Glossary

An inference attack is a data mining technique used to illegally access information about a subject or database by analyzing data. This is an example of breached information security. Such an attack occurs when a user is able to deduce key or critical information of a database from trivial information without directly accessing it.

See also: Inference Attack

Ingress filtering is used to ensure that all incoming packets (of data) are from the networks from which they claim to originate. Network ingress filtering is a commonly used packet filtering technique by many Internet service providers to prevent any source address deceiving. This helps in combating several net abuse or crimes by making Internet traffic traceable to its source.

See also: Ingress Filtering

Input Validations Attacks are when an attacker purposefully sends strange inputs to confuse a web application. Input validation routines serve as the first line of defence for such attacks. Examples of input validation attacks include buffer overflow, directory traversal, cross-site scripting and SQL injection.

See also: Input Validations Attacks

The Internet Protocol (IP) is a communication protocol that is used for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. It has routing function which enables inter-networking, and essentially establishes the Internet.

Intrusion Detection (ID) is a security management system for computers and networks. An ID system gathers and analyses information a computer or a network to identify possible security breaches which include both intrusions and misuse. This system uses vulnerability assessment which is a technology developed to assess the security of a computer system or network.

See also: ID

An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label that is assigned to each device that is using Internet Protocol or any other protocol and is connected to an Internet network. An IP address serves two basic functions, that is, host or network interface identification and location addressing.

IP Spoofing is also known as IP address forgery or a host file hijack. It is a hijacking technique where a hacker impersonates as a trusted host to conceal his identity, spoof a Web site, hijack browsers, or gain access to a network.

See also: IP Spoofing

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body that is composed of voluntary representatives from various national standards organizations.

See also: ISO

The kernel is a computer program that is the core of a computer's operating system, with complete control over everything in the system. On most systems, it is one of the first programs loaded on start-up (after the bootloader). It handles the rest of start-up as well as input/output requests from software, translating them into data-processing instructions for the central processing unit. It handles memory and peripherals like keyboards, monitors, printers, and speakers.

See also: Kernel 

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol used for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an IP network.

See also: LDAP

Log clipping is the selective removal of log entries from a system log to hide a compromise.

A logic bomb is a piece of code that is deliberately inserted into a system to trigger a malicious program. Viruses and worms often contain logic bombs that execute a certain payload at a pre-defined time or when some other condition is met. Some viruses attack their host systems on specific dates, such as Friday the 13th or April Fools’ Day. Trojans that activate on certain dates are often called Time Bombs.

See also: Logic Bomb

A Media Access Control address (MAC address) is also known as the physical address and is a unique identifier assigned to the network interface for communication. MAC addresses are generally used as a network address for most IEEE 802 network technologies (including Ethernet and WiFi). MAC addresses are used in the media access control protocol sub-layer of the OSI reference model.

See also: MAC

Malicious code is any code in any part of a software system or script that is intended to cause undesired effects, security breaches, or damage to a system. Such codes actually gain unauthorised access to system resources or tricks a user into executing other malicious logic. Malicious code describes a broad category of system security terms that includes attack scripts, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, backdoors, and malicious active content.

Malware is a short term used for malicious software. Malware is defined as any software that is used to interrupt or disrupt computer operations, gather sensitive information, or gain access to certain files or programs.

Mandatory Access Control (MAC) is a security approach that contains the ability of an individual resource owner to grant or deny access to resources or files on the system. Whenever a user tries to access an object, an authorisation rule is enforced by the OS. Kernel examines these security aspects and decides whether the user can access or not. Any operation by any user is typically tested against a set of authorisation rules (aka policy) to determine if the operation is allowed.

See also: MAC

A masquerade attack is any attack that uses a forged identity (such as a network identity) to gain unofficial access to a personal or organisational computer. Masquerade attacks are generally performed by using either stolen passwords and logons, locating gaps in programs, or finding a way around the authentication process. Such attacks are triggered either by someone within the organisation or by an outsider if the organisation is connected to a public network.

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an open standards organization, which develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards, in particular the standards that comprise the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP).[2] It has no formal membership or membership requirements. All participants and managers are volunteers, though their work is usually funded by their employers or sponsors.

See also: IETF

The Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) is a probability model based on engineering concepts that allows one to estimate the impact of a given action on an environment. MOE quantifies the results to be obtained by a system and may be expressed as probabilities that the system will perform as required.

Monoculture is the case where a large number of users run the same software, and are vulnerable to the same attacks.