Information Security Glossary

Access controls are security protocols that manage and restrict which persons or programs can view or use specific computing resources.

In IT, the account owner most likely refers to the individual, organization, or entity with permission to implement changes within the account.

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is an algorithm that uses a specific encryption procedure to protect…

Anonymous data cannot be traced back to the person or entity that supplied it.

Applications are software designed to perform specific assigned tasks.

Research conducted to gain the knowledge or understanding to meet a specific, recognized need.

Authentication is a way of establishing that the user is who they claim to be before granting access to university systems and data.

Washington University in St. Louis uses a two-factor (or two-step) authentication service provided by Duo…

Possessing official permission or being granted/denied approval by an authoritative source (e.g., owner, steward, automated mechanism) to perform an action or set of activities.

Availability means data are accessible when you need them.

Research undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge without any particular application or use in mind.

Biometrics are unique features of individuals, for example, fingerprints, that can identify a
specific person.

A digital certificate is a digitally signed document with a unique signature, which definitively establishes the identity of an online entity to ensure the legitimacy of a software or website.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards for any facility that manufactures, uses, stores, or distributes certain chemicals above a specified quantity.

Cloud computing uses the internet to deliver computing services such as storage in servers, the provision of software, and conducting analytics.

Compliance in cyber security means meeting certain standards and obeying by regulations…

Confidential information is not subject to legal regulation, but it is not freely available to create, store, and transmit.

Confidentiality refers to protecting information from unauthorized access.

Containerization is the idea of containing code and all the necessary frameworks for a program/software into one unit…

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is a category of unclassified data that federal agencies create or possess…

Cryptography is the use of encryption, through ciphers, to protect sensitive or confidential data…

A cyber threat is any act or event that could be harmful to an individual, organization, or even a country through…

A cybersecurity framework is a set of best practices adopted by an organization to better understand, manage, and reduce cybersecurity risk.

A data breach happens when an unauthorized person or organization acquires,
accesses, or uses confidential information.

The organized categorization of data based on potential harm from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction.

Data disposal is the process of removing, “sanitizing,” or deleting stored information.

A data management plan (DMP) is a document that specifies the following….

The Deep Web refers to are parts of the internet, or the World Wide Web (www.) that don’t come up with a standard search engine search

Deidentified data has had all individual identifiers removed.

The systematic use of the knowledge or understanding gained from research directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems or methods . . .

A digital signature is a type of electronic signature built with mathematical algorithms.

Domain-specific repositories store data so that it may be accessed by researchers, institutions, and publishers for a specific domain.

Encryption is the process of making information unreadable to all unauthorized users.

Encryption keys are used for encrypting or decrypting data.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a privacy and security law that applies to any organization that collects or uses data from EU residents.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects student information and gives individual students certain rights pertaining to their education records.

Under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISM) federal agencies and those providing services on their behalf must develop, document, and implement security programs for information technology systems.

The regulations in FDA 21 CFR Part 11 set necessary criteria for electronic records and signatures to be considered reliable, trustworthy, and equivalent to paper versions.

The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act requires financial institutions (i.e., organizations offering consumers financial products, advice, or insurance) to protect their customer’s personal information.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act specifies requirements for the privacy and security of all individually identifiable patient health information in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral.

HIPAA identifiers are 18 points of information that can be used to identify an individual or combined with other information to identify an individual.

Any event which is not part of the standard operation of a service and which causes, or may cause, an interruption to, or a reduction in the quality of that service. (ITIL perspective)

Information security is a combination of practices that protect information resources from unauthorized access, use, and modification.

An institutional review board’s role is to ensure that research involving human subjects is
done ethically and meets federal requirements and regulations.

Integrity means data are trustworthy, complete, and have not been accidentally altered or modified by an unauthorized user.

The principle of Least Functionality states that systems should only perform the necessary actions for which they are specifically designed…

Least Privilege is the idea of only giving users the necessary access to complete their assigned actions.

Missouri PII refers to personally identifiable information (PII) as defined by the state of Missouri.

In cybersecurity, NIST is extremely well known for the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, as well the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF), NIST 800-53 control guidance, NIST Digital Identity Guidelines and others.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission outlines regulations to protect information related to U.S. government programs for the physical protection and safeguarding of nuclear materials or facilities.

The OHRP provides guidance and leadership to ensure human subjects’ safety and well-being and oversees regulatory implementation.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was developed by the major credit card companies as a guideline to help organizations that process card payments.

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for all aspects of the research project.

Data or information privacy is about how much control a person or organization has over their information being collected, stored, used, or shared with a third party.

Private information is provided by an individual for a specific purpose, and the individual reasonably expects it will not be made public. 

Protected data refers to data regulated by federal, state, and local legislation.

Protected health information (PHI) refers to health data created, kept, or shared by HIPAA-covered entities and their commercial partners in the provision of healthcare, healthcare operations, and payment for such services.

Public data may be shared openly and does not have regulatory or industry requirements on its control and use.

Ransomware is malicious software that renders data and systems unusable until the targeted individual or organization pays a ransom.

See also: Protected Data. Regulated data is protected by local, state, national, or international laws and regulations.