Glossary

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Glossary terms and definitions last updated: March 19, 2025

This Glossary is an aggregation of terms and definitions specified in NIST's cybersecurity and privacy standards, guidelines, and other technical publications, and in CNSSI 4009. These should not be viewed as "official" or "preferred" definitions for a particular subject area, sector, or industry, with the exception that some definitions are cited directly from U.S. laws, the Code of Federal Regulations, Presidential Directives, etc.

Each term-definition pair must be understood within the context of its Source document, to which readers should refer. Because of this, many terms have multiple, varying definitions that reflect the different contexts of various publications written at different times.

Cite the source publication, not this website. As our documents are published and withdrawn, the terminology on these web pages will change. When citing terms and definitions, we encourage you to cite the source publication for the authoritative terminology and to understand it in its proper context. Many terms on this website have different definitions, from multiple publications.
Public input. We invite public comments—including terminology suggestions—on our draft publications and welcome your contributions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) terminology. For AI-focused terminology, see the Glossary available from the NIST Trustworthy & Responsible AI Resource Center.

For more background about this Glossary, see NISTIR 7298 Rev. 3.
Download the Glossary in JSON format (updated daily at 6:15 pm ET; see metadata).

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Showing 728 matching records.

(p, q, d)

(p, t)-completeness

8 Phase Differential Phase Shift Keying

P#j

P*n

p,q rule

P.L.

P_HASH

P1,…,P64

P25

P2P

PAA

PaaS

PAC

PACCOR

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

package management system

package manifest

Packet

Packet Capture

Packet Data Convergence Protocol

Packet Data Network

Packet Filter

Packet Gateway

Packet Number

packet sniffer

packet sniffer and passive wiretapping

PACS

PAD

padding

page check

pairing code

Pairwise Main Key

Pairwise Master Key

Pairwise Master Key Security Association

Pairwise Pseudonymous Identifier

Pairwise Transient Key

Pairwise Trust

PAKE

Palm data dump/duplicate disk

Palm File Format

Palm Operating System Emulator

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewall

PAM

PAN

Pandemic Influenza

PANW

PAO

PAOS

PAP

Paperwork Reduction Act

parallel file system

Parallel NFS

Parallel Redundancy Protocol

parameter

Paravirtualization

parent assessment element

parity

parity bit

Parsec

Participant Guide

Partition

Partitioning

party

PAS

passive attack

Passive Security Testing

Passive Tag

passive wiretapping

Passphrase

password

password authenticated key exchange

Password Authentication Protocol

Password Cracking

Password Protected

Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2

PAT

patch

Patch and Update Management Program

patch level

patch management

patch set

patching

Path Maximum Transmission Unit

Path Maximum Transmission Unit Discovery

Path Validation

Patient Care Unit

payload

payload control center

Payment Card Industry

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

PBAC

PBKDF2

PBX

PC/SC

PCAP

PCB

PCC

PCH

PCI

PCI DSS

PCI express

PCIe

PCL

PCM

PCMCIA

PCR

PCRF

PCS

PCU

PCVT

PDA

PDCP

pdd

PDF

PDN

PDP

PDR

PDS

PEAP

pebibyte

PEC

PED

pedigree

peer entity authentication

peer entity authentication service

Peers

Peer-to-Peer

PEF

PEI

PEM

Pending transaction pool

penetration

penetration testing

penetration-resistant architecture

PEP

PERA

per-call key

Perceived Target Value

Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)

Performance Improvement Council

performance reference model (PRM)

perimeter

Period of protection

Periodic Template Test

periods processing

Peripheral Component Interconnect

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express

perishable data

Permalock

permanent connection

Per-message secret number

Permission

Permissioned

Permissionless

Permissions

Permutation

Person

Person in the Middle

persona

Personal accountability

Personal Area Network

Personal Authorization

Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

Personal Computer/Smart Card

personal data

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

Personal Firewall

Personal Firewall Appliance

Personal Health Information

Personal Health Records

personal identification number (PIN)

Personal Identification Verification

personal identifier

personal identity verification (PIV)

personal identity verification (PIV) authorization

personal identity verification (PIV) authorizing official

personal identity verification (PIV) card

Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Identity Account

Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable

Personal Information

Personal Information Management

Personal Information Management (PIM) Applications

Personal Information Management (PIM) Data

Personal Profile Application

Personal Protective Equipment

Personalization String

personally identifiable information

personally identifiable information processing

personally identifiable information processing permissions

personnel registration manager

personnel security

Personnel-security compromise

perturbation-based methods

PES

PET

PETE

PFF

PFR

PFS

PGP

PGP/OpenPGP

P-GW

PHA

Pharming

phase

phenomenologies

PHI

phishing

PHM4SM

PHMSA

PHP

PHP Hypertext Preprocessor

PHR

PHY

Physical Access

Physical Access Control

physical access control system

Physical Address Space

Physical and Environmental Protection

Physical Destruction

Physical Identifier

Physical Layer

Physical Measurement Laboratory

Physical Network Interface Card

Physical non-deterministic random bit generator

Physical partitioning

physical safeguards

physically protected space (PPS)

Physical-security compromise

PIA

PiB

PIC

Piconet

Picture Archiving and Communication System

PID

PII

PII Confidentiality Impact Level

PII Processing

PIM

PIN Entry Device

PIN Unblocking Key

PIP

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

PIR

PIRT

PIT

PITM

PIV

PIV Card

PIV Card Issuer

PIV Credential

PIV Enrollment Record

PIV Key Type

PIV Visual Credential Authentication (VIS)

PIV-I

Pivot

Pivoting

PIX

Pixels Per Inch

PKC

PKCE

PKCS

PKCS1

PKE

PKI

PKI-Card Authentication (PKI-CAK)

PKI-PIV Authentication (PKI-AUTH)

PKI-PIV Authentication key (PKI-AUTH)

PKIX

PKIX-CMP

plaintext

Plaintext data

Plan Coordinator

Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M)

Plan Of Action & Milestones3

plan of action and milestones

plan of action and milestones2

Plan of Action and Milestones4

Plan of Actions and Milestones1

Planning

plant

Platform

Platform AbstRaction for SECurity

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform Attribute Certificate Creator

Platform Certificate Verification Tool

Platform Configuration Register

Platform Controller Hub

Platform Firmware Resilience

Platform Information Technology

platform IT (PIT)

platform IT (PIT) system

Platform Key

Platform Manifest Correlation System

Platform Root of Trust

Platform Security Architecture

Platform Services Controller

Platform Trust

PLC

Plen

PLIST

PM2

PMA

PMCS

PMEF

PMF

PMI

PMK

PMKSA

PML

PMO

PMRM

PMS

PMTU

PMTUD

pNFS

PNG

pNIC

PNNL

PNT

PNT data

PNT Profile

PNT solution

PNT source

PNT system

POA&M

POC

Pocket PC

PoE

PoET

Point

point at infinity

Point of Contact

Point of Presence

point order

Pointer Authentication Code

Point-of-Sale

Point-to-Point Protocol

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol

Poisson Distribution

Policy

Policy Administration Point

Policy Administrator

Policy and Charging Rules Function

policy based access control (PBAC)

policy decision point (PDP)

policy enforcement point (PEP)

Policy Engine

Policy Information Point

Policy Machine

Policy Retrieval Point

POP

POP3

port

Port Address Translation

port scan

Port Scanner

port scanning

Port World-Wide Name

Portable Data File

Portable Document Format

portable electronic device (PED)

Portable Network Graphics

portable storage device

Portal VPN

PoS

POSE

Position Designation System

positioning

positioning, navigation, and timing

positive control material

Positron Emission Tomography

Possession and Control of an Authenticator

POST

Post Office Protocol (POP)

Post Office Protocol, Version 3

Post-Market Capability

post‐processing invariance

Post-Quantum Cryptography

Post-quantum Pre-shared Key

Potential Efforts on Threat Events

potential impact

Potentially Harmful Application

potentially identifiable personal information

POU

PoW

Power over Ethernet

Power-on self-test

PPA

PPC

PPD

PPE

PPI

PPK

PPP

PPS

PPTP

PQC

PQCrypto

PR.AC

PR.AT

PR.DS

PR.PT

PR/SM

PRA

Practice Statement

practitioner experience

PRAM

Pre-activation state

precision

Precision Medicine Initiative

Precision Time Protocol

precursor

Predictability

Predictor

predisposing condition

Pre-EFI Initialization

Preimage

Preimage resistance

Preliminary Design Review

Pre-Market Capability

Prepare for Events

prerequisite

Presentation Attack

Presentation Attack Detection (PAD)

President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency

President’s Management Agenda

President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

Presidential Directive

Presidential Policy Directive

pressure regulator

pressure sensor

pre‐training

Pretty Good Privacy

PRF

PRF(s, x)

Primary facility

Primary Mission Essential Functions

primary services node (PRSN)

Primary system

Prime number

Prime number generation seed

Primitive

Primitive algorithm

principal accrediting authority (PAA)

principal authorizing official (PAO)

Printed Circuit Board

Printed Wiring Assembly

printer

Prior Year

PRISMA

privacy

privacy architect

privacy architecture

Privacy Breach

privacy budget

Privacy Capability

Privacy Continuous Monitoring

privacy control

privacy control assessment

Privacy Control Assessor

privacy control baseline

privacy domain

Privacy engineering

Privacy Engineering Program

Privacy Enhanced Mail

Privacy Event

privacy impact assessment (PIA)

privacy information

privacy loss

privacy loss budget

Privacy Management Reference Model and Methodology

privacy parameter

privacy plan

privacy posture

privacy preserving data mining

privacy preserving data publishing

privacy program plan

privacy requirement

Privacy Requirements

Privacy Risk

Privacy Risk Assessment

Privacy Risk Assessment Methodology (PRAM)

Privacy Risk Management

Privacy Workforce Public Working Group

privacy-enhancing cryptography

privacy-enhancing technology

privacy‐utility tradeoff

Private Branch Exchange

Private cloud

Private Credentials

private key

Private Key Infrastructure

Private key/private signature key

privilege

Privilege Attribute Certificate

privilege certificate manager (PCM)

privileged access account holder

Privileged Access Management

Privileged Access Never

privileged account

privileged command

Privileged Execute Never

privileged network account

privileged process

privileged user

PrivKeyU, PrivKeyV

PRM

PRNG

proactive cyber defense

Probabilistic Signature Scheme

Probability Density Function (PDF)

Probability Distribution

Probability model

probability of occurrence

Probable Maximum Loss

Probable prime

Probative Data

probe

problem

Problematic Data Action

process

Process Access Control

Process Control System

process controller

Process Hazard Analysis

process hijacking

Process ID

Process Information

Process Manager 2

process outcome

process purpose

Process Safety Shutdown

process step

processing

Processor Element

Processor Resource/System Manager

product

Product Category

product compliant list (PCL)

Product Component Host

product cybersecurity capability

Product Output

product owner

Product Security Incident Response Team

product source node (PSN)

profile

Profile augmentations

Profile features

Profile requirements

profiling

Prognostics and Health Management for Reliable Operations in Smart Manufacturing

Program Management

Program Management Office

program manager

program metrics

Program Organizational Unit

Program Review for Information Security Management Assistance

programmable logic controller

Programmable Read-Only Memory

project

Project 25

Project Committee

Project Management

PROM

Proof Key for Code Exchange

Proof of Elapsed Time

Proof of possession (POP)

Proof of Stake

Proof of stake consensus model

Proof of Work

Proof of work consensus model

proper working state

Property List

Property Management System

property value

PROPIN

Proportional Integral Derivative

Proprietary Identifier Extension

proprietary information (PROPIN)

proscribed information

ProSe

Prose Checklist

PRoT

Protect

protect (CSF function)

Protect, Access Control

Protect, Awareness and Training

Protect, Data Security

Protect, Protective Technology

Protected Access Credential

protected distribution system (PDS)

Protected EAP

Protected Execution Facility

Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol

Protected Management Frame(s)

Protected Mode

Protected Session

Protected Storage

protection

Protection Bits

Protection in Transit

protection needs

protection philosophy

protection profile

Protective Distribution System

protective packaging

protective technologies

Protect-P (Function)

protocol

protocol analyzer

Protocol and Parameters Selection

Provable prime

provenance

Provider

Proximity Services

proxy

proxy agent

Proxy Auto Config

proxy server

proxy validation and verification

Proxy-WASM

PRP

PRSN

PSA

PSAC

PSAP

PSC

PSCCC

PSCP

PSCR

pseudonym

Pseudonymity

pseudonymization

Pseudonymous Identifier

Pseudorandom

Pseudorandom function (PRF)

Pseudorandom function family

Pseudorandom key

pseudorandom number generator

Pseudo-Random Permutation

PSFR

PSIRT

PSK

PSN

PSO

PSS

PSTN

PSX

PTK

PTP

PTT

PUB

PubKeyU, PubKeyV

public

Public and Private Key

Public CA

public channel

Public cloud

Public Credentials

public domain software

Public Information

Public Internet Registry

public key

public key certificate

Public Key Certificate Standard

public key cryptographic algorithm

public key cryptography (PKC)

Public Key Cryptography Standard

Public Key Cryptography Standard 1

public key enabling (PKE)

public key infrastructure (PKI)

Public Key Infrastructure X.509—Certificate Management Protocol

Public key/public signature verification key

Public Law

Public Reviewer

Public Safety Access Point

Public Safety Advisory Committee

Public Safety and First Responder

Public Safety Communications Research

Public Safety Communications Research Division

Public Safety Experience

Public Safety Organization

public seed

Public Use File

Publication

Public-Key Encryption

public-key encryption scheme

Public-key validation

Published Internet Protocol

Publishing node

PUF

PUK

pulse per second

Pulverization

PUMP

Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture

purge

Purposeful Interference Response Team

Push-To-Talk (PTT)

putative re-identifications

PuTTY Secure Copy Protocol

P-value

PWA

PWWG

PWWN

PXE

PXN

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