Cybersecurity Style Guide

Software for building virtual development environments.

If writing about a type of value, use the normal font. If it’s a specific value, use the tech font, as in “licenseID value.”

Software for secrets management created by HashiCorp.

Short for Visual Basic .NET. A programming language.

A Microsoft scripting language based on Visual Basic.

Venture capital. Pronounced as letters or the phrase. Spell out on first use.

Virtual desktop infrastructure. Spell out on first use.

A third-party business that provides a service or product to a client.

A mobile payment service.

Disk encryption software.

Verbose logs, banners, and error messages reveal more information about underlying structures to users than is necessary.

Use the normal font for software version numbers, product model numbers, serial numbers, and builds. Avoid using “v” to stand for version in formal writing.

Video Graphics Array. A graphics standard and video output connector. Do not spell out.

A physical component of a chip.

Avoid using this term. Try user, patient, customer, consumer, or target.

OK to just call them games. Capitalize video game titles in the normal font, as in Myst and Grim Fandango.

A text editor.

A video-sharing company.

A Cisco SD-WAN service.

Rapidly popular, especially online. Or related to viruses.

Short for voice phishing. A type of social engineering attack that uses telephony to impersonate legitimate callers. Spell out on first use.

Virtual local area network. Pronounced as “V-lan.”

Vulnerability Lifecycle Management. Spell out on first use.

Virtual machine. Spell out on first use in public-facing documents.

Virtual Network Computing. Spell out on first use.

Voice over Internet Protocol. Pronounced as “voyp.” Spell out on first use.

Virtual private cloud. Spell out on first use.

Virtual private network. Spell out on first use.

Virtual reality.

Vendor security assessment. Spell out on first use.

An AR platform.

Any condition, configuration, or state that increases an asset’s logical, informational, or physical exposure to loss of availability, integrity, or confidentiality. Vuln is informal.

An assessment of a target using automated tools to detect security weaknesses.

An automated application or system designed to assess computers, computer systems, networks, or applications for weaknesses.

A site where pen testers can practice.