Glossary: cyber, warfare and geopolitics terms

Plain-language definitions of the terms used in the briefing. Definitions are deliberately short and general: they explain the idea, not any particular news event. Select a term anywhere on the site to jump to its entry here, or press / to search this page.

Cyber

CVECommon Vulnerabilities and Exposures: A public identifier, such as CVE-2026-12345, given to one specific security flaw so everyone can refer to the same bug. Learn more
CVSSCommon Vulnerability Scoring System: A 0 to 10 score for how severe a vulnerability is. 9.0 and above is Critical, 7.0 to 8.9 High, 4.0 to 6.9 Medium and below that Low. Learn more
KEVKnown Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue: A list kept by the US agency CISA of flaws that attackers are actively using. US federal civilian agencies must fix them by a set deadline. Learn more
NVDNational Vulnerability Database: The US government's repository of CVE details and CVSS scores, run by the standards body NIST. Learn more
Zero-day: A vulnerability that attackers exploit before the vendor has released a fix, leaving defenders with no patch to apply.
Exploit: Code or a technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability to make software do something its makers did not intend.
RCERemote code execution: A flaw that lets an attacker run their own code on someone else's system over the network, often without logging in.
Ransomware: Malware that locks or steals a victim's data and demands payment to unlock it, or to stop the stolen data being published.
Phishing: Messages that trick people into revealing passwords or running malware by pretending to come from someone they trust.
IOCIndicator of compromise: A trace of an attack, such as a malicious IP address, domain or file hash, that defenders can search for in their logs.
TTPTactics, techniques and procedures: How an attacker typically operates, from the goal (tactic) to the specific method (technique) and the exact steps (procedure).
MITRE ATT&CK: A public catalogue of attacker tactics and techniques seen in real intrusions, used as a shared language for detection and reporting. Learn more
APTAdvanced persistent threat: A well-resourced group, often linked to a state, that breaks into targets and stays hidden for a long time.
Supply-chain attack: An attack that compromises a trusted supplier or software update so the malicious code reaches many customers at once.
Botnet: A network of hijacked computers or devices controlled by an attacker, used to send spam, steal data or flood sites with traffic.
SOCSecurity operations centre: The team and tools that watch an organisation's systems for attacks and respond to them.
EDREndpoint detection and response: Software on laptops and servers that records activity, spots suspicious behaviour and lets defenders contain a compromised machine.

Warfare

UASUncrewed aircraft system: A drone together with its ground control station and data links.
C-UASCounter-UAS: Systems that detect, track and defeat hostile drones, using radar, radio-frequency sensors, jamming, interceptors or lasers.
FPV droneFirst-person-view drone: A small drone flown by an operator who watches a live video feed from the drone's own camera.
Loitering munition: A weapon that circles over an area until an operator or its sensors pick a target, then dives onto it. Often called a kamikaze drone.
Drone swarm: Many drones operating together and coordinating, so that losing a few does not stop the mission.
Electronic warfareEW: Using the radio spectrum to detect, deceive or disrupt an adversary's radars, communications and navigation, and protecting your own.
Hypersonic missile: A missile that flies faster than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5). Many can also manoeuvre in flight, which makes them hard to intercept.
IADSIntegrated air defence system: Linked radars, missiles and command systems that detect and shoot down aircraft, drones and missiles.
A2/ADAnti-access / area denial: Capabilities such as long-range missiles, air defences and sea mines meant to stop an adversary entering or operating in a region.
SEADSuppression of enemy air defences: Missions to find and neutralise radars and missile batteries so that aircraft can operate more safely.
ISRIntelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance: Collecting information about an adversary using satellites, aircraft, drones, ships and sensors.
Directed-energy weapon: A weapon, such as a high-energy laser or microwave emitter, that damages a target with energy instead of a projectile.

Geopolitics & geodata

GNSSGlobal navigation satellite system: The umbrella term for satellite positioning networks such as the US GPS, Europe's Galileo, Russia's GLONASS and China's BeiDou.
PNTPositioning, navigation and timing: The location and precise time that GNSS provides, and that power grids, phone networks, finance and aviation depend on.
GPS jamming: Drowning out weak satellite navigation signals with radio noise so that receivers lose their position.
GPS spoofing: Broadcasting fake navigation signals so a receiver calculates a wrong position or time without realising.
GEOINTGeospatial intelligence: Analysis of imagery and location data, such as satellite photos, to describe activity on Earth.
OSINTOpen-source intelligence: Information gathered from public sources such as news, social media, satellite imagery and ship or flight trackers.
SIGINTSignals intelligence: Intelligence from intercepting communications or electronic emissions such as radar.
SARSynthetic aperture radar: Radar carried on satellites or aircraft that makes images day or night and through cloud.
AISAutomatic Identification System: Transponders on ships that broadcast identity and position. Switching one off hides a vessel's movements.
Hybrid warfare: Combining military force with cyberattacks, disinformation, economic pressure and deniable actors to pursue goals while staying below open war.
Grey zone: Hostile activity that falls short of open war, such as sabotage, cyber operations or coercion, so that a clear response is hard to justify.
Sanctions: Economic or trade restrictions imposed by governments on a country, company or person to pressure a change in behaviour.
Article 5North Atlantic Treaty, Article 5: NATO's collective defence clause: members agree an armed attack on one is an attack on all, and each takes the action it deems necessary.
Chokepoint: A narrow waterway or route, such as the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of trade or energy must pass.
Low Earth orbitLEO: Orbits from roughly 160 to 2,000 kilometres up, where most imaging and communications satellite constellations operate.

Keyword index

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