Authentication

/ˌɛs.maɪm/

noun — "locking email so only the intended reader can open it."

S/MIME, short for Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, is a standard for securing email messages using encryption and digital signatures. It provides confidentiality, message integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation for email communications by relying on public key cryptography.

/ˌoʊ.siːˈɛs.piː/

noun — "the real-time check that keeps digital certificates honest."

OCSP, short for Online Certificate Status Protocol, is a network protocol used to obtain the real-time revocation status of a digital certificate within a PKI framework. Unlike CRLs, which are periodically published lists, OCSP allows clients to query a Certificate Authority (CA) directly to verify whether a certificate is valid, revoked, or unknown.

/ˌsiː.ɑːrˈɛl/

noun — "the blacklist that keeps revoked certificates in check."

CRL, short for Certificate Revocation List, is a digitally signed list of certificates that have been revoked before their scheduled expiration within a PKI system. It enables systems and applications to verify that a digital certificate is no longer trustworthy due to compromise, expiration, or policy violations, ensuring secure communications remain intact.

/ˈdɪdʒ.ɪ.təl ˈsɪɡ.nə.tʃər/

noun — "a cryptographic stamp that proves data authenticity."

/ˈsɜːr.tɪ.fɪ.kət əˈθɒr.ɪ.ti/

noun — "the trusted entity that vouches for digital identities."

/ˌpiːˌkeɪˈaɪ/

noun — "the system that makes digital trust possible."

PKI, short for Public Key Infrastructure, is a framework that manages digital certificates and public-private key pairs to enable secure communication, authentication, and data integrity over networks such as the Internet. It provides the foundation for encryption, digital signatures, and identity verification in applications ranging from secure email to e-commerce and VPNs.

/ˌoʊ ɛs ɛn ɛm eɪ/

noun — "verifying satellite navigation signals to trust your position."

/pɪn/

n. "Shared numeric passcode used during legacy Bluetooth pairing generating 128-bit link key."

/ˌeɪ-ˈɛs/

n. “The low-level assembly language that talks directly to the CPU.”

AS, in the context of computing, commonly refers to an assembler or assembly language. Assembly language is a low-level programming language that provides symbolic representations of machine code instructions, allowing humans to write programs that directly control a computer's CPU. The assembler (AS) converts these human-readable instructions into executable machine code.

/ˌtiː-dʒi-ˈtiː/

n. “A master pass that lets you ask for other passes.”

TGT, or Ticket Granting Ticket, is a foundational element of the Kerberos authentication protocol. It is a temporary, cryptographically protected credential issued to a user or service after successful initial authentication. Once obtained, a TGT allows the holder to request access to other services without re-entering credentials.