--- title: "Cyber insurance glossary: 30+ terms explained · Syba" description: "Plain-English definitions of more than 30 cyber insurance and cyber attack terms: policy, limit, exclusion, phishing, ransomware, MFA and more." canonical: https://sybainsurance.com/guides/cyber-insurance-glossary --- Guides # What do the common cyber insurance terms mean? A cyber insurance glossary defines the words you meet in a policy and in a cyber attack. It covers insurance terms such as policy, limit, sublimit, exclusion and claim, attack terms such as phishing, ransomware and identity theft, and defence terms such as multifactor authentication and backups. Each entry below is one or two plain sentences. [See pricing](https://sybainsurance.com/pricing) [Book a call](https://calendly.com/sybabrigitte/30min) ## Insurance terms These are the words you meet in a quote, a policy and a claim. The issued policy always has the final word on what any term means for you. Cyber insurance terms Term | Definition Cyber insurance | Insurance that pays covered losses from a cyber event such as fraud, ransomware or a data breach. Personal cyber insurance protects a household; business cyber insurance protects a company. Policy | The contract that sets out what is covered, what is not and the limits that apply. The issued policy, not a marketing page, is the final word. Premium | The amount you pay for the cover, monthly or yearly. Coverage line | One named type of cover inside a policy, such as identity theft or data recovery. Each line responds under the terms of the issued policy. Limit | The most a policy will pay for covered losses. It is set per plan and always subject to the policy terms. Aggregate limit | The total a policy will pay across all covered losses in a period, rather than for a single event. Sublimit | A lower cap inside the overall limit for one kind of loss, such as cryptocurrency. Exclusion | Something the policy does not cover, for example an event that began before cover started. Claim | Your request that the insurer respond to a covered loss. At Syba you file it once and one person owns it to the end. Carrier | The insurance company that underwrites the cover and carries the risk. Broker | The licensed intermediary that places a policy with a carrier. In the United States, Syba policies are placed through EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants. Underwriting | The carrier’s assessment of a risk, which decides whether and on what terms it offers cover. ## Attack terms These are the cyber events a policy is written around, and the tricks used to cause them. Cyber attack terms Term | Definition Phishing | A message that tricks you into giving up information or clicking something harmful by pretending to be someone you trust. NIST defines it as a technique for tricking a user into revealing sensitive information. Smishing | Phishing by text message. It often pushes you to tap a link about a parcel or a bank alert. Vishing | Phishing by phone call, where the caller poses as a bank, a government office or a support desk. Social engineering | Manipulating people, rather than breaking technology, to get information or access. Phishing is the most familiar example. Ransomware | Malicious software that locks your files or devices and demands payment to unlock them. CISA publishes a guide on how to respond. Extortion | A threat to leak data or cause harm unless you pay. It can follow ransomware or stand behind a stolen photo or document. Malware | Any software built to damage a device or steal from it, including viruses, spyware and ransomware. Data breach | An event in which personal data is exposed to someone who should not see it, often through a hacked company. Identity theft | Someone using your personal information, such as your name or national number, without your permission to open accounts or take funds. The FTC in the United States describes how to report it and recover. Account takeover | When an attacker gets into one of your accounts and locks you out or uses it to defraud others. It usually starts with a stolen or reused password. Credential stuffing | Trying leaked email and password pairs on many sites, betting that you reused one. Business email compromise | Fraud in which an attacker takes over or imitates a real email thread to redirect a payment. It reaches households that pay builders, agents or advisors. SIM swap | Taking over your phone number so the attacker receives your text codes and can reset your accounts. Deepfake | A fake voice, image or video made with artificial intelligence to impersonate a real person, for example a relative asking for money. Online fraud | Theft of money through deception on the internet, such as a fake shop, a fake investment or a fake bank call. Cyberbullying | Using devices and online platforms to harass, threaten or humiliate a person. A Syba line covers counseling for it. ## Defence terms These are the habits and tools that lower the odds of a loss. Insurance covers what still gets through. Cyber defence terms Term | Definition Multifactor authentication (MFA) | Signing in with two or more proofs of who you are, such as a password and a code. NIST describes it as requiring more than one distinct authentication factor. Passkey | A sign-in method that replaces the password with a cryptographic key stored on your device. It cannot be typed into a fake site. Password manager | An app that creates and stores a different strong password for every account, so one leak does not open the rest. Backup | A separate copy of your files, ideally one kept offline, so you can restore them after ransomware or a failed device. Software update | A patch from the maker that closes known security holes. Installing it promptly removes a route attackers rely on. Encryption | Scrambling data so it cannot be read without the key, on a device or in transit. Credit freeze | A lock on your credit file that stops new accounts being opened in your name until you lift it. Data broker | A company that collects and sells personal information about people. Deletion requests ask brokers to remove your records. Device recognition | Monitoring that notices when an unfamiliar device signs in to your accounts. ## Questions people ask next - ### What is the difference between a limit and a sublimit? A limit is the most a policy pays for covered losses. A sublimit is a lower cap inside it for one kind of loss, such as cryptocurrency. Both are set by the plan and the policy terms. - ### Is phishing the same as social engineering? Phishing is one form of social engineering. Social engineering covers any manipulation of people to get information or access, including phone calls and fake requests from a relative. - ### What is an exclusion in a cyber policy? An exclusion is something the policy does not cover. An identity theft event that began before cover started is one example, and the issued policy lists them all. - ### What is the difference between a carrier and a broker? The carrier is the insurance company that underwrites the cover. The broker is the licensed intermediary that places the policy with the carrier. - ### Does cyber insurance cover ransomware? Ransomware and extortion is a coverage line on every Syba plan, handled under the terms of the issued policy. CISA also publishes a free guide on responding to it. - ### Which terms matter most before I buy? Check the limit, any sublimits, the exclusions and who counts as covered. The coverage page shows a covered and a not-covered example for each line. - ### Where can I read the full wording of my cover? In the issued policy. Syba pages explain the lines in plain English, but the policy documents state the exact terms and exclusions. ## Sources Every figure on this page names its publisher and year. Reviewed September 30, 2026. - [Computer Security Resource Center glossary: phishing](https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/phishing) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - [Computer Security Resource Center glossary: multi-factor authentication](https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/multi_factor_authentication) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - [Computer Security Resource Center glossary: social engineering](https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/social_engineering) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - [Ransomware Guide](https://www.cisa.gov/stopransomware/ransomware-guide) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), 2023 - [What To Know About Identity Theft](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-identity-theft) U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 2024 ## Go deeper - ### [What each coverage line covers](https://sybainsurance.com/coverage) The terms in action, with a covered and a not-covered example. - ### [Personal cyber insurance](https://sybainsurance.com/personal-cyber-insurance) Plans from $250K to $5M of cover, from $49 a month. - ### [How claims work](https://sybainsurance.com/how-claims-work) What happens after you file a claim. - ### [Questions and answers](https://sybainsurance.com/faq) Short answers to what buyers ask most. ## See the plans and the price Pick a plan, or book a call with the team. [See pricing](https://sybainsurance.com/pricing) [Book a call](https://calendly.com/sybabrigitte/30min) Financial cover is subject to eligibility, jurisdictional availability and the terms of the issued policy. The exact carrier, broker, limits, terms and exclusions are stated in your quote and policy documents. Syba provides the membership, monitoring and response service and does not solicit insurance. European insurance enquiries: customer.service@syba.io. Prices shown are in USD and are indicative. Final premium, coverage limits and eligibility are determined at the time of binding and vary by jurisdiction. Plans and pricing may change. You may cancel any month with a prorated refund.