Glossary

This page is the quick acronym reference. For plain-language explainers of the underlying concepts and technologies (Zero Trust, SASE, EDR/XDR, CNAPP, ransomware, machine identity, and more), see Cybersecurity Concepts & Terminology.

M&A / finance

• ARR — Annual Recurring Revenue. The core revenue metric for SaaS valuation.
• NRR / NDR — Net Revenue (Dollar) Retention. Revenue from existing customers incl. expansion/churn; >120% is considered strong.
• Rule of 40 — Growth rate % + profit (FCF) margin % ≥ 40; balances growth and profitability.
• EV — Enterprise Value (equity + net debt). Numerator in valuation multiples.
• EV/Revenue, EV/ARR, EV/EBITDA — Valuation multiples; cyber defaults to EV/ARR for vendors, EV/EBITDA for services.
• CIM — Confidential Information Memorandum. The detailed sell-side document.
• Teaser — Anonymized one/two-page sell-side summary sent to prospective buyers.
• IOI / LOI — Indication of Interest / Letter of Intent. Non-binding then near-binding offer stages.
• Buy-and-build — PE strategy: a platform acquisition + serial bolt-on (tuck-in) acquisitions.
• Tuck-in / bolt-on — Small acquisition integrated into an existing platform.
• Take-private — Acquiring a public company and delisting it (common in cyber PE).
• Secondary buyout — Sponsor-to-sponsor sale.
• Unitranche — Single blended senior+sub debt facility at one rate; dominant in mid-market software buyouts.
• Dry powder — Committed but uninvested fund capital.
• CVC — Corporate Venture Capital.
• Control / scarcity / strategic premium — Uplifts to valuation for control, category leadership, and synergy.

Cybersecurity categories

• EPP / EDR / XDR — Endpoint Protection / Detection & Response / Extended (cross-domain) D&R.
• SASE / SSE / ZTNA — Secure Access Service Edge / Security Service Edge / Zero Trust Network Access.
• IAM / PAM / IGA / CIEM / ITDR — Identity & Access Mgmt / Privileged Access Mgmt / Identity Governance & Administration / Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Mgmt / Identity Threat Detection & Response.
• CNAPP / CSPM / CWPP / DSPM — Cloud-Native App Protection Platform / Cloud Security Posture Mgmt / Cloud Workload Protection Platform / Data Security Posture Mgmt.
• SIEM / SOAR / TIP — Security Information & Event Mgmt / Security Orchestration, Automation & Response / Threat Intelligence Platform.
• MDR / MSSP / MSP — Managed Detection & Response / Managed Security Service Provider / Managed Service Provider.
• ASM / BAS / PTaaS — Attack Surface Mgmt / Breach & Attack Simulation / Penetration Testing as a Service.
• GRC / TPRM — Governance, Risk & Compliance / Third-Party Risk Mgmt.
• DLP — Data Loss Prevention.
• SAST / DAST / SCA / ASPM — Static/Dynamic App Security Testing / Software Composition Analysis / Application Security Posture Mgmt.
• OT / ICS — Operational Technology / Industrial Control Systems.
• AI-SPM — AI Security Posture Management.

Threat economy

• RaaS — Ransomware-as-a-Service.
• IAB — Initial Access Broker.
• BEC — Business Email Compromise.
• Double extortion — Encrypt + exfiltrate-and-threaten-to-leak.

Regulation

• NIS2 — EU Network & Information Security Directive 2.
• DORA — Digital Operational Resilience Act (EU financial sector).
• CMMC — Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (US defense).
• FedRAMP / IL4 / IL5 — Federal cloud authorization / DoD Impact Levels.
• CIRCIA — Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (US).
• GDPR / CCPA / CPRA — EU / California privacy regimes.

Updated 2026-08-16 18:13 UTC · © El Dorado Capital · el-doradocapital.com · Market intelligence for informational purposes only; not investment advice.