Cybersecurity Style Guide

Short for localization. 10 represents the 10 letters removed from the middle of the word. Pronounced as “L-ten-N.”

Short for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, which were its original four components. It’s a software bundle. Do not spell out.

Local area network. Pronounced as “lan.” Do not spell out.

Short for LAN Manager hash. We prefer to write it out or abbreviate to LM hash.

A tool used during security assessments to obtain shells.

A live action role-playing game. Pronounced as “larp.”

Password management software.

A document preparation system. Pronounced as “lay-teck” or “luh-teck.”

Liquid crystal display. Pronounced as letters. Do not spell out.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Pronounced as “L-dap.” Spell out on first use.

A tool used during security assessments.

Also known as an end-entity certificate.

Informal. In formal writing, use exposed, disclosed, obtained, or stolen instead.

Light-emitting diode. Pronounced as letters. Do not spell out.

A coded form of online writing featuring codified typos and a combination of numbers and punctuation. Leet means elite.

Outdated equipment and software that continues to be used by a company or industry for consistency reasons.

A debriefing, as in “a lessons learned call.” Do not capitalize or hyphenate. Corporate jargon; use sparingly.

Always hyphenate in adjectives.

Local file inclusion. A web application vulnerability. Spell out on first use.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual. For more guidance on inclusive language, please consult https://consciousstyleguide.com/.

A free, open source software suite forked from OpenOffice.

Informal.

An Apple connector standard.

Used to describe rapid space travel in sci-fi stories.

Cryptocurrency storage that doesn’t download the whole blockchain.

A show of approval on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Use quotes around the term in formal writing.

A social media feature popularized on Facebook.

To control the scope, impact, or types of attacks. Also try filter, narrow, or omit.

A popular Japanese chat app.

Use the normal font, as in “line 1337 of the code.” Don’t use commas in line numbers.

A data structure built on sequences of nodes.

The phenomenon of web pages becoming unavailable over time, which leads to broken links. Somewhat mitigated with web archives such as the Internet Archive. Informal.

If a link is meant to be clicked, write it in normal font, underlined, and in a different color: www.bishopfox.com. If a URL is just there for reference (like in a list of targets in scope), write it in tech font: www.bishopfox.com.

A tool that analyzes code for errors. Originates from the Unix program lint.

An open source OS created by Linus Torvalds. Pronounced as “linn-ucks” or “line-ucks.” In the free software community, it is specifically called GNU/Linux.

A programming language. Short for LIST Processor. Pronounced as “lisp.” Do not spell out.

An article in the form of a list, as in “Top 10 Worst Hacking Scenes in Movies.”

The company is called LISTSERV. The generic term is listserv or email list.

Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution. A modern Windows protocol. Do not spell out.

LAN Manager hash. Spell out on first use.

Learning management system. Spell out on first use.

Pronounced as “link.” Sometimes written as LiNK. Be consistent in your usage.

A hostname that always refers to the computer you’re using. The localhost IP address is always 127.0.0.1.

The skill of picking locks.

Low Orbit Ion Cannon. An old-school way to crowdsource a DoS attack. Pronounced as “low-ick.”

Better to write “put in lowercase,” but if needed, “lowercased” is OK.

Describes an account or user with limited permissions. To avoid ambiguity, use the name of the role or permission instead of this term on first mention.

Low-resolution, as in images or video. Pronounced as “low-rezz.” Informal.

Local Security Authority Subsystem Service. Pronounced as “L-sass.”

Long Term Evolution. A high-speed wireless communication standard. Do not spell out.

Long-term support. LTS versions of software are intended to last longer than normal. Spell out on first use.

A character from the Batman canon, played by Morgan Freeman in Christopher Nolan’s movie trilogy. Lucius Fox is an inventor and runs WayneCorp. Because of his defensive hacking skills, we use his name in our company name.