Using MIS Chapter 12 Flashcards
Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)
A sophisticated, possibly long-running, computer hack that is perpetrated by large, well-funded organizations like governments. APTs are a means to engage in cyberwarfare.
Adware
Programs installed on the user’s computer without the user’s knowledge or permission that reside in the background and, unknown to the user, observe the user’s actions and keystrokes, modify computer activity, and report the user’s activities to sponsoring organizations. Most Adware is benign in that it does not perform malicious acts or steal data. It does, however, watch user activity and produce pop-up ads.
Asymmetric Encryption
An encryption method whereby different keys are used to encode and to decode the message; one key encodes the message, and the other key decodes the message. Asymmetric encryption is slower and more complicated than symmetric encryption.
Authentication
The process whereby an information system verifies (validates) a user.
Biometric Authentication
The use of personal physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial features, and retinal scans, to authenticate users.
Brute Force Attack
A password-cracking program that tries every possible combination of characters.
Cookies
A small file that is stored on the user’s computer by a browser. Cookies can be used for authentication, for storing shopping cart contents and user preferences, and for other legitimate purposes. Cookies can also be used to implement spyware.
Data Administration
An organization-wide function that develops and enforces data policies and standards.
Data Safeguards
Measures used to protect databases and other data assets from threats. Includes data rights and responsibilities, encryptions, backup and recovery, and physical security.
Database Administration
A person or department that develops procedures and practices to ensure efficient and orderly multiuser processing of the database, to control changes to database structure, and to protect the database.
Denial of Service (DOS)
Security problem in which users are not able to access an information system; can be caused by human errors, natural disaster, or malicious activity.
Drive-by-Sniffer
A person who takes a computer with a wireless connection through an area and searches for unprotected wireless networks in an attempt to gain free Internet access or to gather unauthorized data.
Email Spoofing
A synonym for ‘phishing’. A technique for obtaining unauthorized data that uses pretexting via email. The phisher pretends to be a legitimate company and sends email requests for confidential data, such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, account passwords, and so forth. Phishers direct traffic to their sites under the guise of a legitimate business.
Encryption
The process of transforming clear text into coded, unintelligible text for secure storage or communication.
Encryption Algorithms
Algorithms used to transform clear text into coded, unintelligible text for secure storage or communication.
FIDO
Fast Identity OnLine. A set of open standards and protocols under development as an alternative to password authentication.
Firewall
Computing devices located between public and private networks that prevent unauthorized access to or from the internal network. A firewall can be a special purpose computer or it can be a program on a general-purpose computer or on a router.
Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act
Passed by Congress in 1999, this act protects consumer financial data stored by financial institutions, which are defined as banks, securities firms, insurance companies, and organizations that provide financial advice, prepare tax returns, and provide similar financial services.
Hacking
A form of computer crime in which a person gains unauthorized access to a computer system. Although some people hack for the sheer joy of doing it, other hackers invade systems for the malicious purpose of stealing or modifying data.
Hardening
A term used to describe server operating systems that have been modified to make them especially difficult for them to be infiltrated by malware.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA)
The privacy provisions of this 1996 act give individuals the right to access health data created by doctors and other health-care providers. HIPAA also sets rules and limits on who can read and receive a person’s health information.
Honeypots
False targets for computer criminals to attack. To an intruder, a honeypot looks like a particularly valuable resource, such as an unprotected Web site, but in actuality the only site content is a program that determines the attacker’s IP address.
https
An indication that a Web browser is using the SSL/TLS protocol to provide secure communication.
Human Safeguards
Steps taken to protect against security threats by establishing appropriate procedures for users to following during system use.
Identification
The process whereby an information system identifies a user by requiring the user to sign on with a user name and password.
Internal Firewalls
Firewalls that sit inside the organizational network.
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
A computer program that senses when another computer is attempting to scan the disk or otherwise access a computer.
IP Spoofing
A type of spoofing whereby an intruder uses another site’s IP address as if it were that other site.
Key
A number used to encrypt data. The encryption algorithm applies the key to the original message to produce the coded message. Decoding (decrypting) a message is similar; a key is applied to the coded message to recover the original text.
Key Escrow
A control procedure whereby a trusted party is given a copy of a key used to encrypt database data.
Malware
Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and adware.
Malware Definitions
Patterns that exist in malware code. Antimalware vendors update these definitions continuously and incorporate them into their products in order to better fight against malware.
Packet-Filtering Firewall
A firewall that examines each packet and determines whether to let the packet pass. To make this decision, it examines the source address, the destination addresses, and other data.
Payload
The program codes of a virus that causes unwanted or hurtful actions, such as deleting programs or data, or even worse, modifying data in ways that are undetected by the user.
Perimeter Firewall
A firewall that sits outside the organizational network; it is the first device that Internet traffic encounters.