Why nobody understands us

two heads with question marks over them

Neologism: A new word, or a new meaning for an established word.

Wikipedia defines "jargon" as the specialized terminology associated with a particular field. Every industry has its jargon. But the IT industry has taken jargon to such levels that our jargon has its own name: geek speak. This is why nobody understands us.

This week I learned some new geek speak based on old geek speak. I am not a security expert, but I know enough to identify phishing attacks. (I wrote about this last year: Are you a smart phish?) But I didn't know that the term "phishing" has spawned its own neologisms: "smishing", "vishing", "pharming" and "whaling".

Expand your geek speak

Here are some simple definitions, so that you can add these neologisms to your vocabulary.

Phishing
This one you know. The term was coined by a hacker, and yes, it came from the word "fishing". Phishing is the use of email, pretending to be from a trusted source, that tries to lure you into handing over sensitive data.

Vishing
This is voice phishing — which explains the term. It uses a phone call, instead of email, to trick victims into handing over sensitive information. (We've all heard about the fake Microsoft support calls. Turns out this scam has a name.)

Smishing
You probably guessed this one: it's SMS phishing. This uses fraudulent SMS messages to trick you into handing over sensitive information.

Whaling
Who wants to catch a fish when you could catch a whale? Whaling is phishing for a more lucrative target. This is when attackers use phishing techniques to target high-profile employees.

Pharming
This is also known as "phishing without a lure". Pharming is a way to redirect users from legitimate sites to fake sites.

And now add these to your list of things to beware of, because they are all forms of social engineering attacks.

Just for fun

I designed this quick (and very unscientific) test. It consists of sentences, each containing one highlighted word. Read the sentence, and then pick the meaning for the word that first pops into your mind.

  • "I think it is a bug."
    • Option a: An insect (score = 0).
    • Option b: The reason why your program won't run (score = 1).
  • "Will you accept a cookie?"
    • Option a: A delicious baked snack, preferably chocolate (score = 0).
    • Option b: Something that web sites put on your computer's hard drive (score = 1).
  • "I'm having problems with the driver."
    • Option a: The person driving the car (score = 0).
    • Option b: The program that controls your printer (score = 1).
  • "I can't find the mouse."
    • Option a: A furry rodent that your cat likes to catch (score = 0).
    • Option b: A device connected to your computer that moves the cursor on your screen (score = 1).
  • "Try a different port."
    • Option a: An alcoholic drink (score = 0).
    • Option b: A place where ships dock, like a harbour (score = -1).
    • Option c: A special plug socket on your computer or a number linked to a network protocol (score = 1).
  • "I hope that is not spam."
    • Option a: Canned cooked pork (score = 0).
    • Option b: Junk email that you don't want, even if you inherited all that money (score = 1).
  • "You have too many windows open."
    • Option a: Openings in the wall filled with glass that you can look out of (score = 0).
    • Option b: Instances of the browser or applications that are running (score = 1).

If your total score is 0, I'm slightly surprised you are reading this blog. If you scored 7, people not in IT probably don't understand you.

Please share your thoughts - and any suggested words for next week. It really makes my day when you do.

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