---
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description: "The premarket cybersecurity vocabulary every MedTech engineer and RA professional now needs."
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[All paths](/paths)Engineers · RA · QA · 11 terms 

# FDA Cybersecurity 101

The premarket cybersecurity vocabulary every MedTech engineer and RA professional now needs.

Your progress

0 of 11 lessons complete · up next: Section 524B of the FD&C Act 

[Start path](/terms/section-524b?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)

1.  1
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Section 524B of the FD&C Act(524B) 
    
    The federal statute that gives FDA explicit premarket authority over cybersecurity for cyber devices.
    
    Why this term here: Start here: this is the statutory hook that makes cybersecurity a premarket requirement, not a nice-to-have. Focus on which devices are in scope.
    
    ](/terms/section-524b?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
2.  2
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Premarket Cybersecurity Submission
    
    The bundle of cybersecurity artifacts a sponsor includes in a 510(k), De Novo, PMA, or HDE submission for a cyber device.
    
    Why this term here: The umbrella FDA guidance. Focus on the specific artifacts FDA expects in the submission (SBOM, threat model, plan, labeling).
    
    ](/terms/premarket-cybersecurity?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
3.  3
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Secure Product Development Framework(SPDF) 
    
    A documented, risk-based set of processes that build cybersecurity into a medical device across its full lifecycle.
    
    Why this term here: The lifecycle framework that ties the artifacts together. Focus on how SPDF maps into your existing design controls.
    
    ](/terms/spdf?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
4.  4
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Threat Modeling
    
    A structured analysis that identifies how an attacker could compromise a medical device and what controls mitigate each threat.
    
    Why this term here: The single artifact reviewers read most closely. Focus on scope, assumptions, and how findings trace to controls.
    
    ](/terms/threat-modeling?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
5.  5
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## STRIDE Threat Model(STRIDE) 
    
    A six-category framework for enumerating threats: Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, Elevation of privilege.
    
    Why this term here: One accepted method to structure a threat model. Focus on when STRIDE fits and when data-flow or attack-tree approaches are better.
    
    ](/terms/stride?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
6.  6
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Software Bill of Materials(SBOM) 
    
    A machine-readable inventory of all software components, including open-source and third-party libraries, used to build a medical device.
    
    Why this term here: Now explicitly required. Focus on format (SPDX vs CycloneDX), depth, and how it stays current post-market.
    
    ](/terms/sbom?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
7.  7
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## CycloneDX
    
    A lightweight, OWASP-maintained SBOM format designed for application security and supply-chain use cases.
    
    Why this term here: One of the two SBOM formats FDA accepts. Focus on what fields matter for vulnerability triage.
    
    ](/terms/cyclonedx?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
8.  8
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange(VEX) 
    
    A machine-readable statement that explains whether a known vulnerability is actually exploitable in a specific product.
    
    Why this term here: How you communicate that a listed component vulnerability does not affect your product. Focus on writing defensible VEX statements.
    
    ](/terms/vex?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
9.  9
    
    [
    
    Cybersecurity
    
    ## Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures(CVE) 
    
    A globally unique identifier for a publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerability.
    
    Why this term here: The vocabulary you will use to describe vulnerabilities in the SBOM and post-market monitoring. Focus on scoring and disclosure timing.
    
    ](/terms/cve?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
    
10.  10
     
     [
     
     Cybersecurity
     
     ## Common Vulnerability Scoring System(CVSS) 
     
     An industry-standard 0–10 score that quantifies the severity of a software vulnerability.
     
     Why this term here: How severity is quantified. Focus on the difference between base, temporal, and environmental scores when you triage.
     
     ](/terms/cvss?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
     
11.  11
     
     [
     
     Regulatory
     
     ## Refuse to Accept(RTA) 
     
     FDA administrative decision that a submission is incomplete and won't be substantively reviewed.
     
     Why this term here: The gate before substantive review. Focus on cybersecurity items that commonly cause an RTA hold.
     
     ](/terms/rta?from=fda-cybersecurity-101)Mark done
     

Finished the path? Test yourself with a quiz tailored to these 11 terms.

[Take the FDA Cybersecurity 101 quiz](/quiz?path=fda-cybersecurity-101)

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