CIPT, CIPT - Certified Information Privacy Technologist, CIPT, IAPP-CIPT

Access Control List

A list of access control entries (ACE) that apply to an object. Each ACE controls or monitors access to an object by a specified user. In a discretionary access control list (DACL), the ACL controls access; in a system access control list (SACL) the ACL monitors access in a security event log which can comprise part of an audit trail.

Accountability

A fair information practices principle, it is the idea that when personal information is to be transferred to another person or organization, the personal information controller should obtain the consent of the individual or exercise due diligence and take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient person or organization will protect the information consistently with other fair use principles.

Active Data Collection

When an end user deliberately provides information, typically through the use of web forms, text boxes, check boxes or radio buttons.

AdChoices

A program run by the Digital Advertising Alliance to promote awareness and choice in advertising for internet users. Websites with ads from participating DAA members will have an AdChoices icon near advertisements or at the bottom of their pages. By clicking on the Adchoices icon, users may set preferences for behavioral advertising on that website or with DAA members generally across the web.

Adequate Level of Protection

A label that the EU may apply to third-party countries who have committed to protect data through domestic law making or international commitments. Conferring of the label requires a proposal by the European Commission, an Article 29 Working Group Opinion, an opinion of the article 31 Management Committee, a right of scrutiny by the European Parliament and adoption by the European Commission.

Advanced Encryption Standard

An encryption algorithm for security sensitive non-classified material by the U.S. Government. This algorithm was selected in 2001 to replace the previous algorithm, the Date Encryption Standard (DES), by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a unit of the U.S. Commerce Department, through an open competition. The winning algorithm (RijnDael, pronounced rain-dahl), was developed by two Belgian cryptographers, Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen.

Adverse Action

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the term "adverse action" is defined very broadly to include all business, credit and employment actions affecting consumers that can be considered to have a negative impact, such as denying or canceling credit or insurance, or denying employment or promotion. No adverse action occurs in a credit transaction where the creditor makes a counteroffer that is accepted by the consumer. Such an action requires that the decision maker furnish the recipient of the adverse action with a copy of the credit report leading to the adverse action.

Agile Development Model

A process of software system and product design that incorporates new system requirements during the actual creation of the system, as opposed to the Plan-Driven Development Model. Agile development takes a given project and focuses on specific portions to develop one at a time. An example of Agile development is the Scrum Model.

Anonymization

The process in which individually identifiable data is altered in such a way that it no longer can be related back to a given individual. Among many techniques, there are three primary ways that data is anonymized. Suppression is the most basic version of anonymization and it simply removes some identifying values from data to reduce its identifiability. Generalization takes specific identifying values and makes them broader, such as changing a specific age (18) to an age range (18-24). Noise addition takes identifying values from a given data set and switches them with identifying values from another individual in that data set. Note that all of these processes will not guarantee that data is no longer identifiable and have to be performed in such a way that does not harm the usability of the data.

Anonymous Data

Data sets that in no way indicate to whom the data belongs. Replacing user names with unique ID numbers DOES NOT make the data set anonymous even if identification seems impractical.

Antidiscrimination Laws

Refers to the right of people to be treated equally.

Application-Layer Attacks

Attacks that exploit flaws in the network applications installed on network servers. Such weaknesses exist in web browsers, e-mail server software, network routing software and other standard enterprise applications. Regularly applying patches and updates to applications may help prevent such attacks.

Asymmetric Encryption

A form of data encryption that uses two separate but related keys to encrypt data. The system uses a public key, made available to other parties, and a private key, which is kept by the first party. Decryption of data encrypted by the public key requires the use of the private key; decryption of the data encrypted by the private key requires the public key.

Attribute-Based Access Control

An authorization model that provides dynamic access control by assigning attributes to the users, the data, and the context in which the user requests access (also referred to as environmental factors) and analyzes these attributes together to determine access.

Audit Trail

A chain of electronic activity or sequence of paperwork used to monitor, track, record, or validate an activity. The term originates in accounting as a reference to the chain of paperwork used to validate or invalidate accounting entries. It has since been adapted for more general use in e-commerce, to track customer's activity, or cyber-security, to investigate cybercrimes.

Authentication

The process by which an entity (such as a person or computer system) determines whether another entity is who it claims to be. Authentication identified as an individual based on some credential; i.e. a password, biometrics, etc. Authentication is different from authorization. Proper authentication ensures that a person is who he or she claims to be, but it says nothing about the access rights of the individual.

Authorization

In the context of information security, it is process of determining if the end user is permitted to have access to the desired resource such as the information asset or the information system containing the asset. Authorization criteria may be based upon a variety of factors such as organizational role, level of security clearance, applicable law or a combination of factors. When effective, authentication validates that the entity requesting access is who or what it claims to be.

Basel III

A comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector.

Behavioral Advertising

The act of tracking users' online activities and then delivering ads or recommendations based upon the tracked activities. The most comprehensive form of targeted advertising. By building a profile on a user through their browsing habits such as sites they visit, articles read, searches made, ads previously clicked on, etc., advertising companies place ads pertaining to the known information about the user across all websites visited. Behavioral Advertising also uses data aggregation to place ads on websites that a user may not have shown interest in, but similar individuals had shown interest in.

Big Data

A term used to describe the large data sets which exponential growth in the amount and availability of data have allowed organizations to collect. Big data has been articulated as "the three V's: volume (the amount of data), velocity (the speed at which data may now be collected and analyzed), and variety (the format, structured or unstructured, and type of data, e.g. transactional or behavioral).

Biometrics

Data concerning the intrinsic physical or behavioral characteristics of an individual. Examples include DNA, fingerprints, retina and iris patterns, voice, face, handwriting, keystroke technique and gait.

Breach Disclosure

The requirement that a data controller notify regulators and victims of incidents affecting the confidentiality and security of personal data. It is a transparency mechanism highlights operational failures, this helps mitigate damage and aids in the understanding of causes of failure.

Bring Your Own Device

Use of employees' own personal computing devices for work purposes.

Browser Fingerprinting

As technology has advanced, it has become easier to differentiate between users just based on the given instance of the browser they are using. Each browser keeps some information about the elements it encounters on a given webpage. For instance, a browser will keep information on a text font so that the next time that font is encountered on a webpage, the information can be reproduced more easily. Because each of these saved elements have been accessed at different times and in different orders, each instance of a browser is to some extent unique. Tracking users using this kind of technology continues to become more prevalent.

Caching

The saving of local copies of downloaded content, reducing the need to repeatedly download content. To protect privacy, pages that display personal information should be set to prohibit caching.

California Online Privacy Protection Act

Requires that all websites catering to California citizens provide a privacy statement to visitors and a easy-to-find link to it on their web pages. Websites that carry personal data on children less than 18 years of age must permit those children to delete data collected about them. Websites also must inform visitors of the type of Do Not Track mechanisms they support or if they do not support any at all.

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998

A U.S. federal law that applies to the operators of commercial websites and online services that are directed to children under the age of 13. It also applies to general audience websites and online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children under the age of 13. COPPA requires these website operators: to post a privacy policy on the homepage of the website; provide notice about collection practices to parents; obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children; give parents a choice as to whether their child's personal information will be disclosed to third parties; provide parents access and the opportunity to delete the child's personal information and opt out of future collection or use of the information, and maintain the confidentiality, security and integrity of personal information collected from children.

Choice

An individual's ability to determine whether or how their personal information may be used or disclosed by the entity that collected the information. Also, the ability of an individual to limit certain uses of their personal information. For example; an individual may have choice about whether to permit a company to contact them or share their data with third parties. Can be express or implied.

Ciphertext

Encrypted (enciphered) data.

Cloud Computing

The storage of information on the Internet. Although it is an evolving concept, definitions typically include on-demand accessibility, scalability, and secure access from almost any location. Cloud storage presents unique security risks.

Collection Limitation

A fair information practices principle, it is the principle stating there should be limits to the collection of personal data, that any such data should be obtained by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the data subject.

Communications Privacy

One of the four classes of privacy, along with information privacy, bodily privacy and territorial privacy. It encompasses protection of the means of correspondence, including postal mail, telephone conversations, electronic e-mail and other forms of communicative behavior and apparatus.

Completeness Arguments

Used as a means of assuring compliance with privacy rules and policies in the design of new software systems. Completeness arguments take privacy rules and compare them to the system requirements that have been used to design a new software system. By pairing privacy rules with specific system requirements, necessary technical safeguards can be accounted for, preventing the software from being designed in such a way that would violate privacy policies and regulations.

Computer Forensics

The discipline of assessing and examining an information system for relevant clues even after it has been compromised by an exploit.

Concept of Operations

Used in Plan-driven Development Models, a Concept of Operations is a detailed outline of how a software product or system will work once it is fully operational. This is used to shape how a product or system will be designed and implemented.

Confidentiality

The obligation of an individual, organization or business to protect personal information and not misuse or wrongfully disclose that information.

Consent

This privacy requirement is one of the fair information practices. Individuals must be able to prevent the collection of their personal data, unless the disclosure is required by law. If an individual has choice (see Choice) about the use or disclosure of his or her information, consent is the individuals' way of giving permission for the use or disclosure. Consent may be affirmative; i.e., opt-in; or implied; i.e., the individual didn't opt out. (1) Explicit Consent: A requirement that an individual "signifies" his or her agreement with a data controller by some active communication between the parties. According to the EU Data Protection Directive, explicit consent is required for processing of sensitive information. Further, data controllers cannot infer consent from non-response to a communication. (2) Implicit Consent: Implied consent arises where consent may reasonably be inferred from the action or inaction of the individual.

Content Delivery Network

The servers that contain most or all of the visible elements of a web page and that are contacted to provide those elements. In the realm of advertising, a general ad server is contacted after a webpage is requested, that ad server looks up any known information on the user requesting to access the webpage.

Contextual Advertising

The most used form of targeted advertising on the internet. The content of the ad relies on the content of the webpage or the query entered by a user.

Contextual Integrity

A concept developed by Helen Nissenbaum, contextual integrity is a way to think about and quantify potential privacy risks in software systems and products. Contextual Integrity focuses on what consumer expectations are in a given situation and how the product or system differs from that expectation. The more a product or system deviates from those expectations, the more likely a consumer will perceive a privacy harm.

Cookie

A small text file stored on a client machine that may later be retrieved by a web server from the machine. Cookies allow web servers to keep track of the end user's browser activities, and connect individual web requests into a session. Cookies can also be used to prevent users from having to be authorized for every password protected page they access during a session by recording that they have successfully supplied their user name and password already. Cookies may be referred to as "first-party" (if they are placed by the website that is visited) or "third-party" (if they are placed by a party other than the visited website). Additionally, they may be referred to as "session cookies" if they are deleted when a session ends, or "persistent cookies" if they remain longer.

Cross-site Scripting

Code injected by malicious web users into web pages viewed by other users.

Cryptography

The science or practice of hiding information, usually through its transformation. Common cryptographic functions include: encryption, decryption, digital signature and non-repudiation.

Cryptosystem

The materials necessary to encrypt and decrypt a given message, usually consisting of the encryption algorithm and the security key.

Customer Access

A customer's ability to access the personal information collected on them as well as review, correct or delete any incorrect information.

Customer Data Integration

The consolidation and managing of customer information in all forms and from all sources allowable. CDI is a vital component of customer relationship management.

Customer Information

In contrast to employee information, customer information includes data relating to the clients of private-sector organizations, patients within the healthcare sector and the general public within the context of public-sector agencies that provide services.

Data Aggregation

Taking Individual data sets and combining them to statistically analyze data trends while protecting individual privacy by using groups of individuals with similar characteristics rather than isolating one individual at a time. To effectively aggregate data so that it cannot be re-identified (or at least make it difficult to do so) the data set should: (1) have a large population of individuals, (2) Categorized to create broad sets of individuals, and; (3) not include data that would be unique to a single individual in a data set.

Data Breach

The unauthorized acquisition of computerized data that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of personal information maintained by a data collector. Breaches do not include good faith acquisitions of personal information by an employee or agent of the data collector for a legitimate purpose of the data collector—provided the personal information is not used for a purpose unrelated to the data collector's business or subject to further unauthorized disclosure.

Data Centers

Facilities that store, manage and disseminate data and house a network's most critical systems. Data centers can serve either as a centralized facility for a single organization's data management functions or as a third-party provider for organization's data management needs.

Data Controller

An entity that has the authority over the processing of personal information. This entity is the focus of most obligations under privacy and data protection laws. It controls the use of personal data by determining the purposes for its use and the manner in which the data will be processed. The data controller may be an individual or an organization that is legally treated as an individual, such as a corporation or partnership.

Data Elements

The different types of personal information processed by data processors. Typical data elements include name, date of birth and numerical identifiers. Organizational data elements tied to both individuals as well as organizations include business addresses, business phone numbers, business e-mail addresses and related information.

Data Flow Diagrams

A graphical representation of the flow of data in an information system thus allowing the visualization of how the system operates to accomplish its purpose. DFDs are used both by systems analysts to design information systems and by management to model the flow of data within organizations.

Data Loss Prevention

Term used to describe both the strategy for ensuring end users do not disseminate sensitive information, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to outside ineligible sources and the software products that aid network administrators in controlling what data end users can transfer.

Data Masking

The process of de-identifying, anonymizing, or otherwise obscuring data so that the structure remains the same but the content is no longer sensitive in order to generate a data set that is useful for training or software testing purposes.

Data Matching

An activity that involves comparing personal data obtained from a variety of sources, including personal information banks, for the purpose of making decisions about the individuals to whom the data pertains.

Data Minimization Principle

A principal that a data controller should limit the collection of personal information to what is directly relevant and necessary to accomplish a specified purpose and only retain the data for as long as necessary to fulfill that purpose. The principle derives from Article 6.1(b) and (c) of Directive 95/46/EC and Article 4.1(b) and (c) of Regulation EC (No) 45/2001 of the European Union.

Data Processing

Any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data, such as collecting; recording; organizing; storing; adapting or altering; retrieving; consulting; using; disclosing by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making the data available; aligning or combining data, or blocking, erasing or destroying data. Not limited to automatic means.

Data Processor

An individual or organization that processes data on behalf of the data controller. Although they are often third-party providers, a data controller can also be a data processor.

Data Protection Authority

An official or body that ensures compliance with data protection laws and investigates alleged breaches of the laws' provisions.

Data Quality

A fair information practices principle, it is the principle that personal data should be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete and kept up-to-date. The quality of data is judged by four criteria: Does it meet the business needs?; Is it accurate?; Is it complete?, and is it recent? Data is of an appropriate quality if these criteria are satisfied for a particular application.

Data Recipient

A natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which processes personal data on behalf of the data controller.

Data Subject

The individual about whom information is being processed, such as the patient at a medical facility, the employee of a company or the customer of a retail store.

De-identification

An action that one takes to remove identifying characteristics from data. De-identified data is information that does not actually identify an individual. Some laws require specific identifiers to be removed (See HIPAA 165.514(b)(2)). Hashing is not enough to de-identify data

Declared Data

Personal information that is directly given to a social network or other website by a user.

Demographic Advertising

Web advertising based on information about an individual such as age, height, weight, geographic location or gender.

Digital Advertising Alliance

A non-profit organization that sets standards for consumer privacy, transparency and control in online advertising. Over 100 advertising companies participate in and comply with their standards. The DAA has an agreement with both the Council on Better Business Bureaus and the Direct Marketing Association to enforce the self-regulatory standards set down by the Digital Advertising Alliance including AdChoices, a programming offering user control over behavioral advertising.

Digital Fingerprinting

The use of log files to identify a website visitor. It is often used for security and system maintenance purposes. Log files generally include: the IP address of the visitor; a time stamp; the URL of the requested page or file; a referrer URL, and the visitor's web browser, operating system and font preferences. In some cases, combining this information can be used to "fingerprint" a device. This more detailed information varies enough among computing devices that two devices are unlikely to be the same. It is used as a security technique by financial institutions and others initiating additional security assurances before allowing users to log on from a new device. Some privacy enforcement agencies; however, have questioned what would constitute sufficient notice and consent for digital fingerprinting techniques to be used for targeted advertising.

Digital Rights Management

The management of access to and use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is often associated with the set of access control (denial) technologies. These technologies are utilized under the premise of defending copyrights and intellectual property but are considered controversial because they may often restrict users from utilizing digital content or devices in a manner allowable by law.

Digital Signature

A means for ensuring the authenticity of an electronic document, such as an e-mail, text file, spreadsheet or image file. If anything is changed in the electronic document after the digital signature is attached, the signature is rendered invalid.

Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications Act 2002/58EC

A continuation of policy directives for the European Union Member States as set forth in the Data Protection Directive. It has been amended by the Cookie Directive 2009/136EC, which added a requirement that all websites using tracking cookies obtain user consent unless the cookie is "strictly necessary for the delivery of a service requested by the use." This policy recognizes the importance of cookies for the functioning of modern websites while still making users aware of any tracking the user may not want to participate in.

Discretionary Access Control

A type of access control that allows an owner of an object, within a given computer-based information system, to grant or deny access.

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) Network

A firewall configuration for securing local area networks (LANs). In a DMZ configuration, there are a set of computers that act as a broker for traffic between the LAN and an outside network allowing the majority of computers to run safely behind a firewall. Thus these computers act as a broker similar to a joint security area in a political demilitarized zone.

Do Not Track

A proposed regulatory policy, similar to the existing Do Not Call Registry in the United States, which would allow consumers to opt out of web-usage tracking.

E-Commerce Websites

Websites with online ordering capabilities have special privacy advantages and risks. Unlike other web advertisers, E-Commerce websites have direct access to information regarding user purchases and payment information. While creating a great opportunity for targeted advertising, it also puts extra onus on these websites to protect user information.

Electronic Communications Data

Consists of three main categories of personal data: the content of a communication, traffic data, and location data.

Electronic Communications Network

Transmission systems, and, where applicable, switching or routing equipment and other resources that permit the conveyance of signals by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic means, including satellite networks; fixed and mobile terrestrial networks; electricity cable systems, to the extent that they are used for the purpose of transmitting signals; networks used for radio and television broadcasting, and cable television networks, irrespective of the type of information conveyed.

Electronic Communications Service

Any service which provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications.

Electronic Surveillance

Monitoring through electronic means; i.e., video surveillance, intercepting communications, stored communications or location based services.

Encryption

The process of obscuring information, often through the use of a cryptographic scheme in order to make the information unreadable without special knowledge; i.e., the use of code keys.

Encryption Key

A cryptographic algorithm applied to unencrypted text to disguise its value or to decrypt encrypted text.

End-User License Agreement

A contract between the owner of the software application and the user. The user agrees to pay for the use of the software and promises to comply with certain restrictions on that use.

Enterprise Architecture

A conceptual outline, blueprint, or diagram that defines the structure and the operation of an organization, normally in the context of developing a strategy for the realization of current and future goals or objectives.

EU Data Protection Directive

Several directives deal with personal data usage in the EU, but the most overarching is the general policy approved by the European Commission in 1995 (95/46EC) which protects individuals' privacy and personal data use. The Directive was adopted in 1995, became effective in 1998 and protects individuals' privacy and personal data use. The Directive recognizes the European view that privacy is a fundamental human right and establishes a general comprehensive legal framework that is aimed at protecting individuals and promoting individual choice regarding the processing of personal data. The Directive imposes an onerous set of requirements on any person that collects or processes data pertaining to individuals in their personal or professional capacity. It is based on a set of data protection principles, which include the legitimate basis, purpose limitation, data quality, proportionality and transparency principles, data security and confidentiality, data subjects' rights of access, rectification, deletion and objection, restrictions on onwards transfers, additional protection where special categories of data and direct marketing are involved and a prohibition on automated individual decisions. The Directive applies to all sectors of industry, from financial institutions to consumer goods companies, and from list brokers to any employer. The Directive's key provisions impose severe restrictions on personal data processing, grant individual rights to "data subjects" and set forth specific procedural obligations including notification to national authorities. This was followed in 1997 by a more specific directive for the telecom sector (97/66/EC), which was replaced in mid-2002 by the European institutions to adapt it to new technologies and business practices (2002/58/EC). The Directive has been supplemented by additional directives including a specific provision for e-commerce.

Extensible Markup Language

A markup language that facilitates the transport, creation, retrieval and storage of documents. Similar to HTML, XML uses tags to describe the contents of a web page or file. XML describes content of a web page in terms of the data that is being produced, potentially creating automatic processing of data in ways that may require attention for privacy issues, unlike HTML, which describes the content of a web page in terms of how it should be displayed.

Extranet

A network system formed through the connection of two or more corporate intranets. These external networks create inherent security risks, while often also meeting important organizational goals. An extranet opens a backdoor into the internal network and provides a third party with a level of trust. While these risks cannot be eliminated, they can be assessed, managed and mitigated. The foundation of this management is a thorough and detailed e-business contract that specifies who may access data, what data will be accessed and what security controls the partner has in place. It should also detail how shared devices will be managed, procedures for cooperating with technical staff in the event of problems and escalation procedures for resolving difficult technical problems.

Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan

Japanese legislation aimed at the financial services sector that established cross-sectional legislative framework for investor protections, enhanced disclosure requirements, provided guidelines for the management of self-regulatory operations by financial exchanges, and implemented strict countermeasures against unfair trading.

First-Party Collection

A data subject provides personal data to the collector directly, through a form or survey that is sent to the collector upon the data subject submitting the information

Flash

Software that is used to add animation and other visual effects to web-based content.

Functional System Requirements

Specific details about how a system should work, what inputs create what outputs, and design elements to be implemented. For example, "A system shall do processing of personal information to create user profiles."

GET Method

The GET and POST HTML method attributes specify how form data is sent to a web page. The GET method appends the form data to the URL in name/value pairs allowing passwords and other sensitive information collected in a form to be visible in the browser's address bar, and is thus less secure than the POST method.

Global Privacy Enforcement Network

GPEN aims to promote cross-border information sharing as well as investigation and enforcement cooperation among privacy authorities around the world. Another cross-border enforcement cooperation effort is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Globally Unique Identifier

An identifier that is one of a kind to a specific user. For example, biometric data or a loginID for a social network.

Hashing Functions

Or "hashing" is taking user identifications and converting them into an ordered system to track the user's activities without directly using personally identifiable information (PII). Hashing can be used to encrypt or map data; in the context of privacy, hashing is used in cryptographic hash functions and have many information security applications.

HTML

A content authoring language used to create web pages. Web browsers use HTML to interpret and render visible and audible content from the web pages. Document "tags" can be used to format and lay out web page content and to "hyperlink"—connect dynamically—to other web content. Forms, links, pictures and text may all be added with minimal commands. Headings are also embedded into the text and are used by web servers to process commands and return data with each request.

Hyperlink

Linked graphic or text that is used to connect an end user to other websites, parts of websites or web-enabled services. The URL of a web location is embedded in the HTML code, so that when certain words or images are selected through the web browser, the end user is transported to the destination website or page.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

A networking language that manages data packets over the Internet. It defines how messages are formatted and transmitted over a TCP/IP network for websites. Further, it defines what actions Web servers and web browsers take in response to various commands.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure

A secure network communication method, technically not a protocol in itself, HTTPS is the result of layering the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) on top of the SSL/TLS protocol, thus adding the security capabilities of SSL/TLS to standard HTTP communications.

Identifiability

The degree to which a user is identified by an authentication system. The more unique (identifiable), the easier that user is tracked or targeted. The less identifiable, the easier it is to falsely authorize a non-user.

Identifiers

Codes or strings used to represent an individual, device or browser.