GLOSSARY Flashcards
Access Controls
Controls that restrict unauthorized individuals from using information resources and are concerned with user identification.
Accountability
A tenet of ethics that refers to determining who is responsible for actions that were taken.
Adware
Alien software designed to help pop-up advertisements appear on your screen.
Agile development
A software development methodology that delivers functionality in rapid iterations, measured in weeks, requiring frequent communication, development, testing, and delivery.
Alien software
Clandestine software that is installed on your computer through duplicitous methods.
Anti-malware systems
(or antivirus software) Software packages that attempt to identify and eliminate viruses, worms, and other malicious software.
Application
(or app) A computer program designed to support a specific task or business process.
Application controls
Security countermeasures that protect specific applications in functional areas.
Application portfolio
The set of recommended applications resulting from the planning and justification process in application development.
Application service provider
An agent or vendor that assembles the software needed by enterprises and packages them with outsourced development, operations, maintenance, and other services.
Application software
Application software The class of computer instructions that directs a computer system to perform specific processing activities and provide functionality for users.
Arithmetic logic unit
Portion of the CPU that performs the mathematical calculations and makes logical comparisons.
Attribute
Each characteristic or quality of a particular entity.
Auction
A competitive process in which either a seller solicits consecutive bids from buyers or a buyer solicits bids from sellers, and prices are determined dynamically by competitive bidding.
Audit
The accumulation and evaluation of evidence that is used to prepare a report about the information or controls that are being examined, using established criteria and standards.
Augmented reality
A live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are enhanced by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics, or GPS data.
Authentication
A process that determines the identity of the person requiring access.
Authorization
A process that determines which actions, rights, or privileges the person has, based on verified identity.
Back door
(or trap door) Typically a password, known only to the attacker, that allows the attacker to access the system without having to go through any security procedures.
Banners
Electronic billboards, which typically contain a short text or graphical message to promote a product or a vendor.
Best practices
The most effective and efficient ways to do things.
Big Data
A collection of data so large and complex that it is difficult to manage using traditional database management systems.
Binary relationship
A relationship that exists when two entities are associated.
Biometrics
The science and technology of authentication (i.e., establishing the identity of an individual) by measuring the subject’s physiological or behavioural characteristics.
Bit
Short for Binary digit (0s and 1s), the only data that a CPU can process.
Blacklisting
A process in which a company identifies certain types of software that are not allowed to run in the company environment.
Blog
(or weblog) A personal website, open to the public, in which the site creator expresses his or her feelings or opinions with a series of chronological entries.
Blogosphere
The millions of blogs on the Web.
Bot
(or zombie) A computer that has been compromised by, and is under the control of, a hacker.
Botnet
A network of computers that has been compromised by, and is under the control of, a hacker, who is called the botmaster.
Bricks-and-mortar organizations
Organizations in which the product, the process, and the delivery agent are all physical.
Business continuity planning
The chain of events linking planning to protection and to recovery.
Business environment
The combination of social, legal, economic, physical, and political factors in which businesses conduct their operations.
Business intelligence system
A system that provides computer-based support for complex, nonroutine decisions, primarily for middle managers and knowledge workers.
Business model
The method by which a company generates revenue to sustain itself.
Business process
A collection of related activities that create a product or a service of value to the organization, its business partners, and/or its customers.
Business process improvement
An incremental approach to improving business processes. It looks for root causes to problems in process inputs, the process itself, or in process outputs, resulting in less radical and less disruptive business changes.
Business process management
A management technique that includes methods and tools to support the design, analysis, implementation, management, and optimization of business processes.
Business process reengineering
A radical redesign of a business process that improves its efficiency and effectiveness, often by beginning with a “clean sheet” (i.e., from scratch).
Business rules
Precise descriptions of policies, procedures, or principles in any organization that stores and uses data to generate information.
Business-information technology alignment
The tight integration of the IT function with the strategy, mission, and goals of the organization.
Business-to-business electronic commerce
Electronic commerce in which both the sellers and the buyers are business organizations.
Business-to-consumer electronic commerce
Electronic commerce in which the sellers are organizations and the buyers are individuals.
Business-to-employee electronic commerce
An organization using electronic commerce internally to provide information and services to its employees.
Buy-side marketplace
Business-to-business model in which organizations buy needed products or services from other organizations electronically, often through a reverse auction.
Byte
An 8-bit string of data, needed to represent any one alphanumeric character or simple mathematical operation.
Cache memory
A type of high-speed memory that enables the computer to temporarily store blocks of data that are used more often and that a processor can access more rapidly than main memory (random access memory).
Cardinality
The uniqueness of data values with a column in a database. High cardinality means that the column has mostly unique values. Low cardinality means that the column has several “repeats” in its data range.
Central processing unit (CPU)
Hardware that performs the actual computation or “number crunching” inside any computer.
Certificate authority
A third party that acts as a trusted intermediary between computers (and companies) by issuing digital certificates and verifying the worth and integrity of the certificates.
Channel conflict
The alienation of existing distributors when a company decides to sell to customers directly online.
Clicks-and-mortar organizations
Organizations that do business in both the physical and digital dimensions.
Clickstream data
Data collected about user behaviour and browsing patterns by monitoring users’ activities when they visit a website.
Cloud computing
A technology in which tasks are performed by computers physically removed from the user and accessed over a network, in particular the Internet.
Code of ethics
A collection of principles intended to guide decision making by members of an organization.
Collaborative consumption
Peer-to-peer sharing or renting.
Communications controls
(or network controls) Controls that deal with the movement of data across networks.
Competitive advantage
An advantage over competitors in some measure such as cost, quality, or speed; leads to control of a market and to larger-than-average profits.
Competitive forces model
A business framework devised by Michael Porter that analyzes competitiveness by recognizing five major forces that could endanger a company’s position.
Component-based development
A software development methodology that uses standard components to build applications.
Computer programs
The sequences of instructions for the computer, which comprise software.
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
A software development approach that uses specialized tools to automate many of the tasks in the systems development life cycle; upper CASE tools automate the early stages of the life cycle and lower CASE tools automate the later stages.
Computer-based information system
An information system that uses computer technology to perform some or all of its intended tasks.
Connectivity
The classification of a relationship: one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.
Consumer-to-consumer electronic commerce
Electronic commerce in which both the buyer and the seller are individuals (not businesses).
Continuous application development
The process of steadily adding new computer code to a software project when the new computer code is ready.
Control environment
Controls that encompass management attitudes toward controls, as evidenced by management actions, as well as by stated policies and procedures that address ethical issues and the quality of supervision.
Control unit
Portion of the CPU that controls the flow of information.
Controls
(or countermeasures) Defence mechanisms used to safeguard assets, optimize the use of the organization’s resources, and prevent or detect errors or fraud.
Cookies
Small amounts of information that websites store on your computer, temporarily or more or less permanently.
Copyright
A grant that provides the creator of intellectual property with ownership of it for a specified period of time, currently the life of the creator plus 50 years.
Cross-functional business process
A process in which no single functional area is responsible for a process’s completion; multiple functional areas collaborate to perform the function.
Cybercrime
Illegal activities executed on the Internet.
Cybersquatting
Registering domain names in the hope of selling them later at a higher price.
Cyberterrorism
A premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data that results in violence against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.
Cyberwarfare
War in which a country’s information systems could be paralyzed from a massive attack by destructive software.
Dashboard
(or digital dashboard) A special form of IS that supports all managers of the organization by providing rapid access to timely information and direct access to structured information in the form of reports.
Data dictionary
A collection of definitions of data elements; data characteristics that use the data elements; and the individuals, business functions, applications, and reports that use these data elements.
Data file
(or table) A collection of logically related records.
Data governance
An approach to managing information across an entire organization.
Data items
An elementary description of things, events, activities, and transactions that are recorded, classified, and stored but are not organized to convey any specific meaning.
Data mart
A low-cost, scaled-down version of a data warehouse that is designed for the end-user needs in a strategic business unit (SBU) or a department.
Data model
A diagram that represents entities in the database and their relationships.
Data warehouse
A repository of historical data that are organized by subject to support decision makers in the organization.
Database
A collection of related files or tables containing data.
Database management system (DBMS)
The software program (or group of programs) that provides access to a database.
Demilitarized zone
A separate organizational local area network that is located between an organization’s internal network and an external network, usually the Internet.
Denial-of-service attack
A cyberattack in which an attacker sends a flood of data packets to the target computer, with the aim of overloading its resources.
Digital certificate
An electronic document attached to a file certifying that this file is from the organization it claims to be from and has not been modified from its original format or content.
Digital divide
The gap between those who have access to information and communications technology and those who do not.
Digital dossier
An electronic description of an individual and his or her habits.
Digital wallet
An application used for making online payments
Direct conversion
A systems implementation process in which the old system is cut off and the new system is turned on at a certain point in time.
Disintermediation
Elimination of intermediaries in electronic commerce.
Distributed denial-of-service attack
A denial-of-service attack that sends a flood of data packets from many compromised computers simultaneously.
Documentation
Written description of the functions of a software program.
E-government
The use of electronic commerce to deliver information and public services to citizens, business partners, and suppliers of government entities, and those working in the public sector.
E-procurement
Purchasing by using electronic support.
Electronic banking
(or cyberbanking) Various banking activities conducted electronically from home, a business, or on the road instead of at a physical bank location.
Electronic business
(or e-business) A broader definition of electronic commerce, including buying and selling of goods and services, and servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, conducting e-learning, and conducting electronic transactions within an organization.
Electronic commerce
(or EC or e-commerce) The process of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging products, services, or information via computer networks, including the Internet.
Electronic commerce systems
A type of interorganizational information system that enables organizations to conduct transactions, called business-to-business electronic commerce, and customers to conduct transactions with businesses, called business-to-consumer electronic commerce.
Electronic mall
(or cybermall or e-mall) A collection of individual shops under one Internet address.
Electronic marketplace
A virtual market space on the Web where many buyers and many sellers conduct electronic business activities.
Electronic payment mechanisms
Computer-based systems that allow customers to pay for goods and services electronically, rather than writing a cheque or using cash.
Electronic retailing
(or e-tailing) The direct sale of products and services through storefronts or electronic malls to the end customer, usually designed around an electronic catalogue format and/or auctions.
Electronic storefront
The website of a single company, with its own Internet address, at which orders can be placed.
Electronic surveillance
Tracking people’s activities with the aid of computers.
Employee monitoring systems
Systems that monitor employees’ computers, email activities, and Internet surfing activities.
Encryption
The process of converting an original message into a form that cannot be read by anyone except the intended receiver.
End-user development
A software development approach in which the organization’s end users develop their own applications with little or no formal assistance from the IT department.
Enterprise resource planning systems
Information systems that correct a lack of communication among the functional area ISs by tightly integrating the functional area ISs via a common database.
Entity
Any person, place, thing, or event of interest to a user.
Entity-relationship (ER) diagram
A document that shows data entities and attributes and relationships among them.
Entity-relationship (ER) modelling
The process of designing a database by organizing data entities to be used and identifying the relationships among them.
Entry barrier
Product or service feature that customers expect from organizations in a certain industry; an organization trying to enter this market must provide this product or service at a minimum to be able to compete.
Ergonomics
The science of adapting machines and work environments to people; it focuses on creating an environment that is safe, well lit, and comfortable.
Ethics
The principles of right and wrong that individuals use to make choices to guide their behaviours.
Exchanges
(or Public exchanges) Electronic marketplaces in which there are many sellers and many buyers, and entry is open to all; frequently owned and operated by a third party.
Expert system
A system that attempts to duplicate the work of human experts by applying reasoning capabilities, knowledge, and expertise within a specific domain.
Explicit knowledge
The more objective, rational, and technical types of knowledge.
Exposure
The harm, loss, or damage that can result if a threat compromises an information resource.
Extensible markup language (XML)
A computer language that makes it easier to exchange data among a variety of applications and to validate and interpret these data.
Fat clients
Computers that offer full functionality without having to connect to a network.
Feasibility study
An investigation that gauges the probability of success of a proposed project and provides a rough assessment of the project’s feasibility.
Field
A characteristic of interest that describes an entity.
Firewall
A system (either hardware, software, or a combination of both) that prevents a specific type of information from moving between untrusted networks, such as the Internet, and private networks, such as your company’s network.
Flash memory devices
Nonvolatile electronic storage devices that are compact, are portable, require little power, and contain no moving parts.
Foreign key
A field (or group of fields) in one table that uniquely identifies a row (or record) of another table.
Forward auction
Auction that sellers use as a selling channel to many potential buyers; the highest bidder wins the items.
Functional area information system
A system that supports a particular functional area within the organization.
Functional dependency
A means of expressing that the value of one particular attribute is associated with, or determines, a specific single value of another attribute.
General controls
Controls that apply to more than one functional area.
Gesture recognition
An input method that interprets human gestures, in an attempt for computers to begin to understand human body language.