Key terms you'll keep seeing

Vulnerability

A weakness in a system, a piece of unpatched software, a misconfigured setting, a weak password, that could potentially be exploited.

Exploit

A specific method or piece of code that takes advantage of a vulnerability.

Malware

Short for "malicious software", any software designed to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorised access to a system. Viruses, worms, ransomware, and spyware are all types of malware.

Breach

An incident where data or systems have actually been accessed, altered, or stolen without authorisation, as opposed to an attempted attack that didn't succeed.

Attack surface

Everything about you or your organisation that could potentially be targeted: every device, account, piece of software, and person. Reducing your attack surface, for example by removing accounts you no longer use, directly reduces your risk.