Cyber Security Acronyms (N)

NAC.   Network Access Control.   A protective mechanism that enforces access restrictions and security policy/compliance on all users, endpoint devices, systems, and applications that connect with a private network to reduce risks, and prevent intrusions and unauthorised activity.

 

NAT.   Network Address Translation.   A process that maps an IP (Internet Protocol) address into another by modifying IP packet headers while said packets are in transit via a routing device. NAT can map multiple local private addresses into one public address.

 

NBNS.   NetBIOS Name Service.   A component feature of the Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) that enables legacy software relying on the NetBIOS API to work on TCP/IP networks.

 

NCSA.   National Cyber Security Alliance.   A non-profit organisation based in the United States that provides cybersecurity awareness and best practices.

 

NCSC.   National Cyber Security Centre.   A government agency of the United Kingdom that supports and advises the public and private sectors on how to prevent, address, and mitigate IT security threats.

 

NCSS.   National Cyber Security Strategy.   A policy guideline, schedule, and plan of action adopted by a national government for the purpose of improving its IT security and the resilience of its critical infrastructures and services.

 

NDA.   Non-disclosure Agreement.   A legally binding contract between two or more parties that establishes the confidential nature of specified processes, material, information and/or other aspects of the inter-party relationship.

 

NetBIOS.   Network Basic Input/Output System.   A service that enables communication across a local area network (LAN) among applications hosted on different computers. Largely outdated, NetBIOS is still used to support some legacy applications.

 

NFS.   Network File System.   The system used for establishing distributed file sharing within a computer network. Among other things, NFS sets the way files are kept in storage devices and accessed by client computers across networks to make it seem that such files were stored locally.

 

NGFW.   Next Generation Firewall.   A network security solution that augments the filtering functions of traditional firewalls with new capabalities such as application-level inspection, intrusion prevention, and context-based protections designed to address advanced security threats.

 

NIDS.   Network-based Intrusion Detection System.   A software application, device or mechanism that monitors and analyses network traffic to protect a computer network.  NIDS can detect suspicious events, patterns, and activities that may indicate a compromise or intrusion. It can also alert administrators or block source IP addresses that violates policy or exhibit other suspicious behavior. Also rendered as Network IDS (Intrusion Detection System).

 

NIPS.   Network-based Intrusion Prevention System.   A system of hardware and software that protects a computer network by continuously monitoring the network for malicious activity and unauthorised access; reporting suspicious events/incidents to administrators; and taking additional actions such as blocking or isolating a threat. Also rendered as Network IPS (Intrusion Prevention System).

 

NIST.   National Institute of Standards and Technology.   A non-regulatory agency of the United States that advances measurement science; promotes technology; and helps set various technical standards for use in industry, commerce, and science.

 

NLA.   Network Level Authentication.   A feature of Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Services (RDS) that uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to authenticate remote users using a client device before establishing a valid session with the relevant server.

 

NOC.   Network Operations Centre.   A location and facility where an enterprise (or its third-party provider)  typically monitors, maintains, provisions, and manages its IT infrastructure and telecommunications network.

 

NOP.   No Operation.   A computer command, machine language instruction, or programming statement that takes up a small amount of space/memory but does not perform any task, process, or operation. It is often used as a placeholder for future code modifications/updates. Also rendered as NOOP or No-Op.

 

NPE.   NullPointerException.   A runtime exception in Java that happens when a reference variable does not point to or is not associated with any object. NPE can be exploited by threat actors to crash servers and instigate a Denial of Service attack.

 

NSA/CSS.   National Security Agency/Central Security Service.  NSA is a federal intelligence agency of the United States specialising in signals intelligence and is mandated to monitor, collect, and process global data for foreign and domestic intelligence purposes. CSS is a combat support agency of the US Department of Defense that is fully integrated with the NSA.

 

NTLM.   New Technology LAN Manager.   A network operating system developed by Microsoft that succeeded the original Lan Manager. NTLM is considered an outdated solution and has known vulnerabilities related to its password hashing and salting processes.

 

NVD.   National Vulnerability Database.   A repository of standards-based vulnerability management data maintained by the U.S. government to enable the automation of security measurement, vulnerability measurement, and IT security compliance.