MIS Midterm 2

Computing Hardware

Computing Hardware

Physical components of information technology, which includes the computer and the following peripherals: Storage devices Input Devices Output devices

Software

Computer program or collection of programs

Operating System

Software that controls the computer hardware and establishes standards for developing and executing applications

Applications

desktop applications, enterprise software, utilities, and other programs that perform specific tasks for users and organizations

Layering Cake (Top to Bottom)

User, Application, Operating System, Hardware

User Interface

Items like scroll bars and menus are displayed on the hardware of the computer display

Firmware

Software stored on nonvolatile memory chips

Embedded Systems

Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products

Platform

Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods

Desktop Software

Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user

Desktop Software

Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user

Enterprise Software

Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an organization or work group

Software Package

Software product offered commercially by a third party

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Software package that integrates the many functions of a business (includes Sales and Inventory, Manufacturing and Purchasing, Human Resources)

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain through delivery

Marginal Costs

The costs associated with each additional unit produced

open source software (OSS)

Software that is free and where anyone can look at and potentially modify the code

cloud computing

replacing computing with services provided over the Internet

software as a service (SaaS)

A form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online

Virtualization

Technology that can make a single computer behave like many separate computers. Helps consolidate computing resources and creates additional savings and efficiencies

Linux

An open source software operating system

LAMP

Linux, Apache Web server software, MySQL database, and any of the several programming languages that start with P (e.g., Perl/Python/PHP).

Security-focused

Technology products that contain particularly strong security features

Scalability

Ability to either handle increasing workloads or to be easily expanded to manage workload increases

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

All of the costs associated with the design, development, testing, implementation, documentation, training, and maintenance of a software system

utility computing

Firm develops its own software and then runs it over the Internet on a service provider’s computers

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Cloud providers offer services for customers to build their own applications on the provider’s infrastructure. Services include hardware, operating system, tools, and hosting

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Cloud providers offer services that include running the remote hardware, storage, and networking. Client firms can choose the software used

Cloudbursting

Use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand. It is a scalability solution that is provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed

Black Swans

Events that cannot be predicted but can cause an impact. Scalable computing resources can help a firm deal with spiking impact from Black swan events

Sever farm

A massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use. Provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS, hardware cloud efforts, and many large-scale Internet services

Virtualization

A type of software that allows a single computer or cluster of connected computers to function as if it were several different computers

Containers

A type of virtualization that allows for shared operating systems for more resource savings and faster execution

virtual desktops

Running an instance of a PC’s software on another machine and delivering the image of what is executing to the remote device

data harvesters

Cybercriminals who infiltrate systems and collect data for illegal resale

cash-out fraudsters

Criminals that purchase assets from data harvesters to be used for illegal financial gain. They might buy goods using stolen credit cards or create false accounts.

botnets

Hordes of surreptitiously infiltrated computers, controlled remotely

distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks

Shutting down websites with a crushing load of seemingly legitimate requests

hacktivists

Protester seeking to make a political point by leveraging technology tools, often through system infiltration, defacement, or damage

Hacker

A term that may be applied to either 1) someone who breaks into a computer, or 2) to a particularly clever programmer

white hat hackers

Someone who uncovers computer weaknesses without exploiting them. Contribute to improving system security. Share their knowledge in hopes that security will be improved

black hat hackers

Computer criminals

Phishing

Cons executed using technology, in order to acquire sensitive information or trick someone into installing malicious software

spoofed

Email transmissions and packets that have been altered to forge or disguise their origin or identity

zero-day exploits

New attacks that haven’t been clearly identified and haven’t been incorporated into security screening systems

biometrics

Measure and analyze human body characteristics for identification or authentication

multi-factor authentication

When identity is proven by presenting more than one item for proof of credentials

dumpster diving

Combing through trash to identify valuable assets

shoulder surfing

Gaining compromising information through observation

encryption

Scrambling data using a code, thereby hiding it from those who do not have the unlocking key

key

Code that unlocks encryption

brute-force attacks

Exhausts all possible password combinations to break into an account

public key encryption

Two key system used for securing electronic transmissions

certificate authority

Trusted third party that provides authentication services in public key encryption schemes

firewalls

Control network traffic, block unauthorized traffic

intrusion detection systems

Monitor network use for hacking attempts and take preventive action

honeypots

Tempting, bogus targets meant to lure hackers

blacklists

Deny the entry of specific IP addresses and other entities

whitelists

Permit communication only with approved entities or in an approved manner

bad apples

Rogue employees who steal secrets, install malware, or hold a firm hostage

Social Engineering

Con games that trick employees into revealing information or performing other tasks that compromise a firm

Voice-print

Technology that identifies users via unique characteristics in speech

CAPTCHAs

An acronym standing for completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart. The Turing test is, rather redundantly, an idea (rather than an official test) that one can create a test to tell computers apart from humans.

Push-Button Hacking

Tools to make it easy for criminals to automate attacks

Business Intelligence

A term combining aspects of reporting, data exploration and ad hoc queries, and sophisticated data modeling and analysis

Analytics

A term describing the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions

Machine Learning

A type of artificial intelligence that leverages massive amounts of data so that computers can improve the accuracy of actions that predictions on their own without additional programming

Dynamic Pricing

Changing pricing based on demand conditions

Data

raw facts and figures

Information

Data presented in a context so that it can answer a question or support decision-making

Knowledge

Insight derived from experience and expertise (based on data and information)

Database

A single table or a collection of related tables

database management systems (DBMS)

Sometimes referred to as database software; software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data

Structured query language (SQL)

A language used to create and manipulate databases

Database Administrator (DBA)

Job focused on directing, performing, or overseeing activities associated with a database or set of databases. These may include but not limited to: database design, creation, implementation, maintenance, backup and recovery, policy setting and enforcement, and security

Table or File

A list of data, arranged in columns and rows

column or field

In a database table andrepresent each category of data contained in a record

row or record

In a database table and represent a single instance of whatever the table keeps track of

Relational Databases

The most common standard for expressing databases, whereby tables (files) are related based on common keys

Serverless Computing

A type of cloud computing where a third-party vendor manages servers, replication, fault-tolerance, computing scalability, and certain aspects of security, freeing software developers to focus on building “Business Solutions” and eliminating the need to spend time and resources managing the technology complexity of much of the underlying “IT Solution”

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

Systems that record a transaction (some form of business-related exchange), such as a cash register sale, ATM withdrawal, or product return

Transaction

Some kind of business exchange

Loyalty Program / Loyalty Card

Systems that provide rewards and usage incentives, typically in exchange for a method that provides a more detailed tracking and recording of customer activity. In addition to enhancing data collection, loyalty cards can represent a significant switching cost

Artificial Intelligence

Computer software that seeks to reproduce or mimic (perhaps with improvements) human thought, decision-making, or brain functions

Data aggregators

Firms that collect and resell data

Legacy Systems

Older information systems that are often incompatible with other systems, technologies, and ways of conducting business. Incompatible legacy systems can be a major roadblock to turning data into information, and they can inhibit firm agility, holding back operational and strategic initiatives

Data warehouse

A set of databases designed to support decision-making in an organization

Data mart

A database or databases focused on addressing the concerns of a specific problem (e.g., increasing customer retention, improving product quality) or business unit (e.g., marketing, engineering)

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

A method of querying and reporting that takes data from standard relational databases, calculates and summarizes the data, and then stores the data in a special database called a data cube

Data Cube

A special database used to store data in OLAP reporting

Data Lake

A catch-all term for storage and access technologies used in Big Data. Are systems that allow for the storage of data in both structured as well as "raw," "unfiltered" formats. Also provide the tools to "pipe out" data, filter it, and refine it so that it can be turned into information

Hadoop

A set of mostly open source tools to manage massive amounts of unstructured data for storage, extraction, and computation

data cloud

Sometimes referred to as cloud data warehousing, this term refers to a cloud service that provides tools to extract and transform data from disparate sources so that it can be interrogated as need

ETL (Extract Transform Load)

copying data from multiple, disparately organized data sources, transforming (or cleaning) the data into a common format, and loading it into a combined usable format. Is a key step in getting data into a data warehouse or data mart

Snowflake

Is a cloud-hosted relational database for building data warehouses

e-discovery

The process of identifying and retrieving relevant electronic information to support litigation efforts

Query tools

A tool to interrogate a data source or multiple sources and return a subset of data, possibly summarized, based on a set of criteria

Python

A general purpose programming language that is also popular for data analytics

R

A programming language specifically created for analytics, statistical, and graphical computing