Key Information Technology Terms

• Here are key Information Technology terms and definitions

Access Governance

• Focuses on the management and reduction of risks associated with unnecessary data access.

Administrative Control

• Include directives, guidelines and advisories for people within an organization.
• It provides frameworks, constraints, and standards.

Adverse Events

• Negative occurrences include system crashes, network packet floods, or unauthorized use of system privileges.

Audit Trail

• Chronological records offer documentary evidence of activities in a program, workflow, or event.

Authentication

• Verifies or proves a user’s identity.

Availability

• Timely and reliable access to information and the ability to use it.
• For authorized users, timely and reliable access to data and services

Breach

• Loss of control, unauthorized disclosure, or acquisition of personally identifiable information.

Cloud Computing

• Improves efficiencies and reduces infrastructure costs by storing and processing data over the internet.

De-Encapsulation

• When data moves up the OSI model layers from Physical to Application

Disaster Recovery Plan

• Encompasses policies and procedures to recover an organization’s critical functions after a disaster.

Encapsulation

• Adding header and possibly footer (trailer) data by a protocol at a layer of the OSI model.

Endpoints

• The ends of a network communication link.

Ethernet

• A standard defining wired network connections and data formatting for communication.

Event

• Any observable occurrence in a network or system.

Exploit

• An attack that takes advantage of system vulnerabilities.

Firewall

• Manages and controls network traffic to protect the network.

Infrastructure

• Can be on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid of both.

Incident

• An event that jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information.

Integrity

• The degree to which something is whole, complete, internally consistent, and correct.

Intrusion

• A deliberate security event where an intruder gains unauthorized access to a system.

Logical Port

• An address number used in communication links for transferring data.

Lower Layer

• The media or transport layer is responsible for receiving bits from a physical connection.

Network Interface Layer

• The layer in TCP/IP that determines how data moves through a network.

OSI Model

• A standard communication framework for interconnected computer systems.

Presentation Layer

• An OSI model layer is responsible for data format conversion, such as handling JPEG or PNG files.

Principle of Least Privilege

• Permits only the minimum access necessary for users or programs.

Privacy

• The right of individuals to control the distribution of their personal information.

Privileged Accounts

• User accounts with higher access permissions, such as managers and administrators.

Procedure

• Detailed steps are required to complete a task in support of policies.

Regulation

• Laws, usually from the government, carrying financial penalties for noncompliance.

Risk

• The measure of potential threats an entity may face.

Risk Acceptance

• Choosing not to take action against a risk due to its negligible impact or outweighing benefits.

Risk Assessment

• Identifying, estimating, and prioritizing risks to an organization’s operations.

Risk Avoidance

• Attempting to eliminate a risk entirely, possibly by ceasing a particular activity.

Risk Mitigation

• Taking actions to prevent or reduce the impact of a risk event.

Risk Transference

• Passing a risk to another party, often through insurance.

Risk Treatment

• Making decisions about the best actions regarding identified risks.

Security Controls

• Physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect information systems.

Segregation of Duties

• Ensuring no single person controls an entire high-risk transaction from start to finish.

Sensitivity

• The importance assigned to information based on its need for protection.

Session Layer

• An OSI model layer is responsible for managing network sessions, such as NetBIOS.

Side Channel

• A passive, noninvasive attack using power monitoring, timing, or fault analysis.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

• Used for managing infrastructure devices via data exchange.

Switch

• A wired network device that directs traffic to specific connected devices instead of broadcasting to all.

Technical Controls

• Security controls implemented by computer systems and networks to prevent unauthorized access.

Threat

• An entity aiming to exploit a vulnerability and bypass security.

Transport Layer

• The TCP/IP layer that moves data between devices.

Upper Layer

• Also called the host or application layer in network models.

Vulnerability

• An inherent weakness in a system that could lead to a security breach.

Zero Day

• A previously unknown vulnerability that hackers can exploit before detection or prevention.

Definitions for different IT related terms. The terms include Access Governance, Administrative Control, Adverse Events to name a few. These terms are important within the IT and security fields.