Chartered Institute
of Linguists
Net security
By Nataliya Yachmeneva
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Nataliya Yachmeneva outlines the challenges of cybersecurity translation and understanding the concepts behind the terminology
We all bear witness to the breakneck speed at which the concepts of IT and cybersecurity have been evolving, together with software and hardware designed to counteract growing cybercrime. No dictionaries can keep up with the related terminology, while tech talk is often so informal and full of implication that you wonder if industry insiders can read each other鈥檚 minds. For a translator, this means intense research every time you translate and constant self-education. Having friends who work in the field also helps.
Cybersecurity is an important segment of the Russian IT market, with such players as Kaspersky, Dr.WEB and AVZ. I first got into this area when a major translation agency in Russia specialising in software translation offered training for prospective providers. I worked mainly with the marketing side of cybersecurity; that meant a nice cross between creative style and technical knowledge.
Translation in IT and cybersecurity throws up such issues as acronyms and abbreviations (鈥楻AM鈥�, 袨袟校; 鈥楪Hz鈥�, 袚袚褑; 鈥楺oS鈥�, 泻邪褔械褋褌胁芯 芯斜褋谢褍卸懈胁邪薪懈褟), neologisms (鈥楾rojan鈥�, 褌褉芯褟薪褋泻邪褟 锌褉芯谐褉邪屑屑邪; 鈥榩hishing鈥�, 褎懈褕懈薪谐; 鈥榮neaker-network鈥�, 褎谢芯锌锌懈薪械褌) and Americanisms (from spellings like 鈥榗enter鈥� and 鈥榓nalyze鈥� to expressions related to baseball). Challenges also come from product, company and department names (鈥楪lobal Research and Analysis Team鈥�/鈥楪ReAT鈥�, 谐谢芯斜邪谢褜薪褘泄 褑械薪褌褉 懈褋褋谢械写芯胁邪薪懈褟 懈 邪薪邪谢懈蟹邪 褍谐褉芯蟹) and job titles (鈥榗hief information security officer鈥�/ 鈥楥ISO鈥�, 褉褍泻芯胁芯写懈褌械谢褜/写懈褉械泻褌芯褉 锌芯 懈薪褎芯褉屑邪褑懈芯薪薪芯泄 斜械蟹芯锌邪褋薪芯褋褌懈).
To translate successfully in cybersecurity, you must be aware of both general IT terminology and the jargon typical of this area. General terminology includes everything from the fundamental concepts of computer science and the principles behind networks, to computational processes, operating systems, user interface elements and physical devices.
An example is the basic term 鈥榓pplication鈥�, which can be translated as 锌褉芯谐褉邪屑屑邪 (鈥榩rogram鈥�). To a layperson this is an old-fashioned name for an app; to a developer it means the code behind it. A better term in most cases will be 锌褉懈谢芯卸械薪懈械, which is the result of this code that we can see on the screen and use for everyday purposes.
鈥楲atency鈥� can be translated as 谢邪褌械薪褌薪芯褋褌褜 (the benefit here being brevity and close resemblance to the English term) but also as 蟹邪写械褉卸泻邪 (lit. 鈥榙elay鈥�) or 胁褉械屑褟 芯卸懈写邪薪懈褟 (鈥榳aiting time鈥�), both of which better convey the meaning of this concept. Similarly, 鈥榩rovisioning鈥� (the name of a process) does not tell us much, so the translator needs to understand what it means (preparing a system for work or use1) and employ a description (锌芯写谐芯褌芯胁泻邪 泻 褉邪斜芯褌械/褝泻褋锌谢褍邪褌邪褑懈懈).
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Cyber-specific terms
Specialised terminology for cybersecurity describes possible vulnerabilities, detection and protection techniques, types of malicious actions and malware. Some terms (e.g. 鈥榚xploit鈥�, 鈥榬ootkit鈥�) use established loan words in the target language (褝泻褋锌谢芯泄褌, 褉褍褌泻懈褌). As translators, we need to familiarise ourselves with such conventions. You will also come across such terms as 鈥榟ealth鈥�, which refers to the condition of a system and whether it is running properly. It can be translated as 褋芯褋褌芯褟薪懈械 (鈥榮tate, condition鈥�) or 蟹写芯褉芯胁褜械 (lit. 鈥榟ealth鈥�); the choice will often depend on the register, the latter being more informal.
In English, phrases can often be shortened while remaining intelligible to the reader, but in Russian more detail may be required. 鈥楻eal-time antivirus鈥� is a condensed construction, typical of the English language, that requires a more detailed description in Russian: 邪薪褌懈胁懈褉褍褋薪邪褟 蟹邪褖懈褌邪 胁 褉械卸懈屑械 褉械邪谢褜薪芯谐芯 胁褉械屑械薪懈 (lit. 鈥榓ntiviral protection in the real-time mode鈥�). I would translate 鈥榳eb-cam protection鈥� as 蟹邪褖懈褌邪 芯褌 胁蟹谢芯屑邪 胁械斜-泻邪屑械褉褘, specifying 鈥榩rotection from web-cam hacking鈥�.
Sometimes, as in all specialised fields, there are sloppy or implicit expressions. One of my assignments contained the term 鈥榝raudulent database鈥� but it was not clear what this meant. Fortunately, a description in the source text indicated that it referred to a database of fraudulent URLs, so the translation was 斜邪蟹邪 邪写褉械褋芯胁 屑芯褕械薪薪懈褔械褋泻懈褏 胁械斜-褋邪泄褌芯胁.
In order to feel and sound confident about the subject matter, the translator needs to understand what a term means 鈥� for example that a 鈥�0-day threat鈥� (褍谐褉芯蟹邪 薪褍谢械胁芯谐芯 写薪褟) is a type of threat that uses a yet unknown vulnerability in the system to worm its way inside.2 Sometimes the required information may be contained in the source text, but when the reference is a cutting-edge piece of technology the translator will have to explore the landscape and create a new word.
In many cases the translator can do initial research by using the search tool (e.g. Ctrl+F) across the whole source batch. I found this the easiest starting point to fetch full spellings for abbreviations, as well as definitions of some terminology (unless you can find them in the Translation Memory).
For abbreviations, Acronym Finder online is my second option. Another good strategy is to google 鈥榓bbreviation+company name鈥� and similar combinations. Wikipedia, with its switchable languages, can be a good initial source too, especially as it offers references to source information at the bottom of the page. Official standards (GOSTs) can be used for all kinds of technical terminology in Russian.
When it comes to product names, they often stand on their own in English, while in Russian they usually require a general term such as 鈥榮olution鈥� or 鈥榩roduct line鈥�. To add the right term, the translator needs to understand what they are dealing with. Kaspersky Anti-Virus (KAS) and Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) are product lines, so the category name will be added in Russian (谢懈薪械泄泻邪 锌褉芯写褍泻褌芯胁 KAV/KIS), while iChecker and iSwift are technology (褌械褏薪芯谢芯谐懈褟 iChecker).
This also takes us to the official product names. For instance, Kaspersky Total Security for Business will become Kaspersky Total Security 写谢褟 斜懈蟹薪械褋邪, but Kaspersky Security for xSP will be partially translated as Kaspersky Security 写谢褟 xSP. You need to consult the client鈥檚 guidelines and do your own research to decide when to translate, when to keep the item in English and when to use a description. The company鈥檚 website is another good source of information.
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Grammatical differences
Similar issues arise with components, interface elements and commands. Thus, it is hard to translate 鈥楽ystem Watcher鈥� directly, so it becomes 袦芯薪懈褌芯褉懈薪谐 邪泻褌懈胁薪芯褋褌懈 (lit. 鈥楳onitoring of activity鈥�; a nomination of an active doer in English turns into a gerund in Russian). The command 鈥楻un in protected browser鈥� (an imperative) becomes 袨褌泻褉褘褌褜 胁 蟹邪褖懈褖械薪薪芯屑 斜褉邪褍蟹械褉械 (an infinitive). This is due to the tradition established in Russian scientific and technical writing, which is often more austere than the style used in English.
There is also a requirement in Russian to highlight user interface elements (such as the command mentioned above) with quotation marks, bold text or something else. To decide which 鈥榟ighlighter鈥� to use, the translator should consult the client鈥檚 guidelines or check what is used across the already translated interface.
Although flowing and effortless Russian is expected most of the time, in some cases the client鈥檚 guidelines require digression from the rules: for instance 袗薪褌懈-小锌邪屑 for 鈥楢nti-Spam鈥� even though Russian grammar rules dictate that we use lower case and probably write it as one word. Checking the company鈥檚 website can be helpful in such cases, especially if it offers an option to switch languages. At times I have resorted to looking for snapshots of user interfaces online for hours, or even installing software, subscribing to demo versions and registering on specialist forums.
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Knowing the field
In the beginning, I took (and loved) a free course in computer networks on Coursera, which was challenging and informative, and taught me all about the infamous Trudy (IT slang for a malicious intruder). For the Russian language, a few translation agencies provide rich resources, including vocabularies, webinars and blogs. For example, Evgeniy Bartov with Alliance PRO3 runs a school for specialist translators, including those working in IT. He regularly publishes useful posts, glossaries and analysis of errors in translation. Some market players publish glossaries, such as Kaspersky鈥檚 extensive bilingual glossary for English and Russian.4
Translating in IT and cybersecurity takes a lot of effort but helps you keep up to date with technology and can make you feel elated when you finally crack a particularly hard problem. It is rewarding to be knowledgeable about the ways to protect yourself and how such systems work.
Notes
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Nataliya Yachmeneva MCIL is a professional linguist with experience in different areas of marketing translation (including IT and automotive), as well as translation for corporate purposes and international events. She now works as a public service interpreter.
This article is reproduced from听the Winter听2023/2024 issue of听The Linguist. Download the full edition听here.
