BUS3620 Management Information Systems Exam 2

Essentials of MIS Ch. 5-8 & Quantifying the Qualitative Ch. 1-2 Key Terms

Data center

Facility housing computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications, storage and security systems, and backup power supplies.

Legacy systems

Systems that have been in existence for a long time and that continue to be used to avoid the high cost of replacing or redesigning them.

Server

Computer specifically optimized to provide software and other resources to other computers over a network.

Nanotechnology

Technology that builds structures and processes based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules.

Supercomputer

Highly sophisticated and powerful computer that can perform very complex computations extremely rapidly.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software hosted by a vendor on the vendor’s cloud infrastructure and delivered as a service on a subscription fee basis to end users who access them via a web browser.

Public cloud

Cloud computing model in which the cloud infrastructure is maintained by a cloud service provider and made available to outside organizations and/or the general public.

Private cloud

Cloud computing model in which the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for the benefit of a single organization.

On-demand computing

Firms off-loading peak demand for computing power to remote, large-scale data processing centers, investing just enough to handle average processing loads and paying for only as much additional computing power as they need. Also called utility computing.

Hybrid cloud

Cloud computing model in which firms use both their own IT infrastructure and public cloud computing services.

Edge computing

Method of optimizing cloud computing systems by performing some data processing on a set of linked servers at the edge of the network, near the source of the data.

Operating system

The system software that manages and controls the activities of the computer.

Open-source software

Software that provides free access to its program code, allowing users to modify the program code in order to make improvements or fix errors.

Scalability

The ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a larger number of users without breaking down.

Outsourcing

The practice of contracting computer center operations, telecommunications networks, applications development, or management of all components of an IT infrastructure, to external vendors.

Bit

A binary digit representing the smallest unit of data in a computer system. It can have only one of two states, representing 0 or 1.

Byte

Group of bits that represents a single character, which can be a letter, number, or other symbol.

Field

A grouping of characters into a word, a group of words, or a complete number, such as a person’s name or age.

Record

Group of related fields.

File

Group of records of the same type.

Database

A group of related files.

Entity

A person, place, thing, or event about which information is kept.

Attributes

Pieces of information describing a particular entity.

Relational database

A type of logical database model that organizes data into two-dimensional tables with columns and rows. It can relate data stored in one table to data in another table as long as the two tables share a common data element.

Key field

A field in a record that uniquely identifies instances of that record so that it can be retrieved, updated, and sorted.

Primary key

Unique identifier for all the information in any row of a database

Referential integrity

Rules to ensure that relationships among coupled database tables remain consistent.

Database management system (DBMS)

Special software used to create and maintain a database and enable individual business applications to extract the data they need without having to create separate files or data definitions in their computer programs.

Data manipulation language

A language associated with a database management system that end users and programmers use to add, change, delete, and retrieve data in the database.

Query

Request for data from a database

Structured Query Language (SQL)

The standard data manipulation language for relational database management systems.

Nonrelational database management systems

Database management system for working with large quantities of structured and unstructured data that would be difficult to analyze with a relational model. Also referred to as NoSQL.

Data warehouse

A database, with reporting and query tools, that stores current and historical data extracted from various operational systems and consolidated for management reporting and analysis.

Data mining

Analysis of large pools of data to find patterns and relationships that can be used to guide decision making and predict future behavior.

Data governance

Policies and procedures through which data can be managed as an organizational resource.

Broadband

High-speed transmission technology; also designates a single communications medium that can transmit multiple channels of data simultaneously.

Hubs

Very simple devices that connect network components, sending a packet of data to all other connected devices.

Switch

Device to connect network components that has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified destination.

Router

Specialized communications processor that forwards packets of data from one network to another network.

Packet switching

Technology that breaks messages into small, fixed bundles of data and routes them in the most economical way through any available communications channel.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

Dominant model for achieving connectivity among different networks. Provides a universally agreed-on method for breaking up digital messages into packets, routing them to the proper addresses, and then reassembling them into coherent messages.

Bandwidth

The capacity of a communications channel, as measured by the difference between the highest and the lowest frequencies that can be transmitted by that channel.

Internet Protocol (IP) address

Four-part numeric address indicating a unique computer location on the Internet.

Domain name

Natural language name that corresponds to the unique numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address for each computer connected to the Internet.

Domain Name System (DNS)

A hierarchical system of servers maintaining a database enabling the conversion of domain names to their numeric IP addresses.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A commercial organization with a permanent connection to the Internet that sells temporary connections to subscribers.

Cable Internet connections

Using digital cable coaxial lines to deliver high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses.

Virtual private network (VPN)

A secure connection between two points across the Internet to transmit corporate data. Provides a low-cost alternative to a private network.

Dark web

Portion of the deep web that has been intentionally hidden from search engines in order to preserve anonymity.

Search engine marketing

Use of search engines to deliver sponsored links, for which advertisers have paid, in search engine results.

5G

Newest wireless technology evolution, supporting transmission of very large amounts of data in the gigabit range, with fewer transmission delays and the ability to connect many more devices (such as sensors and smart devices) at once.

Security

Policies, procedures, and technical measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, theft, or physical damage to information systems.

Malware

Malicious software programs such as computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.

Computer virus

Rogue software program that attaches itself to other software programs or data files and activates, often causing hardware and software malfunctions.

Worms

Independent software programs that propagate themselves to disrupt the operation of computer networks or to destroy data and other programs.

Trojan horse

A software program that appears legitimate but contains hidden functionality that may cause damage

Ransomware

Malware that extorts money from users by taking control of their computers, blocking access to files, or displaying annoying pop-up messages.

Keyloggers

Spyware that records every keystroke made on a computer.

Hacker

A person who gains unauthorized access to a computer network for profit, criminal mischief, or personal pleasure.

Spoofing

Tricking or deceiving computer systems or other computer users by hiding one’s identity or faking the identity of another user on the Internet.

Sniffer

A type of eavesdropping program that monitors information traveling over a network.

Distributed Denial-of-Service attack (DDoS attack)

Attack that uses numerous computers to inundate and overwhelm a network from many launch points.

Identity theft

Theft of key pieces of personal information, such as credit card or social security numbers, to obtain merchandise and services in the name of the victim or to obtain false credentials.

Phishing

A form of spoofing involving setting up fake websites or sending email messages that look like those of legitimate businesses to ask users for confidential personal data.

Cyberwarfare

State-sponsored activity designed to cripple and defeat another state or nation by damaging or disrupting its computers or networks.

Social engineering

Tricking people into revealing their passwords by pretending to be legitimate users or members of a company in need of information.

Bugs

Software program code defects.

Computer forensics

The scientific collection, examination, authentication, preservation, and analysis of electronically stored information (ESI) in such a way that the information can be used as evidence in a court of law.

Risk assessment

Determining the potential frequency of the occurrence of a problem and the potential damage if the problem were to occur. Used to determine the cost/benefit of a control.

Security policy

Statements ranking information risks, identifying acceptable security goals, and identifying the mechanisms for achieving these goals.

Disaster recovery planning

Planning for the restoration of computing and communications services after they have been disrupted.

Business continuity planning

Planning that focuses on how the company can restore business operations after a disaster strikes.

Identity and access management (IAM)

Business processes and software tools for identifying the valid users of a system and controlling their access to system resources.

Authentication

The ability of each party in a transaction to ascertain the identity of the other party.

Firewalls

Hardware and software placed between an organization’s internal network and an external network to prevent outsiders from invading private networks.

Encryption

The coding and scrambling of messages to prevent them from being read or accessed without authorization.

Fault-tolerant computer systems

Systems that contain extra hardware, software, and power supply components that can back a system up and keep it running to prevent system failure.

Digital resiliency

An effort to maintain and increase the resilience of an organization and its business processes in an all-pervasive digital environment, not just the resiliency of the IT function.