Archives: Glossary Terms

Benign

Harmless or well intentioned, the opposite of malicious.

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Big data

A collection of data too large to be readily processed by traditional database management or data processing tools. Also used to refer to the technological sector that has emerged to...

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Biometric

Pertaining to the identification of human beings by their physiological (fingerprints, retinal patterns, etc.) or behavioral (gait, speech, etc.) characteristics.

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BIOS

Acronym for basic input/output system. Low-level software that is run first when a computer is started. The BIOS initializes the hardware, then loads and starts the main operating system.

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Bit

Basic unit of digital information. Can take one of two values, typically represented as 0 and 1.

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Black box testing 

Software or vulnerability testing that looks at functionality, without knowledge of a program’s internal details. Contrast gray box testing and white box testing.

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Black hat

Someone who maliciously violates computer or network security. A cyber criminal or cyber adversary. Sometimes “black hat hacker.”

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Black swan event

A rare, surprising, and unexpected event, usually one of great consequence that is understood only retrospectively.

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Blacklist

A list of entities that are blocked or denied privileges or access. Often refers to a list of IP addresses

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Blocklist

Another name for Blacklist

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