ISC2 CC glossary of core controls, risk terms, traps, and decision cues.
Use this glossary when Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) terms start to blur together. The goal is practical recognition, not encyclopedia coverage.
| Term | Exam meaning |
|---|---|
| CIA triad | Confidentiality, integrity, and availability. |
| MFA | Multi-factor authentication using more than one proof category. |
| Least privilege | Granting only the access needed for a role or task. |
| Incident response | Process for handling security events and restoring safe operations. |
| Risk | Combination of likelihood and impact around an uncertain event. |
| Business continuity | Planning to keep essential operations running during disruption. |
| Pair | How to separate them |
|---|---|
| Security principles and governance vs Access control and identity | Ask which layer the scenario is testing, then match the answer to that layer only. |
| Control vs evidence | A control changes behavior; evidence proves behavior or supports investigation. |
| Managed service vs custom build | Managed services win for lower operational effort unless the requirement needs unsupported customization. |
| Prevention vs detection | Prevention blocks or reduces a bad event; detection finds or reports that it happened. |
Do not memorize terms in isolation. For each term, write one scenario where it is the best answer, one scenario where it is a distractor, and one signal that proves it worked.