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Abuse of Privilege - When a user performs an action that they should not have, according to organizational policy or law.
Access Control List - Rules for packet filters (typically routers) that define which packets to pass and which to block.
Access Router - A router that connects your network to the external Internet. Typically, this is your first line of defense against attackers from the outside Internet. By enabling access control lists on this router, you'll be able to provide a level of protection for all of the hosts behind that router, effectively making that network a DMZ instead of an unprotected external LAN.
ACL - An abbreviation for Access Control List.
Anti-Virus - A software or hardware designed to identify and remove a known or potential computer virus, worm, or trojan horse.
Application-Layer Firewall - A firewall system in which service is provided by processes that maintain complete TCP connection state and sequencing. Application layer firewalls often re-address traffic so that outgoing traffic appears to have originated from the firewall, rather than the internal host.
Authentication - The process of determining the identity of a user that is attempting to access a system.
Authentication Token - A portable device used for authenticating a user. Authentication tokens operate by challenge/response, time-based code sequences, or other techniques. This may include paper-based lists of one-time passwords.
Authorization - The process of determining what types of activities are permitted. Usually, authorization is in the context of authentication: once you have authenticated a user, they may be authorized different types of access or activity.
Bastion Host - A system that has been hardened to resist attack, and which is installed on a network in such a way that it is expected to potentially come under attack. Bastion hosts are often components of firewalls, or may be ``outside' web servers or public access systems. Generally, a bastion host is running some form of general purpose operating system (e.g., Unix, VMS, NT, etc.) rather than a ROM-based or firmware operating system.
Challenge/Response - An authentication technique whereby a server sends an unpredictable challenge to the user, who computes a response using some form of authentication token.
Chroot - A technique under Unix whereby a process is permanently restricted to an isolated subset of the filesystem.
Cryptographic Checksum - A one-way function applied to a file to produce a unique fingerprint of the file for later reference. Checksum systems are a primary means of detecting filesystem tampering on Unix.
Data Driven Attack - A form of attack in which the attack is encoded in innocuous-seeming data which is executed by a user or other software to implement an attack. In the case of firewalls, a data driven attack is a concern since it may get through the firewall in data form and launch an attack against a system behind the firewall.
Defense in Depth - The security approach whereby each system on the network is secured to the greatest possible degree. May be used in conjunction with firewalls.
Demilitarized Zone - This refers to a part of the network that is neither part of the internal network nor directly part of the Internet. Typically, this is the area between your Internet access router and your bastion host, though it can be between any two policy-enforcing components of your architecture.
DMZ - An abbreviation for demilitarized zone.
DNS - An abbreviation for Domain Name System.
DNS spoofing - Assuming the DNS name of another system by either corrupting the name service cache of a victim system, or by compromising a domain name server for a valid domain.
Domain Name System - A general-purpose distributed, replicated, data query service chiefly used on Internet for translating hostnames into Internet addresses. Also, the style of hostname used on the Internet, though such a name is properly called a fully qualified domain name. DNS can be configured to use a sequence of name servers, based on the domains in the name being looked for, until a match is found.
Dual Homed Gateway - A dual homed gateway is a system that has two or more network interfaces, each of which is connected to a different network. In firewall configurations, a dual homed gateway usually acts to block or filter some or all of the traffic trying to pass between the networks.
Encrypting Router - See Tunneling Router and Virtual Network Perimeter.
Firewall - A system or combination of systems that enforces a boundary between two or more networks.
Host-based Security - The technique of securing an individual system from attack. Host based security is operating system and version dependent.
Insider Attack - An attack originating from inside a protected network.
Intrusion Detection - Detection of break-ins or break-in attempts either manually or via software expert systems that operate on logs or other information available on the network.
IP Hijacking - An attack whereby an active, established, session is intercepted and co-opted by the attacker. IP Splicing attacks may occur after an authentication has been made, permitting the attacker to assume the role of an already authorized user. Primary protections against IP Splicing rely on encryption at the session or network layer.
IP Splicing - An attack whereby an active, established, session is intercepted and co-opted by the attacker. IP Splicing attacks may occur after an authentication has been made, permitting the attacker to assume the role of an already authorized user. Primary protections against IP Splicing rely on encryption at the session or network layer.
IP Spoofing - An attack whereby a system attempts to illicitly impersonate another system by using its IP network address.
LAN - An abbreviation for Local Area Network.
Least Privilege - Designing operational aspects of a system to operate with a minimum amount of system privilege. This reduces the authorization level at which various actions are performed and decreases the chance that a process or user with high privileges may be caused to perform unauthorized activity resulting in a security breach.
Local Area Network - A data communications network which is geographically limited (typically to a 1 km radius) allowing easy interconnection of terminals, microprocessors and computers within adjacent buildings.
Log Processing - How audit logs are processed, searched for key events, or summarized.
Log Retention - How long audit logs are retained and maintained.
Logging - The process of storing information about events that occurred on the firewall or network.
NetBIOS - An applications programming interface (API) which activates network operations on IBM PC compatibles running under Microsoft's DOS. It is a set of network commands that the application program issues in order to transmit and receive data to another host on the network. The commands are interpreted by a network control program or network operating system that is NetBIOS compatible.
Network-Layer Firewall - A firewall in which traffic is examined at the network protocol packet layer.
Perimeter-based Security - The technique of securing a network by controlling access to all entry and exit points of the network.
Policy - Organization-level rules governing acceptable use of computing resources, security practices, and operational procedures.
Protocol - A standard procedure for regulating data transmission between computers.
Proxy - A software agent that acts on behalf of a user. Typical proxies accept a connection from a user, make a decision as to whether or not the user or client IP address is permitted to use the proxy, perhaps does additional authentication, and then completes a connection on behalf of the user to a remote destination.
Remote Procedure Call - A protocol which allows a program running on one host to cause code to be executed on another host without the programmer needing to explicitly code for this. RPC is an easy and popular paradigm for implementing the client-server model of distributed computing. An RPC is initiated by the caller (client) sending request message to a remote system (the server) to execute a certain procedure using arguments supplied. A result message is returned to the caller. There are many variations and subtleties in various implementations, resulting in a variety of different (incompatible) RPC protocols.
RPC - An abbreviation for Remote Procedure Call.
Screened Host - A host on a network behind a screening router. The degree to which a screened host may be accessed depends on the screening rules in the router.
Screened Subnet - A subnet behind a screening router. The degree to which the subnet may be accessed depends on the screening rules in the router.
Screening Router - A router configured to permit or deny traffic based on a set of permission rules installed by the administrator.
Server Message Block - A client/server protocol that provides file and printer sharing between computers. In addition SMB can share serial ports and communications abstractions such as named pipes and mail slots. SMB is similar to remote procedure call (RPC) specialised for file system access.
Session Stealing - See IP Splicing.
SMB - An abbreviation for Server Message Block.
Social Engineering - An attack based on deceiving users or administrators at the target site. Social engineering attacks are typically carried out by telephoning users or operators and pretending to be an authorized user, to attempt to gain illicit access to systems.
TCP - An abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol.
Transmission Control Protocol - A protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another.
Trojan Horse - A software entity that appears to do something normal but which, in fact, contains a trapdoor or attack program.
Tunneling Router - A router or system capable of routing traffic by encrypting it and encapsulating it for transmission across an untrusted network, for eventual de-encapsulation and decryption.
Virtual Network Perimeter - A network that appears to be a single protected network behind firewalls, which actually encompasses encrypted virtual links over untrusted networks.
Virtual Private Network - The use of encryption in the lower protocol layers to provide a secure connection through an otherwise insecure network, typically the Internet. VPNs are generally cheaper than real private networks using private lines but rely on having the same encryption system at both ends. The encryption may be performed by firewall hardware or software or possibly by routers.
Virus - A replicating code segment that attaches itself to a program or data file. Viruses might or might not not contain attack programs or trapdoors. Unfortunately, many have taken to calling any malicious code a virus. If you mean trojan horse or worm', say trojan horse or worm.
VPN - An abbreviation for Virtual Private Network.
Worm - A standalone program that, when run, copies itself from one host to another, and then runs itself on each newly infected host. The widely reported Internet Virus of 1988 was not a virus at all, but actually a worm.
