Painting the Forth bridge

Keeping up with change is all part of the 'fun' of composing a glossary in any field that is actively progressing, such as cybersecurity for instance. 'Cybersecurity' is a classic example - now a commonplace term ... that all but defies formal definition.

The approach I've adopted with the Cybersecurity Hyperglossary is to locate, quote and cite 'official' definitions from standards and other definitive sources where available. Published glossaries are useful, and fortunately organisations such as ISO, NIST, ISACA and SANS appreciate the value of releasing definitions into the public domain to encourage uptake and discourse.

In most cases, I have synthesised the formal definitions into plain-English versions based on my four decades' immersion in the topic, with further research and contemplation to find the right form of words, hyperlinking extensively to other definitions as I go.

With so many terms and aspects to track, this has been a labour of love for nearly three decades, culminating in the manuscript submitted to the publisher last April.

My self-assigned task is far from over, however.

Since then, cybersecurity has moved ahead, most notably in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Post-Quantum Cryptography and more. New standards have emerged and new terms or neologisms have been coined. Although I don't claim to be a Subject Matter Expert in every specialism, I do my level best to keep up and, to be honest, I relish the challenge.

[Aside: that paragraph hints at our love of abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms - convenient shortcuts when SMEs are discussing deep technical topics but a barrier to others, including me. There's a curious delight in discovering and resolving new abbreviations and especially clashes, such as "CI", short for Configuration Item, Critical Infrastructure, Competitive Intelligence, Counter‑Intelligence or Confidential Informant - completely different terms and concepts lurking behind the same two innocuous letters.]

So, publication of the first edition of the Cybersecurity Hyperglossary is merely the start, sinking a stake in shifting sands. Once it's out there, I would love to hear from you if you believe I have mistated, misinterpreted or misunderstood things, or indeed completely missed terms of art. Is there enough there to justify a second edition? I believe so but time will tell.