:

June 2022

Claimed Victims in 2023:

386

Preferred Initial Access Method:

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tool exploitation and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) exploitation

Notable Moments:

Known for exploiting ConnectWise ScreenConnect and SimpleHelp – both popular RMM tools utilized by a wide range of organizations, Play has become known for both its proliferation and high ransom demands, with a median initial ransom demand of $5,595,000 (USD), which are often followed by the use of scare tactics to intice quick payment.

Sources

Group Name

Fog

First Observed

2024

Victims in 2024

24

Preferred Initial Access Method

Compromised virtual private network (VPN) credentials or system vulnerabilities

Full Breakdown

Fog

First Observed:

May 2024

Claimed Victims in 2023:

199

Preferred Initial Access Method:

Compromised virtual private network (VPN) credentials or system vulnerabilities

Notable Moments:

With a focus on targeting organizations within the education sector, Fog often uses a double extortion scheme and has been linked back to both Akira and Conti, though the group doesn’t appear to have a singular, centralized operation. Fog is known for negotiating ransoms and had a median starting ransom demand of $610,000 (USD) in 2024.

Sources

Group Name

Black Suit

First Observed

2023

Victims in 2024

116

Preferred Initial Access Method

Phishing

Full Breakdown

Black Suit

First Observed:

May 2023

Claimed Victims in 2023:

116

Preferred Initial Access Method:

Phishing

Key Traits

An evolution of Royal – one of the top ransomware groups of 2023 – Black Suit is known for data exfiltration and extortion prior to encryption and is infamous for calling victims on the phone with an ominous message, particularly right at the beginning of ransom negotiations.

Notable Moments:

Targeting primarily manufacturing and other critical infrastructure organizations, this group has an average starting ransom demand of $650,000 (USD) but is known to demand a ransom as high as $60 million (USD). In late 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) confirmed that an international law enforcement operation resulted in the seizure of domains used by the BlackSuit ransomware group.

Sources

The Blurred Lines of the Ransomware Ecosystem

While ransomware variants originate from specific ransomware operators, behind the scenes, the ransomware ecosystem has blurred lines:

Individual ransomware groups often work with many different affiliates

Affiliates may use several different ransomware variants — from different groups — concurrently

The ransomware groups behind some of the most in-use variants have made claim to some of the biggest attacks in recent memory, including:

The U.K. Royal Mail and BoeingBy: Lockbit

CDK GlobalBy: black suit

The City of OaklandBy: Play

Krispy KremeBy: play

Nissan Australia By: Akira

LockBit, and a handful of other ransomware groups, dominated the RaaS space in 2024, as they did the year prior. This demonstrates both the continuing effectiveness of their operating models and their ability to evade law enforcement — or at least it did.

Law Enforcement Gains Success Striking Back

Despite some of the more prolific groups that have remained active over multi-year periods, international law enforcement operations are having success taking down ransomware operations,1 shuttering dark web marketplaces,2 and closing cryptocurrency mixers/tumblers3 that facilitate laundering of ransomware proceeds.

Hive

One of the most active ransomware operators of 2022, Hive, was infiltrated and taken down in January 2023, as announced by Europol and the U.S. Department of Justice.4

The RaaS group’s payment and data leak sites were seized as part of the international law enforcement operation. This operation captured the group’s decryption keys and offered them to victims worldwide, saving victims over $130 million in potential ransom payments.

AlphV

AlphV, also known as BlackCat, made headlines multiple times in late 2023. First, with their move to file a with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a victim company5 as a new pressure tactic, outing the victim for not filing a disclosure in response to becoming one of the group’s latest victims.

By December, AlphV found themselves in the crosshairs of international law enforcement, when the FBI disrupted its operations and released a decryption tool that allowed compromised victims to recover their data. In response to an escalating game of tug-of-war with law enforcement, AlphV promptly moved victim notifications to a different site.6 To date, the new AlphV-owned site continues to post victims.

During this period, which (at least for now) appears to be a temporary setback, AlphV offered incentives to retain its criminal affiliates, who were likely feeling the heat from the close call with the FBI. The FBI operation also gave other ransomware groups like LockBit an opportunity to poach AlphV affiliates.7

View Section Sources

In February 2024, the pressure on many of these groups only intensified as the U.S. Department of State announced $15 million (USD) bounties on three of the most prolific RaaS operators: AlphV, LockBit, and Hive.8 A reward of up to $10 million (USD) is available for information leading to the identification or location of any individual(s) who hold a key leadership position in these transnational organized crime groups, along with a reward of up to $5 million (USD) for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any individual conspiring to participate in, or attempting to participate in, the three named group’s ransomware activities.

What does this mean for the threat landscape facing today’s organizations?

More groups are competing for the attention and allegiance of more affiliates, with affiliates responding to economic incentives by aligning with groups that have the most reliable tools, strongest track record of fulfilling their agreements, and greatest ability to evade law enforcement.

As the saying goes, no animal is more dangerous than when it’s cornered, and right now ransomware groups are feeling cornered. We expect to see more ambitious ransoms, stricter negotiations, more aggressive naming and shaming, and further experimentation with new tactics throughout 2024.

It’s also possible that some operators will decide to retire altogether or shift to an alternative form of cybercrime, like business email compromise (BEC).

2025 Arctic Wolf Security Operations

The second annual Security Operations Report demonstrates how Arctic Wolf’s world-class SOC closes the effectiveness gap.

Download Report

03

What Is the True Cost of Ransomware?

According to TRM, ransomware payments in 2025 totaled $850 million (USD). This is a significant drop from 2024, where the total was over a billion, the highest number ever observed, and the average cost of a ransomware attack reached $5.08 million  (USD) source: IBM according to the 2025 IBM Cost of a Data Breach report, up 11% from the average cost of $4.54 million (USD) in the 2022 report. While the global total may have dropped, 2024 saw the largest ransom payment on record. A Fortune 50 company reportedly paid a staggering $75 million (USD) in Bitcoin to the Dark Angels group.

And while most in the cybersecurity community have grown accustomed to seeing these massive ransom payment figures, most of the costs incurred from ransomware attacks have nothing to do with the ransom demanded. Lost productivity and the recovery time required to get IT systems running and back to normal operating levels are significant expenses incurred by organizations in the aftermath of a ransomware attack.

Common Costs Associated with a Ransomware Attack

View a detailed breakdown of expected ransomware costs estimated against an organization’s annual revenue.

$0-25M$25M-$150M$150M-$500M$500M+

Organizations with $0-$25M Annual Revenues

Well-Known Costs:

  • Forensics

  • Incident Response Legal Counsel

  • Restoration & Recovery

  • Notifications to Customers and Vendor Costs

  • PR Costs

  • Regulatory Fines

$409K

Lesser-Known Costs:

  • Ransom Payment

  • Lawsuits

  • Data Mining

  • Credit Monitoring

$1.4M

Where insurance coverage (typically) ends

$338K

Revenue

Downtime

22 days of lost profits1

$61K

Wasted

Payroll

50% of employees not producing for 22 days

$140K

Loss of Future

Revenues

10% drop in profits from lost revenues for the following 3 months 2,4

$972K

Company Valuation

Decline

3% lower stock price after 6 months3,4

View Section Sources

Should You Pay the Ransom?

While the FBI does NOT recommend negotiating or paying ransom, the 2023 IBM Cost of Data Breach Report presents some interesting insights regarding how paying or not paying ransom impacts the overall cost of a ransomware event. Organizations that paid the ransom during a ransomware attack achieved only a small difference in total cost, paying $110,000 or 2.2% less compared to victim organizations that didn’t succumb to ransom demands.

However, this data doesn’t include the cost of the ransom itself. With the high cost associated with most ransom demands, organizations that did make payments likely ended up paying more than organizations that didn’t pay the ransom.

How Do Threat Actors Determine Ransom Demands?

Threat actors use a variety of factors to determine an initial ransom demand. Some items that factor into those demands include:

The victim organization’s size and financial position, which threat actors use to estimate the organization’s ability to pay.

The victim organization’s industry, which influences their sensitivity to disruption and negative press.

The scope of the attack, which typically influences the victim’s ability to recover and the impact to their operations.

The victim’s insurance coverage. Some ransomware groups actively seek out cyber insurance policies in a victim’s environment to better inform their ransom demands, typically asking up to the maximum the insurance policy will cover.

Our Recomendation

Arctic Wolf recommends working with a vetted incident response vendor that has experience with ransomware threat actor negotiations. On average, Arctic Wolf Incident Response customers have seen up to 92% reductions from the original ransom request.*

*All cases are different, and ransom reductions are not guaranteed. It is also never a guarantee that threat actors will live up to their word in a ransom situation.

Incident Response In Action

Learn how our IR team stops attacks and swiftly restores your organization to pre-incident operations.

04

Which Industries Are Most Targeted by Ransomware?

Ransomware groups tend to be opportunistic but still favor particular industries. The five most represented industries in Arctic Wolf® Incident Response engagements are:

  • 1:

Manufacturing

  • 2:

Healthcare

  • 3:

Construction

  • 4:

Legal & Government

  • 5:

Education & Nonprofit

The median initial ransom demand associated with incidents investigated by Arctic Wolf Incident Response remained the same as in in 2024, at $600,000 (USD). While it can be tempting to posit explanations for the year-over-year consistency, probably the  wisest approach is simply to observe that there is tremendous variation across and within industries, and that specific ransom amounts remain largely unpredictable despite the aggregate figure.

Ransomware & Data Extortion IR Cases by Industry

when we look at the data, we see that five industries that are highly susceptible to both these tactics account for just over two-thirds of ransomware IR cases.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing organizations have more representation on leak sites than any other industry, and threat actors target them aggressively, recognizing that these organizations have little tolerance for production downtime. However, manufacturers can often maintain production without paying ransom, which may cause them to appear more frequently on leak sites.

Healthcare

Healthcare organizations are under regulatory pressure to protect the sensitive data they handle, so they may pay a ransom, removing them from leak sites. Similar pressure applies to legal and governmental entities.

Why These Industries?

The five industries listed above have two major traits in common that make them strong targets for ransomware groups.

They run on legacy software:

When it’s difficult for organizations to regularly update or patch, threat actors gain an opportunity to take advantage of old vulnerabilities to initiate exploits.

They have a low tolerance for downtime:

Threat groups aim to take advantage of the pressure these organizations are under to meet deadlines and produce deliverables, hoping this will lead them to pay quickly and in full. Lost revenue streams from operational downtime can also push organizations to concede to ransom demands.

Report Available

The 2026 Arctic Wolf Threat Report

Discover why three cyber incident types make up 92% of IR cases, how data extortion surged 11x, and expert strategies to detect and stop threats before they escalate.

Download Report

05

How Does Ransomware Work?

Root Point of Compromise: Gaining Initial Access

In the modern cybersecurity world of cloud environments and hybrid work, threat actors have become adept at evading security solutions by pivoting rapidly and employing multiple paths to value. Research from the Arctic Wolf Labs 2025 Threat Report shows the two major ways most ransomware attacks begin: external exposure and user action.

External Exposure

In almost two-thirds of the ransomware cases we investigated, threat actors gained initial access to victim environments through external exposure — a system exposed, whether knowingly or inadvertently, to the public Internet.

In 2024, threat actors leveraged external remote access in 59.4% of cases.

Other forms of external exploits, including known vulnerabilities and zero-days, accounted for 33.2%.

External Exposure

External Remote Access

This form of external exposure typically involves identity-based attacks aimed at breaching an organization’s identity and access management (IAM) system — the governance, control, and monitoring of users’ identities and access within a system or network. External remote access attacks can take a few different forms, including:

Compromising servers with Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)

Compromising servers with Microsoft Active Directory

Using valid credentials purchased from an initial access broker (IAB) on a dark web marketplace

External Exposure

External Exploits

External exploits, however, involve leveraging either a known vulnerability or a zero-day vulnerability to gain access to an environment.

More than a quarter of non-business email compromise (BEC) incidents we investigated — of which the vast majority were ransomware — exploited a known (i.e., not a zero-day) vulnerability.

In theory, an effective patching program could have mitigated the attack or at least forced the threat actor into a different course of action.

Zero-Day Vulnerability

0.4%

While zero-days get all the headlines, they make up a small percentage of cases — just 0.4% of the ransomware incidents by Arctic Wolf.

0%

Human Risk

While comprising a smaller section of attacks, user action still plays a role in ransomware attacks.

The team at Arctic Wolf Incident Response Labs has identified four major ways that user action can lead to a ransomware attack:

0%

Phishing: T1566

A user clicks on a malicious link and is tricked into sharing credentials or downloading and executing a malicious attachment within an email.

0%

Previously compromised credentials: T1078

The threat actor uses credentials that are known to be part of a data breach or credential dump — but that have not yet been deactivated by the victim organization (i.e., user inaction).

0%

Malicious software download: T1204.002

A user falls prey to a drive-by attack or downloaded software containing hidden malicious functionality.

0%

Other social engineering

A user is tricked by a tech support scam or some other social engineering attack besides phishing.

It’s important to note that hardening your environment to protect against ransomware will pay deep dividends against all forms of cyber attack, as the same initial access attack vectors are used in many other forms of cyber attack, including BEC and malware attacks.

06

How to Defend Against Ransomware

Like all attack vectors, the best defense involves a comprehensive security strategy that contains proactive and reactive components.

Our Recommendation

By examining the common TTPs exploited by ransomware groups and individual threat actors, we can recommend the following actions, which should occur in parallel and continuously, to reduce your cyber risk while improving your security posture.​

Conduct Basic File Backups

As ransomware evolves, threat actors are now regularly exfiltrating data in the early stages of attack, threatening to release it to the dark web if payment isn’t met (double extortion).

In 71% of Arctic Wolf Incident Response engagements for ransomware, the victim organization was able to leverage backups in some capacity to restore their environment.

It’s best to follow the 3-2-1 principle of file backup, meaning an organization has:

3 copies of data

1 primary, 2 backup

2 copies stored

At separate locations

1 off-site storage

In a secure private cloud

Secure The Cloud

With the shared responsibility model, it’s important for organizations to understand where their responsibility lies when keeping their cloud environment safe. A security incident originating from within your organization that destroys or disrupts your cloud data is your responsibility, and many cloud security incidents can be traced back to misconfigurations and/or overly permissive access policies.

Not only can the cloud offer initial access to threat actors, but as data storage and operational applications expand to the cloud, it’s likely threat actors will find their way there (through lateral movement or privilege escalation) to encrypt and/or exfiltrate data.

Enforce Identity & Access Controls

Be it through social engineering, the purchase of stolen credentials, or even a brute-force attack, access often begins with a password. In addition, credentials can be used by the threat actor to gain privileged access, allowing them to deploy malware into critical parts of the network.

Proactive and reactive measures security teams can take to improve credential security include:

  • Implementing MFA
  • Conducting dark web monitoring
  • Hardening Active Directory using tools like PingCastle for visibility
  • Embracing the principle of least privilege access (PolP), supported by a zero-trust access model, role-based access control, and privileged access management (PAM)
  • Delivering comprehensive user security training

Ongoing Vulnerability Management

While zero-days make headlines, it’s often known, unpatched vulnerabilities that allow threat actors to gain access to a network or system. By staying on top of vulnerabilities, an organization goes a long way in hardening their attack surface.

A full vulnerability management program prioritizes continuous vulnerability remediation and assessment, with other components of the program complementing and assisting overall remediation and mitigation.

Vulnerability remediation

The act of removing a vulnerability through patching or another process

Vulnerability mitigation

The act of developing a strategy to minimize a threat’s impact if remediation is not possible

Employ a 24x7 monitoring, detection, and response solution

Monitoring is critical for preventing attacks, especially as threat actors utilize legitimate programs, such as PowerShell and Active Directory, for malicious ends. Without proper endpoint monitoring and detection, unusual behavior in those programs would go unnoticed.

In addition, swift detection and response capabilities allow your organization to stop a ransomware threat while the threat actors try to gain initial access or before they can make lateral movement.

History Shows That Ransomware Groups Aren’t Slowing Down.

If tools alone were enough to solve the problem, they would have by now.

This is an operational problem that needs to be solved, and that’s what Arctic Wolf delivers. Learn more about our unique approach to cybersecurity and why Arctic Wolf has emerged as a leader in the industry.

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A

Advanced Persistent Threat

What Is an Advanced Persistent Threat? An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a threat (that could transform into a full-scale attack) where a hacker has…

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Agentic AI

What Is Agentic AI? Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to pursue goals autonomously, making decisions and taking actions with minimal or no…

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Agentic SOC

What Is an Agentic SOC? An agentic SOC (security operations center) is a modern security operations model that uses autonomous AI agents to perform the…

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AI Bias

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AI Compliance

What Is AI Compliance? AI compliance refers to an organization’s adherence to the laws, regulations, standards, and ethical guidelines that govern how artificial intelligence (AI)…

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AI Governance

What Is AI Governance? AI governance is the set of policies, processes, oversight structures, and accountability mechanisms that organizations put in place to ensure their…

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AI Hallucinations

What Are AI Hallucinations? AI hallucinations, sometimes called confabulations, are outputs produced by artificial intelligence systems that, despite appearing coherent and confident, are: Factually incorrect,…

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B

Behavioral Analytics

What Is Behavioral Analytics? Behavioral analytics is the practice of collecting and analyzing activity data across users, devices, and systems in order to establish what…

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Botnet

What Is a Botnet? A botnet is a network of bot‑compromised machines that can be controlled and used to launch massive attacks by a bot‑herder.…

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Brute-Force Attack

What Is a Brute-Force Attack? A brute-force attack is a tactic used by threat actors to gain unauthorized access to an account, system, or encrypted…

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Business Email Compromise (BEC)

What Is Business Email Compromise? Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a targeted cyber attack in which criminals impersonate trusted individuals—such as executives or vendors—to trick…

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C

CIS Controls

What Are the CIS Controls? The Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls are a prioritized set of cybersecurity best practices that help organizations defend against…

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Cloud Security

What is Cloud Security? Cloud security refers to the strategies, technologies, and practices designed to protect cloud computing environments from cyber threats. This includes securing…

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Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)

What Is a CNAPP? A cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) is a set of integrated tools designed to secure and protect cloud-native applications across development…

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Cryptojacking

What is Cryptojacking? Cryptojacking is a kind of cyber attack where a threat actor uses an organization’s computing resources—such as servers, endpoints, or cloud infrastructure—to…

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Cyber Attack

What Is a Cyber Attack? A cyber attack is any attempt – successful or otherwise — by cybercriminals to access a cloud or computer network…

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Cyber Insurance

What Is Cyber Insurance? Cyber insurance is a specialized risk management product that helps organizations transfer financial exposure from cyber incidents to an insurance carrier.  …

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Cyber Risk Assessment

What Is a Cyber Risk Assessment? A cyber risk assessment (also known as a cybersecurity assessment) is a key component of a risk management program.…

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Cyber Threat Intelligence

What is Threat Intelligence? Threat intelligence (often called cyber threat intelligence or CTI) is evidence-based knowledge about existing or emerging cyber threats — what threat…

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D

Dark Web Monitoring

What Is Dark Web Monitoring?  Dark web monitoring is the scanning of the dark web for employee credentials and confidential company information. Dark web monitoring…

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Data Exfiltration

What Is Data Exfiltration? Data exfiltration is the unauthorized transfer or theft of sensitive information from an organization’s network, systems, or devices. This malicious activity…

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DDoS Attack

What is a DDoS Attack? A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack consists of multiple compromised devices or systems (often qualifying as botnets) attacking a target on…

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Defense in Depth

What Is Defense in Depth?  Defense in depth is a layered security strategy that deploys multiple defensive mechanisms across an organization’s IT environment to protect…

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E

Endpoint

What is an Endpoint? An endpoint is any physical device that connects to and communicates over a network. From a security operations standpoint, an endpoint…

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Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

What Is Endpoint Detection and Response? (EDR?)    EDR is a host-based security solution that monitors endpoints within an organization’s IT environment to detect and respond…

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F

Firewall

What Is a Firewall? A firewall is a security control that monitors, filters, and enforces rules on network traffic moving between systems, networks, or environments.…

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G

Generative AI (GenAI)

What Is Generative AI (GenAI)? Generative AI, commonly abbreviated as GenAI, is a branch of artificial intelligence focused on creating new content from patterns learned…

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H

Human-in-the-Loop (HITL)

What Is Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) AI? Human-in-the-loop (HITL) AI refers to any artificial intelligence system or process that integrates meaningful human participation at critical stages of…

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Hypervisor (VMM)

What Is a Hypervisor (VMM)? A hypervisor is another term for a virtual monitoring machine (VMM), a device that is able to manage multiple virtual…

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I

Incident Response

What Is Incident Response? Incident response (IR) is the structured methodology organizations use to prepare for, detect, contain, eradicate, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. This…

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Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)

Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)  Indicators of compromise (IoCs) are digital artifacts or forensic evidence that signal potential security breaches, ongoing attacks, or malicious activity within an environment.…

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Initial Access Brokers

What Are Initial Access Brokers?  Initial access brokers (IABs) are threat actors that sell cybercriminals access to organizations’ networks.   Once they have access to an…

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Insider Threats

What Are Insider Threats?  An insider threat is a cybersecurity risk originating from within an organization, typically involving individuals who have authorized access to company…

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Internet of Things (IoT)

What Is the Internet of Things? The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical devices embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity that enables…

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K

Keylogger

What Is a Keylogger? A keylogger is a program that monitors user keystrokes on a device. This can be used for both illegal and legitimate…

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Knowledge Graph

What Is a Knowledge Graph? A knowledge graph is a structured representation of information that maps real-world entities and the relationships between them. Rather than…

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L

Large Language Model (LLM)

What Is a Large Language Model (LLM)? A large language model (LLM) is a type of artificial intelligence system trained on massive volumes of text…

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Lateral Movement

What Is a Lateral Movement? Lateral movement refers to the techniques attackers use to move deeper into a network after gaining initial access. Once inside…

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M

Machine Learning (ML)

What Is Machine Learning? Machine learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence that enables computer systems to learn from data and improve their performance…

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Malicious Apps

What Are Malicious Apps? Malicious apps are a method of manipulating users into downloading malware that allows cybercriminals to steal personal information, including login credentials…

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Malware

What Is Malware? Malware, a term born from combining ‘malicious’ and ‘software,’ refers to any program or software designed to harm or exploit systems and…

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Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

What is Managed Detection and Response?  Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a cybersecurity service delivery model that combines advanced threat detection technologies with expert-driven…

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Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (mEDR)

What is mEDR? mEDR is a detection and response solution that adds a service layer onto an endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, providing a…

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Managed Security Services (MSS)

What Are Managed Security Services? Managed security services (MSS) represent cybersecurity capabilities delivered and operated by third-party providers on behalf of client organizations. These services…

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MTTD and MTTR

What Is MTTD? Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) is the average time it takes a team to discover a security threat or incident.  What Is…

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Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

What Is Multi-Factor Authentication?  Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security method that requires users to verify their identity through two or more different types of evidence before…

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N

Network Segmentation

What is Network Segmentation?  Network segmentation is the digital architectural technique of dividing an organization’s network into smaller, isolated segments or subnetworks, each with its…

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Neural Network

What Is a Neural Network? A neural network is a type of machine learning model loosely inspired by the structure of the human brain. It…

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P

Password Fatigue

What Is Password Fatigue?  Password fatigue is a feeling of stress and/or frustration stemming from the creation and maintenance of passwords for the multitude of…

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Penetration Testing (Pen Tests)

What Is Penetration Testing? Penetration testing, also known as pen test, is an authorized and simulated cyber attack performed on an IT system (or systems)…

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Phishing

What Is Phishing? Phishing is a common social engineering cyber attack that uses deceptive communication, generally in the form of emails, to manipulate individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that…

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Polymorphic Virus

What Is a Polymorphic Virus?  A polymorphic virus is malware that can adapt, or “morph,” to avoid detection and circumvent security tools.   The polymorphic virus…

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Pretexting

What Is Pretexting?  Pretexting is a social engineering tactic used by threat actors to gain trust, data, or access to accounts using a fabricated story,…

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Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)

What is The Principle of Least Privilege?  The principle of least privilege (PoLP) is a security concept that restricts user and system access to the…

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Privilege Escalation

What Is Privilege Escalation? Privilege escalation is a cyber attack technique in which an adversary exploits vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or human errors to gain unauthorized access to elevated…

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Proxy Server

What Is a Proxy Server? A proxy server is an intermediary system that sits between a user and a destination service, forwarding requests and responses…

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R

Ransomware

What Is Ransomware?  Ransomware is a type of malware that freezes a system or data, preventing users from accessing them. The idea behind the attack…

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Ransomware-as-a-Service

What is Ransomware-as-a-Service? Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) is a cybercrime business model in which ransomware developers license their malware to affiliates who carry out attacks on organizations.…

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Red Team Vs. Blue Team

What Is a Red Team Vs. Blue Team Exercise? A red team vs. blue team is a training exercise conducted by an organization to test…

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Reinforcement Learning

What Is Reinforcement Learning? Reinforcement learning (RL) is a branch of machine learning (ML) in which an AI system, referred to as an agent, learns…

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Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

What Is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)? Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is an AI architecture that combines the reasoning capabilities of large language models (LLMs) with the ability…

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S

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

What is Secure Access Service Edge? Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a cloud-based approach that combines networking and security into one service so people…

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Security Awareness Training

What Is Security Awareness Training? Security awareness training is a structured educational program designed to equip employees with the knowledge and skills needed to recognize, avoid,…

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Security Operations (SecOps)

What Is Security Operations (SecOps)? Security operations refers to the people, processes, and technology that all work together to create and manage a security architecture…

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Security Operations Center (SOC)

What is a SOC? A security operations center (SOC) serves as the nerve center of an organization’s cybersecurity defense, functioning as a centralized team and…

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Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)

What Is SOAR? Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) is a category of security technologies designed to help organizations coordinate tools, automate repetitive workflows, and respond to…

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Shadow IT

What Is Shadow IT? Shadow IT is the unauthorized use of any apps, devices, services, technologies, solutions, and infrastructure without the knowledge, approval, and support…

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SIEM

What Is SIEM? Security Information and Event Management, or SIEM, is a software platform that collects, aggregates, and analyzes security event data from across an…

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Small Language Model (SLM)

What Is a Small Language Model (SLM)? A small language model (SLM) is an artificial intelligence system designed to understand and generate natural language, performing…

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SOC 2 Compliance

What Is SOC 2 Compliance? SOC 2 compliance is a framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that evaluates how organizations manage and…

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Social Engineering

What is Social Engineering? Social engineering is a cyber attack technique that manipulates human psychology to trick people into divulging confidential information, downloading malware, or…

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Spear Phishing

What Is Spear Phishing? Spear phishing is a specific kind of phishing attack where a threat actor targets a specific person or organization with a…

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Spoofing Attack

What Is a Spoofing Attack? A spoofing attack is when bad actors impersonate another person or company. The attacker’s goal is to gain the confidence…

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Supply Chain Compromise

What Is a Supply Chain Compromise? A supply chain compromise occurs when threat actors infiltrate an organization by targeting and exploiting a trusted third-party vendor, partner, or…

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T

Threat Actor

What Is a Threat Actor? A threat actor is an individual, or group of individuals, who conduct malicious activities on the internet such as cyber…

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Threat Hunting

What Is Threat Hunting? Threat hunting is a proactive cybersecurity practice in which skilled analysts actively search for hidden threats within an organization’s environment before…

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Trojan Horse

What Is a Trojan Horse?  A Trojan Horse is malware disguised as legitimate software. It tricks users into downloading, installing, or running malicious code on…

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U

UEBA

What Is UEBA? UEBA stands for user and entity behavior analytics. It’s a type of cybersecurity solution that uses machine learning algorithms to detect suspicious…

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V

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

What Is a Virtual Private Network (VPN?) A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a technology that creates an encrypted connection between a user’s device and…

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Vishing

What Is Vishing? Vishing is a cybercrime combining voice calls with phishing attacks. So-called “voice phishing” uses multiple tools and strategies, such as social engineering,…

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Vulnerability Management

What Is Vulnerability Management? Vulnerability management is the ongoing process of identifying, assessing, and remediating vulnerabilities within your network or systems.   The four stages of…

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W

Whaling

What Is Whaling?  Essentially, whaling is a spear phishing attack aimed at a high-value target, such as executives, IT department heads, finance department heads, or…

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Wire Transfer Fraud

What Is Wire Transfer Fraud?  The term comes from the original version of this crime which used wire transfers, or the transfer of funds between…

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X

XDR

What Is XDR? Extended detection and response (XDR) is a unified cybersecurity approach that collects and correlates security data from multiple sources across an organization’s technology environment…

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Z

Zero Trust

What Is Zero Trust? Zero trust is a security framework that eliminates implicit trust by requiring continuous verification of every user, device, and application attempting to access resources, regardless of their…

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Zero-Day Exploit

What Is a Zero-Day?  A zero-day is a vulnerability in a piece of hardware or software that was previously unknown to the vendor, meaning they…

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