Security+ acronyms quiz

The Security+ SY0-701 exam leans hard on acronyms. This endless drill covers all 307 on CompTIA's list, both directions — expand the acronym, or name it from its meaning. Answer with the number keys. No signup, no limit.

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The full Security+ acronym list

Acronym	Expansion	Category
AAA	Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting	Identity & Access
ABAC	Attribute-Based Access Control	Identity & Access
ACL	Access Control List	Identity & Access
AES	Advanced Encryption Standard	Cryptography
AH	Authentication Header	Network
AI	Artificial Intelligence	General
AIS	Automated Indicator Sharing	Threats & Attacks
ALE	Annualized Loss Expectancy	Governance & Risk
AP	Access Point	Wireless
API	Application Programming Interface	General
APT	Advanced Persistent Threat	Threats & Attacks
ARO	Annualized Rate of Occurrence	Governance & Risk
ARP	Address Resolution Protocol	Network
ASLR	Address Space Layout Randomization	Security Operations
ATT&CK	Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge	Threats & Attacks
AUP	Acceptable Use Policy	Governance & Risk
AV	Antivirus	Security Operations
BASH	Bourne Again Shell	Security Operations
BCP	Business Continuity Planning	Governance & Risk
BGP	Border Gateway Protocol	Network
BIA	Business Impact Analysis	Governance & Risk
BIOS	Basic Input/Output System	Hardware & Endpoint
BPA	Business Partners Agreement	Governance & Risk
BPDU	Bridge Protocol Data Unit	Network
BYOD	Bring Your Own Device	Mobile
CA	Certificate Authority	Cryptography
CAPTCHA	Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart	Identity & Access
CAR	Corrective Action Report	Security Operations
CASB	Cloud Access Security Broker	Cloud & Virtualization
CBC	Cipher Block Chaining	Cryptography
CCMP	Counter Mode/CBC-MAC Protocol	Wireless
CCTV	Closed-Circuit Television	Physical Security
CERT	Computer Emergency Response Team	Security Operations
CFB	Cipher Feedback	Cryptography
CHAP	Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol	Identity & Access
CIA	Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability	General
CIO	Chief Information Officer	Governance & Risk
CIRT	Computer Incident Response Team	Security Operations
CMS	Content Management System	General
COOP	Continuity of Operations Planning	Governance & Risk
COPE	Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled	Mobile
CP	Contingency Planning	Governance & Risk
CRC	Cyclic Redundancy Check	Network
CRL	Certificate Revocation List	Cryptography
CSO	Chief Security Officer	Governance & Risk
CSP	Cloud Service Provider	Cloud & Virtualization
CSR	Certificate Signing Request	Cryptography
CSRF	Cross-Site Request Forgery	Threats & Attacks
CSU	Channel Service Unit	Network
CTM	Counter Mode	Cryptography
CTO	Chief Technology Officer	Governance & Risk
CVE	Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures	Threats & Attacks
CVSS	Common Vulnerability Scoring System	Threats & Attacks
CYOD	Choose Your Own Device	Mobile
DAC	Discretionary Access Control	Identity & Access
DBA	Database Administrator	General
DDoS	Distributed Denial-of-Service	Threats & Attacks
DEP	Data Execution Prevention	Security Operations
DES	Data Encryption Standard	Cryptography
DHCP	Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol	Network
DHE	Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral	Cryptography
DKIM	DomainKeys Identified Mail	Network
DLL	Dynamic-Link Library	Security Operations
DLP	Data Loss Prevention	Security Operations
DMARC	Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance	Network
DNAT	Destination Network Address Translation	Network
DNS	Domain Name System	Network
DoS	Denial-of-Service	Threats & Attacks
DPO	Data Protection Officer	Governance & Risk
DRP	Disaster Recovery Plan	Governance & Risk
DSA	Digital Signature Algorithm	Cryptography
EAP	Extensible Authentication Protocol	Identity & Access
ECB	Electronic Codebook	Cryptography
ECC	Elliptic Curve Cryptography	Cryptography
ECDHE	Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral	Cryptography
ECDSA	Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm	Cryptography
EDR	Endpoint Detection and Response	Security Operations
EFS	Encrypting File System	Cryptography
ERP	Enterprise Resource Planning	General
ESN	Electronic Serial Number	Mobile
ESP	Encapsulating Security Payload	Network
FACL	File System Access Control List	Identity & Access
FDE	Full Disk Encryption	Cryptography
FIM	File Integrity Monitoring	Security Operations
FPGA	Field Programmable Gate Array	Hardware & Endpoint
FRR	False Rejection Rate	Identity & Access
FTP	File Transfer Protocol	Network
FTPS	File Transfer Protocol Secure	Network
GCM	Galois/Counter Mode	Cryptography
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation	Governance & Risk
GPG	GNU Privacy Guard	Cryptography
GPO	Group Policy Object	Security Operations
GPS	Global Positioning System	Mobile
GPU	Graphics Processing Unit	Hardware & Endpoint
GRE	Generic Routing Encapsulation	Network
HA	High Availability	Security Operations
HDD	Hard Disk Drive	Hardware & Endpoint
HIDS	Host-based Intrusion Detection System	Security Operations
HIPS	Host-based Intrusion Prevention System	Security Operations
HMAC	Hash-based Message Authentication Code	Cryptography
HOTP	HMAC-based One-Time Password	Identity & Access
HSM	Hardware Security Module	Cryptography
HTML	Hypertext Markup Language	General
HTTP	Hypertext Transfer Protocol	Network
HTTPS	Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure	Network
HVAC	Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning	Physical Security
IaaS	Infrastructure as a Service	Cloud & Virtualization
IaC	Infrastructure as Code	Cloud & Virtualization
IAM	Identity and Access Management	Identity & Access
ICMP	Internet Control Message Protocol	Network
ICS	Industrial Control Systems	Security Operations
IDF	Intermediate Distribution Frame	Physical Security
IDS	Intrusion Detection System	Security Operations
IdP	Identity Provider	Identity & Access
IEEE	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers	General
IKE	Internet Key Exchange	Network
IM	Instant Messaging	General
IMAP	Internet Message Access Protocol	Network
IoC	Indicators of Compromise	Threats & Attacks
IoT	Internet of Things	Security Operations
IP	Internet Protocol	Network
IPS	Intrusion Prevention System	Security Operations
IPSec	Internet Protocol Security	Network
IR	Incident Response	Security Operations
IRC	Internet Relay Chat	Threats & Attacks
IRP	Incident Response Plan	Security Operations
ISO	International Organization for Standardization	Governance & Risk
ISP	Internet Service Provider	Network
ISSO	Information Systems Security Officer	Governance & Risk
IV	Initialization Vector	Cryptography
KDC	Key Distribution Center	Identity & Access
KEK	Key Encryption Key	Cryptography
L2TP	Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol	Network
LAN	Local Area Network	Network
LDAP	Lightweight Directory Access Protocol	Identity & Access
LEAP	Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol	Wireless
MaaS	Monitoring as a Service	Cloud & Virtualization
MAC	Mandatory Access Control	Identity & Access
MAM	Mobile Application Management	Mobile
MAN	Metropolitan Area Network	Network
MBR	Master Boot Record	Hardware & Endpoint
MD5	Message Digest 5	Cryptography
MDF	Main Distribution Frame	Physical Security
MDM	Mobile Device Management	Mobile
MFA	Multifactor Authentication	Identity & Access
MFD	Multifunction Device	Hardware & Endpoint
MFP	Multifunction Printer	Hardware & Endpoint
ML	Machine Learning	General
MMS	Multimedia Message Service	Mobile
MOA	Memorandum of Agreement	Governance & Risk
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding	Governance & Risk
MPLS	Multiprotocol Label Switching	Network
MSA	Master Service Agreement	Governance & Risk
MSCHAP	Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol	Identity & Access
MSP	Managed Service Provider	Security Operations
MSSP	Managed Security Service Provider	Security Operations
MTBF	Mean Time Between Failures	Governance & Risk
MTTF	Mean Time to Failure	Governance & Risk
MTTR	Mean Time to Repair	Governance & Risk
MTU	Maximum Transmission Unit	Network
NAC	Network Access Control	Network
NAT	Network Address Translation	Network
NDA	Non-Disclosure Agreement	Governance & Risk
NFC	Near Field Communication	Mobile
NGFW	Next-Generation Firewall	Network
NIDS	Network-based Intrusion Detection System	Security Operations
NIPS	Network-based Intrusion Prevention System	Security Operations
NIST	National Institute of Standards and Technology	Governance & Risk
NTFS	New Technology File System	Hardware & Endpoint
NTLM	New Technology LAN Manager	Identity & Access
NTP	Network Time Protocol	Network
OAuth	Open Authorization	Identity & Access
OCSP	Online Certificate Status Protocol	Cryptography
OID	Object Identifier	Cryptography
OS	Operating System	Hardware & Endpoint
OSINT	Open-Source Intelligence	Threats & Attacks
OSPF	Open Shortest Path First	Network
OT	Operational Technology	Security Operations
OTA	Over-the-Air	Mobile
OVAL	Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language	Threats & Attacks
P2P	Peer-to-Peer	Network
PaaS	Platform as a Service	Cloud & Virtualization
PAC	Proxy Auto Configuration	Network
PAM	Privileged Access Management	Identity & Access
PAP	Password Authentication Protocol	Identity & Access
PAT	Port Address Translation	Network
PBKDF2	Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2	Cryptography
PCAP	Packet Capture	Security Operations
PCI DSS	Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard	Governance & Risk
PDU	Power Distribution Unit	Physical Security
PEAP	Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol	Wireless
PED	Personal Electronic Device	Mobile
PEM	Privacy Enhanced Mail	Cryptography
PFS	Perfect Forward Secrecy	Cryptography
PGP	Pretty Good Privacy	Cryptography
PHI	Protected Health Information	Governance & Risk
PII	Personally Identifiable Information	Governance & Risk
PIV	Personal Identity Verification	Identity & Access
PKCS	Public Key Cryptography Standards	Cryptography
PKI	Public Key Infrastructure	Cryptography
POP	Post Office Protocol	Network
POTS	Plain Old Telephone Service	Network
PPP	Point-to-Point Protocol	Network
PPTP	Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol	Network
PSK	Pre-Shared Key	Wireless
PTZ	Pan-Tilt-Zoom	Physical Security
PUP	Potentially Unwanted Program	Threats & Attacks
RA	Registration Authority	Cryptography
RADIUS	Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service	Identity & Access
RAID	Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks	Hardware & Endpoint
RAS	Remote Access Server	Network
RAT	Remote Access Trojan	Threats & Attacks
RBAC	Role-Based Access Control	Identity & Access
RC4	Rivest Cipher 4	Cryptography
RDP	Remote Desktop Protocol	Network
RFID	Radio Frequency Identification	Physical Security
RIPEMD	RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest	Cryptography
ROI	Return on Investment	Governance & Risk
RPO	Recovery Point Objective	Governance & Risk
RSA	Rivest, Shamir, Adleman	Cryptography
RTBH	Remotely Triggered Black Hole	Network
RTO	Recovery Time Objective	Governance & Risk
RTOS	Real-Time Operating System	Hardware & Endpoint
RTP	Real-Time Transport Protocol	Network
S/MIME	Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions	Cryptography
SaaS	Software as a Service	Cloud & Virtualization
SAE	Simultaneous Authentication of Equals	Wireless
SAML	Security Assertion Markup Language	Identity & Access
SAN	Subject Alternative Name	Cryptography
SASE	Secure Access Service Edge	Cloud & Virtualization
SCADA	Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition	Security Operations
SCAP	Security Content Automation Protocol	Security Operations
SCEP	Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol	Cryptography
SD-WAN	Software-Defined Wide Area Network	Network
SDK	Software Development Kit	General
SDLC	Software Development Life Cycle	General
SDN	Software-Defined Networking	Network
SED	Self-Encrypting Drive	Cryptography
SEH	Structured Exception Handling	Security Operations
SFTP	Secure File Transfer Protocol	Network
SHA	Secure Hash Algorithm	Cryptography
SIEM	Security Information and Event Management	Security Operations
SIM	Subscriber Identity Module	Mobile
SLA	Service Level Agreement	Governance & Risk
SLE	Single Loss Expectancy	Governance & Risk
SMS	Short Message Service	Mobile
SMTP	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol	Network
SMTPS	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Secure	Network
SNMP	Simple Network Management Protocol	Network
SOAP	Simple Object Access Protocol	General
SOAR	Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response	Security Operations
SoC	System on Chip	Hardware & Endpoint
SOC	Security Operations Center	Security Operations
SOW	Statement of Work	Governance & Risk
SPF	Sender Policy Framework	Network
SPIM	Spam over Instant Messaging	Threats & Attacks
SQL	Structured Query Language	General
SQLi	SQL Injection	Threats & Attacks
SRTP	Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol	Network
SSD	Solid State Drive	Hardware & Endpoint
SSH	Secure Shell	Network
SSL	Secure Sockets Layer	Cryptography
SSO	Single Sign-On	Identity & Access
STIX	Structured Threat Information eXpression	Threats & Attacks
STP	Spanning Tree Protocol	Network
SWG	Secure Web Gateway	Network
TACACS+	Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus	Identity & Access
TAXII	Trusted Automated eXchange of Indicator Information	Threats & Attacks
TCP/IP	Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol	Network
TGT	Ticket Granting Ticket	Identity & Access
TKIP	Temporal Key Integrity Protocol	Wireless
TLS	Transport Layer Security	Cryptography
TOTP	Time-based One-Time Password	Identity & Access
TPM	Trusted Platform Module	Cryptography
TTP	Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures	Threats & Attacks
UAT	User Acceptance Testing	General
UAV	Unmanned Aerial Vehicle	Physical Security
UDP	User Datagram Protocol	Network
UEFI	Unified Extensible Firmware Interface	Hardware & Endpoint
UEM	Unified Endpoint Management	Mobile
UPS	Uninterruptible Power Supply	Physical Security
URI	Uniform Resource Identifier	General
URL	Uniform Resource Locator	General
USB	Universal Serial Bus	Hardware & Endpoint
USB OTG	USB On-the-Go	Hardware & Endpoint
UTM	Unified Threat Management	Network
VBA	Visual Basic for Applications	Security Operations
VDI	Virtual Desktop Infrastructure	Cloud & Virtualization
VLAN	Virtual Local Area Network	Network
VLSM	Variable-Length Subnet Masking	Network
VM	Virtual Machine	Cloud & Virtualization
VoIP	Voice over Internet Protocol	Network
VPC	Virtual Private Cloud	Cloud & Virtualization
VPN	Virtual Private Network	Network
VTC	Video Teleconferencing	General
WAF	Web Application Firewall	Network
WAP	Wireless Access Point	Wireless
WEP	Wired Equivalent Privacy	Wireless
WIDS	Wireless Intrusion Detection System	Wireless
WIPS	Wireless Intrusion Prevention System	Wireless
WPA	Wi-Fi Protected Access	Wireless
WPS	Wi-Fi Protected Setup	Wireless
WTLS	Wireless Transport Layer Security	Wireless
XDR	Extended Detection and Response	Security Operations
XML	Extensible Markup Language	General
XOR	Exclusive OR	Cryptography
XSS	Cross-Site Scripting	Threats & Attacks

Acronyms are the easy part

The rest of the exam is scenarios and PBQs. Take the free 25-question diagnostic to see how ready you actually are — and get a daily plan for everything else.

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Frequently asked questions

How many acronyms are on the Security+ SY0-701 exam?

CompTIA's official objectives list around 307 acronyms — from the everyday (CIA, AAA, MFA, PKI) to the obscure (SASE, TAXII, OVAL). This quiz drills the full set in both directions: expand the acronym, and name the acronym from its meaning.

What's the best way to memorize Security+ acronyms?

Short, frequent drills beat one long cram. Do 15–20 here every day and let spaced repetition surface the ones you keep missing right before you'd forget them. Focus on the high-frequency families — access control (DAC/MAC/RBAC/ABAC), the AAA protocols (RADIUS/TACACS+), and the detection stack (IDS/IPS/EDR/XDR/SIEM/SOAR).

Do I need to know every acronym for the exam?

You won't be asked to define all of them, but the exam uses acronyms constantly in both questions and answer choices — recognizing them cold saves time and prevents avoidable mistakes. The high-frequency ones (CIA, PKI, MFA, EDR, SIEM, SOAR, IAM) show up everywhere.