Account Takeover Fraud (ATO)

Account Takeover Fraud (ATO) is a severe form of cybercrime in which attackers gain unauthorized access to a legitimate user’s online account, most commonly by exploiting stolen, leaked, or otherwise compromised credentials. Once control is obtained, threat actors can conduct fraudulent transactions, withdraw funds, steal personally identifiable information (PII), change account details, or impersonate the victim to target additional individuals or organizations. ATO attacks frequently originate from phishing campaigns, malware infections, credential‑stuffing operations, or credentials purchased on the dark web. Because ATO directly impacts customers, revenue, and brand trust, it is one of the most damaging and fast‑growing digital fraud threats facing organizations today.

active content

Active content refers to executable elements embedded within digital files such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDFs, and emails, including macros, scripts, and embedded code objects. While active content is often used to enhance productivity and automation, it is commonly exploited by attackers to deliver malware, initiate exploit chains, or execute unauthorized actions when a file is opened. Malicious active content is a frequent entry point for ransomware, credential theft, and lateral movement attacks. As a result, many organizations implement strict controls, inspection, or sanitization of active content to reduce the risk of document‑based cyber threats.

adaptive data loss prevention (A-DLP)

Solutions that automatically apply the optimal security treatment based on data’s content, context, and required regulation policies. This includes real-time redaction, encryption, blocking, or deleting. Fortra’s Digital Guardian and Clearswift product lines deliver adaptive data loss prevention solutions.

Adaptive Redaction

A process involving the identification of critical or confidential information and cyber threats which are either redacted or sanitized to allow the ongoing flow of communication with no disruption.

advanced persistent threat (APT)

A cybercrime category directed at business and political targets. APTs require a high degree of stealth over a prolonged duration of operation to be successful.

Anti-steganography

A sanitization feature operating at the appliance level that detects and cleans exploited images containing nearly undetectable malicious text, hidden code, or malware that flow in and out of the network that are typically not noticed.

antivirus (AV)

A program that searches, detects, prevents, and removes software viruses from a computer or server.

artificial intelligence (AI)

A branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers; also the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.

Automated Remediation

After attack or threat incidents are reported, an automated workflow takes place, including investigative analysis and triage, minimizing manual efforts to accelerate time-to-containment.