CBC

CBC is an acronym with several notable meanings. The three most widely encountered are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the complete blood count, and Cipher Block Chaining, a cryptographic mode.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is Canada's public broadcaster, established in 1936 as the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission and reorganized as the CBC in 1945. It operates English- and French-language services, including CBC Television, CBC Radio One, and CBC Music, along with online platforms such as CBC Gem. Funded primarily by the federal government and, on some platforms, by advertising and other revenue, the CBC carries news, information, and entertainment programming with a mandate to inform, reflect, and serve Canadian audiences.

A complete blood count is a common laboratory test that measures components of blood. It typically reports red blood cell and white blood cell counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet count, and may include indices such as mean corpuscular volume. CBC results help assess general health, detect disorders such as anemia or infection, monitor medical conditions, and guide treatment decisions. Reference ranges vary by age and sex and must be interpreted by clinicians in context with symptoms and medical history.

Cipher Block Chaining is a mode of operation for block ciphers in cryptography. It uses an initialization vector and a chain of ciphertext blocks in which each plaintext block is XORed with the previous ciphertext block before encryption. CBC provides confidentiality but relies on proper IV handling and authentication; misuse, such as predictable IVs or lack of integrity checks, can lead to vulnerabilities.

Context determines meaning, as CBC can refer to broadcasting, medicine, or cryptography in different settings.