Information Security

Time-based Model of Information Security

A combination of preventative, detective, and corrective controls that allows an organization to recognize an attack quickly enough to respond before information assets are lost

Defense-in-depth

Employing multiple layers of controls to avoid a single point of failure

Authentication

Verifying the identity of the person or device attempting to enter a system

Biometric Identifier

A physical or behavioral characteristic used as an authentication credential

Multifactor Authentication

The use of two or more types of authentication credentials for greater security

Multimodal Authentication

The use of multiple authentication credentials of the same type for greater security

Authorization

Restricting access of authenticated users to specific portions of the system and limiting what actions they can do

Access Control Matrix

A table used to implement authorization controls

Compatibility Test

Matching a user’s authentication credentials against the access control matrix to determine whether or not to grant their request for access or a certain action

Border Router

A device that connects an information system to the internet

Firewall

A special-purpose device that controls inbound and outbound communication between the system behind the firewall and other networks

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

A network located outside an organization’s internal information system that permits controlled access from the internet

Router

Devices designed to read the source and destination address fields in IP packet headers to decide where to send the packet next

Access Control List

Sets of if-then rules used to decide what to do with arriving packets

Packet Filtering

A process that uses fields in a packet’s IP and TCP headers to decide what to do next with it

Deep Packet Inspection

A process that examines data in the body of a TCP packet to decide what to do with it

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

Software or hardware that monitors traffic flow to identify and automatically block attacks

Endpoints

Workstations, printers, servers, and other devices that make up an organization’s network

Vulnerability Scanners

Automated tools that identify whether systems have unused or unnecessary programs that could be potential security threats

Exploit

A program designed to take advantage of a known vulnerability

Patch

Code released by developers that fixes a particular vulnerability

Patch Management

The process of regularly applying patches and updates to software

Hardening

The process of modifying the default configuration of endpoints to eliminate unnecessary settings and services

Zero Trust

A philosophy that every system can be infiltrated, and every employee can be impersonated. The system follows a “never trust, always verify” design to control access.

Fault Tolerance

The capability of a system to continue working even when there is a hardware failure

Redundant Arrays of Independent Drives (RAID)

A fault tolerance technique where data is recorded on multiple disk drives to reduce the risk of data loss

Uninterruptible Power Supply

An alternative power source that protects against loss or fluctuations in power by using battery power to allow the system to operate long enough to back up critical data before safely shutting down

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

The amount of data a company is willing to reenter or possibly lose

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

The maximum amount of time a company is willing to function without an information system in the face of its loss following a disaster

Full Backup

An exact copy of an entire database

Incremental Backup

A partial backup that copies the data items that have been changed since the last incremental backup

Differential Backup

A partial backup that copies all changes made since the last full backup

Deduplication

A process that uses hashing to identify and backup portions of a database that have been updated since the last backup

Archive

A copy of a database, software, or master file that is retained indefinitely as a historical record for legal and regulatory purposes

Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)

A plan to restore an organization’s IT capabilities should its data center be destroyed

Cold Site

A disaster recovery option: an alternate facility prewired for necessary telephone and internet capabilities but without any computing equipment

Hot Site

A disaster recovery option: an alternate facility that is a completely operational data center with all necessary hardware and software

Real-time Mirroring

Maintaining complete copies of a database in two separate data centers and updating both in real time as transactions occur

Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

A plan that specifies how to resume all business processes should a major calamity occur

Check Digit

A final digit computed from all the other digits in an identification number