As cybersecurity continues to evolve technically, so too does its language. In recent years, there’s been a shift toward more inclusive and precise terminology across the industry. This change isn’t simply about being politically correct — it’s about improving clarity, removing ambiguity, and promoting professionalism within a global and diverse community. I was in conversation about this topic with my team recently and so wanted to raise further awareness about it.
One of the most visible changes has been the move away from terms like “whitelist” and “blacklist.” Traditionally used to describe allowed and blocked entities, these terms are being replaced with “allow list” and “deny list.” The shift helps eliminate any unintended racial connotations while making the function of the list more immediately obvious. Microsoft, Google, and many others have already adopted this terminology. In the UK, the NCSC has published guidance supporting this change, noting that inclusive language is both achievable and necessary in a professional discipline like cybersecurity.
Another example is the classic “Man-in-the-Middle (MitM)” attack — a scenario where an attacker secretly intercepts or alters communication between two parties. This has seen a shift toward gender-neutral alternatives such as “Adversary-in-the-Middle (AitM)” or “Machine-in-the-Middle.” These terms more accurately reflect modern threats, which increasingly involve automation and infrastructure-level compromises, and remove unnecessary gender associations from technical language.
Language matters. It shapes how we think, communicate, and collaborate. Its plays a huge part in how we communicate in reports via exec summaries as well as technical findings etc. These changes — also recommended in the Microsoft style guide — reflect an industry maturing in both capability and culture. Inclusive and accurate terminology ensures that security professionals, regardless of background, can engage on equal footing and focus on what really matters: building safer systems for everyone.