🤝Governance: Control (Just the Quotes)

"To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate and to control. To foresee and plan means examining the future and drawing up the plan of action. To organize means building up the dual structure, material and human, of the undertaking. To command means binding together, unifying and harmonizing all activity and effort. To control means seeing that everything occurs in conformity with established rule and expressed demand." (Henri Fayol, 1916)

"The concern of OR with finding an optimum decision, policy, or design is one of its essential characteristics. It does not seek merely to define a better solution to a problem than the one in use; it seeks the best solution... [It] can be characterized as the application of scientific methods, techniques, and tools to problems involving the operations of systems so as to provide those in control of the operations with optimum solutions to the problems." (C West Churchman et al, "Introduction to Operations Research", 1957)

"Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organising, actuating and controlling; utilising in each both science and art, and followed in order to accomplish pre-determined objectives." (George R Terry, "Principles of Management", 1960)

"The term architecture is used here to describe the attributes of a system as seen by the programmer, i.e., the conceptual structure and functional behavior, as distinct from the organization of the data flow and controls, the logical design, and the physical implementation." (Gene Amdahl et al, "Architecture of the IBM System", IBM Journal of Research and Development. Vol 8 (2), 1964)

"If cybernetics is the science of control, management is the profession of control." (Anthony S Beer, "Decision and Control", 1966)

"Most of our beliefs about complex organizations follow from one or the other of two distinct strategies. The closed-system strategy seeks certainty by incorporating only those variables positively associated with goal achievement and subjecting them to a monolithic control network. The open-system strategy shifts attention from goal achievement to survival and incorporates uncertainty by recognizing organizational interdependence with environment. A newer tradition enables us to conceive of the organization as an open system, indeterminate and faced with uncertainty, but subject to criteria of rationality and hence needing certainty." (James D Thompson, "Organizations in Action", 1967)

"Policy-making, decision-taking, and control: These are the three functions of management that have intellectual content." (Anthony S Beer, "Management Science" , 1968)

"The management of a system has to deal with the generation of the plans for the system, i. e., consideration of all of the things we have discussed, the overall goals, the environment, the utilization of resources and the components. The management sets the component goals, allocates the resources, and controls the system performance." (C West Churchman, "The Systems Approach", 1968)

"One difficulty in developing a good [accounting] control system is that quantitative results will differ according to the accounting principles used, and accounting principles may change." (Ernest Dale, "Readings in Management", 1970)

"To be productive the individual has to have control, to a substantial extent, over the speed, rhythm, and attention spans with which he is working […] While work is, therefore, best laid out as uniform, working is best organized with a considerable degree of diversity. Working requires latitude to change speed, rhythm, and attention span fairly often. It requires fairly frequent changes in operating routines as well. What is good industrial engineering for work is exceedingly poor human engineering for the worker." (Peter F Drucker, "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices", 1973)

"A mature science, with respect to the matter of errors in variables, is not one that measures its variables without error, for this is impossible. It is, rather, a science which properly manages its errors, controlling their magnitudes and correctly calculating their implications for substantive conclusions." (Otis D Duncan, "Introduction to Structural Equation Models", 1975)

"Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes." (Charles Goodhart, "Problems of Monetary Management: the U.K. Experience", 1975)

"When information is centralized and controlled, those who have it are extremely influential. Since information is [usually] localized in control subsystems, these subsystems have a great deal of organization influence." (Henry L Tosi & Stephen J Carroll, "Management", 1976)

"[...] when a variety of tasks have all to be performed in cooperation, synchronization, and communication, a business needs managers and a management. Otherwise, things go out of control; plans fail to turn into action; or, worse, different parts of the plans get going at different speeds, different times, and with different objectives and goals, and the favor of the 'boss' becomes more important than performance." (Peter F Drucker, "People and Performance", 1977)

"Uncontrolled variation is the enemy of quality." (W Edwards Deming, 1980)

"The key mission of contemporary management is to transcend the old models which limited the manager's role to that of controller, expert or morale booster. These roles do not produce the desired result of aligning the goals of the employees and the corporation. [...] These older models, vestiges of a bygone era, have served their function and must be replaced with a model of the manager as a developer of human resources." (Michael Durst, "Small Systems World", 1985)

"The outcome of any professional's effort depends on the ability to control working conditions." (Joseph A Raelin, "Clash of Cultures: Managers and Professionals", 1986)

"Executives have to start understanding that they have certain legal and ethical responsibilities for information under their control." (Jim Leeke, PC Week, 1987)

"Give up control even if it means the employees have to make some mistakes." (Frank Flores, Hispanic Business, 1987)

"In complex situations, we may rely too heavily on planning and forecasting and underestimate the importance of random factors in the environment. That reliance can also lead to delusions of control." (Hillel J Einhorn & Robin M. Hogarth, Harvard Business Review, 1987)

"Managers exist to plan, direct and control the project. Part of the way they control is to listen to and weigh advice. Once a decision is made, that's the way things should proceed until a new decision is reached. Erosion of management decisions by [support] people who always 'know better' undermines managers' credibility and can bring a project to grief." (Philip W Metzger, "Managing Programming People", 1987)

"To be effective, a manager must accept a decreasing degree of direct control." (Eric G Flamholtz & Yvonne Randal, "The Inner Game of Management", 1987)

"[Well-managed modern organizations] treat everyone as a source of creative input. What's most interesting is that they cannot be described as either democratically or autocratically managed. Their managers define the boundaries, and their people figure out the best way to do the job within those boundaries. The management style is an astonishing combination of direction and empowerment. They give up tight control in order to gain control over what counts: results." (Robert H Waterman, "The Renewal Factor", 1987)

"We have created trouble for ourselves in organizations by confusing control with order. This is no surprise, given that for most of its written history, leadership has been defined in terms of its control functions." (Margaret J Wheatley, "Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World", 1992)

"Management is not founded on observation and experiment, but on a drive towards a set of outcomes. These aims are not altogether explicit; at one extreme they may amount to no more than an intention to preserve the status quo, at the other extreme they may embody an obsessional demand for power, profit or prestige. But the scientist's quest for insight, for understanding, for wanting to know what makes the system tick, rarely figures in the manager's motivation. Secondly, and therefore, management is not, even in intention, separable from its own intentions and desires: its policies express them. Thirdly, management is not normally aware of the conventional nature of its intellectual processes and control procedures. It is accustomed to confuse its conventions for recording information with truths-about-the-business, its subjective institutional languages for discussing the business with an objective language of fact and its models of reality with reality itself." (Stanford Beer, "Decision and Control", 1994)

"Without some element of governance from the top, bottom-up control will freeze when options are many. Without some element of leadership, the many at the bottom will be paralysed with choices." (Kevin Kelly, "Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World", 1995)

"Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem solving." (John P Kotter, "Leading Change", 1996) 

"The manager [...] is understood as one who observes the causal structure of an organization in order to be able to control it [...] This is taken to mean that the manager can choose the goals of the organization and design the systems or actions to realize those goals [...]. The possibility of so choosing goals and strategies relies on the predictability provided by the efficient and formative causal structure of the organization, as does the possibility of managers staying 'in control' of their organization's development. According to this perspective, organizations become what they are because of the choices made by their managers." (Ralph D Stacey et al, "Complexity and Management: Fad or Radical Challenge to Systems Thinking?", 2000)

"Success or failure of a project depends upon the ability of key personnel to have sufficient data for decision-making. Project management is often considered to be both an art and a science. It is an art because of the strong need for interpersonal skills, and the project planning and control forms attempt to convert part of the 'art' into a science." (Harold Kerzner, "Strategic Planning for Project Management using a Project Management Maturity Model", 2001)

"The premise here is that the hierarchy lines on the chart are also the only communication conduit. Information can flow only along the lines. [...] The hierarchy lines are paths of authority. When communication happens only over the hierarchy lines, that's a priori evidence that the managers are trying to hold on to all control. This is not only inefficient but an insult to the people underneath." (Tom DeMarco, "Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency", 2001)

"Management can be defined as the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling organizational resources." (Richard L Daft, "The Leadership Experience" 4th Ed., 2008)

"In a complex society, individuals, organizations, and states require a high degree of confidence - even if it is misplaced - in the short-term future and a reasonable degree of confidence about the longer term. In its absence they could not commit themselves to decisions, investments, and policies. Like nudging the frame of a pinball machine to influence the path of the ball, we cope with the dilemma of uncertainty by doing what we can to make our expectations of the future self-fulfilling. We seek to control the social and physical worlds not only to make them more predictable but to reduce the likelihood of disruptive and damaging shocks (e.g., floods, epidemics, stock market crashes, foreign attacks). Our fallback strategy is denial." (Richard N Lebow, "Forbidden Fruit: Counterfactuals and International Relations", 2010)

"Almost by definition, one is rarely privileged to 'control' a disaster. Yet the activity somewhat loosely referred to by this term is a substantial portion of Management, perhaps the most important part. […] It is the business of a good Manager to ensure, by taking timely action in the real world, that scenarios of disaster remain securely in the realm of Fantasy." (John Gall, "The Systems Bible: The Beginner's Guide to Systems Large and Small"[Systematics 3rd Ed.], 2011)

"Without precise predictability, control is impotent and almost meaningless. In other words, the lesser the predictability, the harder the entity or system is to control, and vice versa. If our universe actually operated on linear causality, with no surprises, uncertainty, or abrupt changes, all future events would be absolutely predictable in a sort of waveless orderliness." (Lawrence K Samuels, "Defense of Chaos", 2013)

"The problem of complexity is at the heart of mankind’s inability to predict future events with any accuracy. Complexity science has demonstrated that the more factors found within a complex system, the more chances of unpredictable behavior. And without predictability, any meaningful control is nearly impossible. Obviously, this means that you cannot control what you cannot predict. The ability ever to predict long-term events is a pipedream. Mankind has little to do with changing climate; complexity does." (Lawrence K Samuels, "The Real Science Behind Changing Climate", LewRockwell.com, August 1, 2014) 

🧭Business Intelligence: Perspectives (Part V: Data Soup - From BI to Analytics)

Business Intelligence Series

The days when everything was reduced to simple terminology like reports or queries are gone. One can see it in the market trends related to reporting or data, as well in the jargon soup the IT people use on the daily basis – Business Intelligence (BI), Data Mining (DM), Analytics, Data Science, Data Warehousing (DW), Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and so on. What’s more confusing for the users and other spectators is the easiness with which all these concepts are used, sometimes interchangeably, and often it feels like nothing makes sense.

BI is used nowadays to refer to the technologies, architectures, methodologies, processes and practices used to transform data into what is desired as meaningful and useful information.  From its early beginnings in the 60s, the intelligence from Business Intelligence (BI) refers to the ability to apprehend the interrelationships of the facts to be processed (aka data) in such a way as to guide action towards a desired goal.

The main purpose of BI was and is to guide actions and provide a solid basis for decision making, aspect not necessarily reflected in the way organizations use their BI infrastructure. Except basic operational/tactical/strategic reports and metrics that reflect to a higher or lower degree organizations’ goals, BI often fails to provide the expected value. The causes are multiple ranging from an organizations maturity in devising a strategy and dividing it into SMART goals and objectives, to the misuse of technologies for the wrong purposes.

Despite the basic data analysis techniques, the rich visualizations and navigation functionality, BI fails often to deliver by itself more than ordinary and already known information. Information becomes valuable when it brings novelty, when it can be easily transformed into knowledge, or even better, when knowledge is extracted directly. To address the limitations of the BI a series of techniques appeared in parallel and coined in the 90s as Data Mining.

Mining is the process of obtaining something valuable from a resource. What DM tries to achieve as process is the extraction of knowledge in form patterns from the data by categorizing, clustering, identifying dependencies or anomalies. When compared with data analysis, the main characteristics of DM is the fact that is used to test models and hypotheses, and that it uses a set of semiautomatic and automatic out-of-the-box statistics packages, AI or predictive algorithms with applicability in different areas – Web,  text, speech, business processes, etc.

DM proved to be useful by allowing to build models rooted in historical data, models which allowed predicting outcome or behavior, however the models are pretty basic and there’s always a threshold beyond which they can’t go. Furthermore, the costs of preparing the data and of the needed infrastructure seem to be high compared with the benefits data mining provides. There are scenarios in which DM proves to bring benefit, while in others it raises more challenges than can solve. Privacy, security, misuse of information and the blind use of techniques without understanding the data or the models behind, are just some of such challenges.  

Information seems too common, while knowledge can become expensive to obtain. The middle way between the two found its future into another buzzword – analytics – the systematic analysis of data or statistics using specific mathematical methods. Analytics combine the agility of data analysis techniques with the power of predictive and prescriptive techniques used in DM in discovering patterns into the data. Analytics attempts to identify why it happens by using a chain of inferences resulted from data’s analyzing and understanding. From another perspective analytics seems to be a rebranded and slightly enhanced version of BI.

🔦Process Management: Business Process (Definitions)

"A business process is a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer. A business process has a goal and is affected by events occurring in the external world or in other processes." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"A process is a set of linked activities that take an input and transform it to create an output. Ideally, the transformation that occurs in the process should add value to the input and create an output that is more useful and effective to the recipient either upstream or downstream."

(Henry J Johansson, "Business process reengineering: Breakpoint strategies for market dominance", 1993)

"Major operational activities or processes supported by a source system, such as orders, from which data can be collected for the analytic purposes of the data warehouse. Choosing the business process is the first of four key steps in the design of a dimensional model." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" 2nd Ed., 2002)

"The sequence of activities 'enclosing' the production process. These activities are common to all types of products and services, and include defining the job, negotiation with the customer, and reporting project status." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"The subject areas of a business. The method by which a business is divided up. In a data warehouse, the subject areas become the fact tables." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

"A structured description of the activities or tasks that have to be done to fulfill a certain business need. The activities or tasks might be manual steps (human interaction) or automated steps (IT steps)." (Nicolai M Josuttis, "SOA in Practice", 2007)

"A structured and measured, managed, and controlled set of interrelated and interacting activities that uses resources to transform inputs into specified outputs." (Nathalíe Galeano, "Competency Concept in VO Breeding Environment", 2008) 

"The codification of rules and practices that constitute a business." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"The defined method for a range of activities that organizations perform. A business process can include anything from the steps needed to make a product to how a supply is ordered or how an invoice is created." (Tony Fisher, "The Data Asset", 2009)

"A structured description of the activities or tasks that have to be done to fulfill a certain business need. The activities or tasks might be manual steps (human interaction) or automated steps (IT steps)." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"An activity as carried out by business people, including the mechanisms involved. This is in the domain of Row Two, the Business Owner’s View. Alternatively, the architect in Row Three sees a system process which is about the data transformations involved in carrying out a business process. In either case, processes can be viewed at a high level or in atomic detail." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"A collection of activities performed to accomplish a clearly defined goal." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A collection of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market." (International Qualifications Board for Business Analysis, "Standard glossary of terms used in Software Engineering", 2011)

"A process that is intended to contribute to the overall value of an enterprise. The complex interactions between people, applications, and technologies designed to create customer value. A process is composed of activities." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A business process is a series of steps required to execute a function that is important to an organization. Business processes include things like taking an order or setting up an account or paying a claim. In process analysis, business processes are the focus of opportunities for improvement. Organizations usually have a set of key processes that require support from other areas, like information technology." (Laura Sebastian-Coleman, "Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement ", 2012)

 "A holistic management approach for the detection, analysis, modeling, implementation, improvement and governance of the activities within or between enterprises." (Michael Fellmann et al, "Supporting Semantic Verification of Process Models", 2012)

"An activity (or set of activities) that is managed by an organization to produce some result of value to that organization, its customers, its suppliers, and/or its partners." (Graham Witt, "Writing Effective Business Rules", 2012)

"The codification of rules and practices that constitute a business." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A coordinated set of collaborative and transactional work activities carried out to complete work steps." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"The defined method for a range of activities that organizations perform. A business process can include anything from the steps needed to make a product to how a supply is ordered or how a decision is made." (Jim Davis & Aiman Zeid, "Business Transformation", 2014)

"A set of activities that teams within an organization carry out to accomplish a specific goal." (David K Pham, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"The business activities executed to deliver products or services to external customers. Business process is supported by and consumes IT-services to achieve their objectives." (by Brian Johnson & Leon-Paul de Rouw, "Collaborative Business Design", 2017)

"At its most generic, any set of activities performed by a business that is initiated by an event, transforms information, materials or business commitments, and produces an output. Value chains and large-scale business processes produce outputs that are valued by customers. Other processes generate outputs that are valued by other processes." (Appian)

🛡️Information Security: Firewall (Definitions)

"A device or program that blocks outsiders from accessing a computer connected to the Internet. Some firewalls also monitor data traffic outbound from a computer or network." (Andy Walker, "Absolute Beginner’s Guide To: Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses", 2005)

"Software or devices that examine network traffic so that it may restrict access to network resources to unauthorized users." (Tom Petrocelli, "Data Protection and Information Lifecycle Management", 2005)

"A network security system used to monitor and restrict external and internal traffic." (Robert McCrie, "Security Operations Management" 2nd Ed., 2006)

"A firewall is part of a computer network or system that is designed to block unauthorized access over communications lines." (Michael Coles & Rodney Landrum, , "Expert SQL Server 2008 Encryption", 2008)

"A system level networking filter that restricts access based on, among other things, IP address. Firewalls form a part of an effective network security strategy. See Firewalls." (MongoDb, "Glossary", 2008)

"A piece of software that filters incoming and outgoing network traffic and stops messages that violate the rules that define allowable traffic." (Jan L Harrington, "Relational Database Design and Implementation" 3rd Ed., 2009)

"A computer system placed between the Internet and an internal subnet of an enterprise to prevent unauthorized outsiders from accessing internal data." (Paulraj Ponniah, "Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals", 2010)

"A combination of specialized hardware and software set up to monitor traffic between an internal network and an external network (i.e. the Internet). Its primary purpose if for security and is designed to keep unauthorized outsiders from tampering with or accessing information on a networked computer system." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Hardware and software that blocks outsiders from accessing your data and creates a secure environment for your data while permitting those with authorization, such as employees, to access information as needed." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"System or group of systems that enforces an access-control policy between two networks." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A device that is used to control access between two networks. Typically used when connecting a private network to the Internet as a way of protecting and securing the internal network from threats, hackers, and others. Also used when connecting two private networks (e.g., supplies, partners, etc.)." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A network access control system that uses rules to block or allow connections and data transmission between a private network and an untrusted network, such as the Internet." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A form of protection that allows one network to connect to another network while maintaining some amount of protection." ( Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"Software or hardware designed to control traffic. A network-based firewall is typically hardware, and it controls traffic in and out of a network. A host-based firewall is software installed on individual systems and it controls traffic in and out of individual systems." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"A a network security measure designed to filter out undesirable network traffic." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"A gateway machine and its software that protects a network by filtering the traffic it allows" (Nell Dale & John Lewis, "Computer Science Illuminated" 6th Ed., 2015)

"A security barrier on your computer or network that controls what traffic is allowed to pass through." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"Software that blocks hackers from accessing a computer by closing unnecessary services and ports." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"A network device designed to selectively block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communication to devices within a subnetwork." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

🛡️Information Security: Data Leak/Loss Prevention (Definitions)

"Attempts to prevent the loss of confidentiality of sensitive information by limiting the use of confidential information only for authorized purposes." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"A feature that protects data on laptops by enabling file-level authentication and secure erase options in the event that a laptop is lost or stolen." (CommVault, "Documentation 11.20", 2018)

"A set of technologies and inspection techniques used to classify information content contained within an object—such as a file, an email, a packet, an application or a data store - while at rest (in storage), in use (during an operation), or in transit (across a network). DLP tools also have the ability to dynamically apply a policy—such as log, report, classify, relocate, tag, and encrypt - and/or apply enterprise data rights management protections." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"The actions that organizations take to prevent unauthorized external parties from gaining access to sensitive data." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed., 2018)

"Data loss prevention (DLP; also known as data leak prevention) is a computer security term referring to systems that identify, monitor, and protect data in use (e.g. endpoint actions), data in motion (e.g. network actions), and data at rest (e.g. data storage) through deep content inspection, contextual security analysis of transaction (attributes of originator, data object, medium, timing, recipient/destination, and so on) and with a centralized management framework. Systems are designed to detect and prevent unauthorized use and transmission of confidential information." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance for Healthcare Professionals", 2018)

 "A capability that detects and prevents violations to corporate policies regarding the use, storage, and transmission of sensitive data. Its purpose is to enforce policies to prevent unwanted dissemination of sensitive information." (Forrester)

"A systems ability to identify, monitor, and protect data in use (e.g. endpoint actions), data in motion (e.g. network actions), and data at rest (e.g. data storage) through deep packet content inspection, contextual security analysis of transaction (attributes of originator, data object, medium, timing, recipient/destination, etc.), within a centralized management framework. Data loss prevention capabilities are designed to detect and prevent the unauthorized use and transmission of NSS information." (CNSSI 4009-2015 CNSSI 1011)

"Data loss protection (DLP) describes a set of technologies and inspection techniques used to classify information content contained within an object - such as a file, email, packet, application or data store - while at rest (in storage), in use (during an operation) or in transit (across a network). DLP tools are also have the ability to dynamically apply a policy - such as log, report, classify, relocate, tag and encrypt - and/or apply enterprise data rights management protections." (Gartner)

"Data loss prevention (DLP) is a strategy for making sure that end users do not send sensitive or critical information outside the corporate network. The term is also used to describe software products that help a network administrator control what data end users can transfer." (TechTarget) [source]

"Data loss prevention (DLP) makes sure that users do not send sensitive or critical information outside the corporate network. The term describes software products that help a network administrator control the data that users can transfer." (proofpoint) [source]

🛡️Information Security: Data Breach (Definitions)

[data loss:] "Deprivation of something useful or valuable about a set of data, such as unplanned physical destruction of data or failure to preserve the confidentiality of data." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"The unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, notably that of identifying information about individuals." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"A failure of an obligation to protect against the release of secure data." (Janice M Roehl-Anderson, "IT Best Practices for Financial Managers", 2010)

"The release of secure information to an untrusted environment. Other terms for this occurrence include unintentional information disclosure, data leak, and data spill." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"The unauthorized movement or disclosure of sensitive information to a party, usually outside the organization, that is not authorized to have or see the information." (Olivera Injac & Ramo Šendelj, "National Security Policy and Strategy and Cyber Security Risks", 2016)

"An incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data has been viewed, stolen or used by an unauthorized body." (Güney Gürsel, "Patient Privacy and Security in E-Health", 2017)

[data leakage:] "The advertent or inadvertent sharing of private and/or confidential information." (Shalin Hai-Jew, "Beware!: A Multimodal Analysis of Cautionary Tales in Strategic Cybersecurity Messaging Online", 2018)

"A security incident involving unauthorized access to data." (Boaventura DaCosta & Soonhwa Seok, "Cybercrime in Online Gaming", 2020)

"An incident where information is accessed without authorization." (Nathan J Rodriguez, "Internet Privacy", 2020)

"A process where large amounts of private data, mostly about individuals, becomes illegally available to people who should not have access to the information." (Ananda Mitra & Yasmine Khosrowshahi, "The 2018 Facebook Data Controversy and Technological Alienation", 2021)

"This refers to any intentional or unintentional leak of secure or private or confidential data to any untrusted system. This is also referred to as information disclosure or data spill." (Srinivasan Vaidyanathan et al, "Challenges of Developing AI Applications in the Evolving Digital World and Recommendations to Mitigate Such Challenges: A Conceptual View", 2021) 

"When the information is stolen or used without consent of the system’s owner, the data stolen may cover confidential information like credit cards or passwords." (Kevser Z Meral, "Social Media Short Video-Sharing TikTok Application and Ethics: Data Privacy and Addiction Issues", 2021)

[data loss:] "The exposure of proprietary, sensitive, or classified information through either data theft or data leakage." (CNSSI 4009-2015)

🛡️Information Security: Data Privacy (Definitions)

"Right of an individual to participate in decisions regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information personally identifiable to that individual." (Reima Suomi, "Telework and Data Privacy and Security", 2008)

"Current United States laws provide protection to private data, including students’ performance data. Online distance education environments need to address privacy issues though design of courses and security features built into record keeping systems." (Gregory C Sales, "Preparing Teachers to Teach Online", 2009)

"Personal data should not be automatically available to other persons or organizations. Even if data have been processed, each individual should be able to exercise his or her right to control access to data and related information." (Astrid Gesche, "Adapting to Virtual Third-Space Language Learning Futures", 2009)

"The right to have personally identifiable information not disclosed in any unauthorized manner." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"The limitation of data access to only those authorized to view the data." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The legal, political, and ethical issues surrounding the collection and dissemination of data, the technology used, and the expectations of what information is shared with whom." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics To Improve Business Performance", 2017)

"A compliance program aimed at protection of personal information about any individual the company may poses." (Svetlana Snezhko & Ali Coskun, "Compliance in Sustainability Reporting", 2019)

"Data containing information about a person should be treated with special attention according to the organization’s data privacy policy and legislation." (Lili Aunimo et al, "Big Data Governance in Agile and Data-Driven Software Development: A Market Entry Case in the Educational Game Industry", 2019)

"The term refers to the confidentiality of information that one has and other parties are not allowed to share it without a consent of the data owner. Privacy is a measure of control for individuals about their personal information." (M Fevzi Esen & Eda Kocabas, "Personal Data Privacy and Protection in the Meeting, Incentive, Convention, and Exhibition (MICE) Industry", 2019)

"This term relates to the individual right to restrict access to their personal, health, political/philosophical views, religious affiliation and educational data. In the case of students, schools and districts have the responsibility to control access to student data, providing it is available only to those who play a role in the learning process and for a defined time span." (Beatriz Arnillas, "Tech-Savvy Is the New Street Smart: Balancing Protection and Awareness", 2019)

"Protection of personal privacy during data acquisition, storage, transmission, and usage." (Hemlata Gangwar, "Big Data Adoption: A Comparative Study of the Indian Manufacturing and Services Sectors", 2020)

"the protection of any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means." (James Kelly et al, "Data in the Wild: A KM Approach to Collecting Census Data Without Surveying the Population and the Issue of Data Privacy", 2020)

"A person’s right to control how much information about her/him/them is collected, used, shared by others." (Zerin M Khan, "How Do Mobile Applications for Cancer Communicate About Their Privacy Practices?: An Analysis of Privacy Policies", 2021)

"Deals defining what data may be lawfully shared with third parties, by an individual or organization." (Nikhil Padayachee & Surika Civilcharran, "Predicting Student Intention to Use Cloud Services for Educational Purposes Based on Perceived Security and Privacy", 2021)

"Is the aspect of information and communication technology that deals with the ability an organization or individual to determine what data and information in computer system can be shared with third parties." (Valerianus Hashiyana et al, "Integrated Big Data E-Healthcare Solutions to a Fragmented Health Information System in Namibia", 2021)

🛡️Information Security: Distributed Denial of Service [DDoS] (Definitions)

"An electronic attack perpetrated by a person who controls legions of hijacked computers. On a single command, the computers simultaneously send packets of data across the Internet at a target computer. The attack is designed to overwhelm the target and stop it from functioning." (Andy Walker, "Absolute Beginner’s Guide To: Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses", 2005)

"A type of DoS attack in which many (usually thousands or millions) of systems flood the victim with unwanted traffic. Typically perpetrated by networks of zombie Trojans that are woken up specifically for the attack." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A denial of service (DoS) attack that comes from multiple sources at the same time. Attackers often enlist computers into botnets after infecting them with malware. Once infected, the attacker can then direct the infected computers to attack other computers." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"A denial of service technique using numerous hosts to perform the attack. For example, in a network flooding attack, a large number of co-opted computers (e.g., a botnet) send a large volume of spurious network packets to disable a specified target system. See also denial of service; botnet." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"A DoS attack in which multiple systems are used to flood servers with traffic in an attempt to overwhelm available resources (transmission capacity, memory, processing power, and so on), making them unavailable to respond to legitimate users." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"DDoS stands for distributed denial of service. In this type of an attack, an attacker tends to overwhelm the targeted network in order to make the services unavailable to the intended or legitimate user." (Kirti R Bhatele et al, "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security", Countering Cyber Attacks and Preserving the Integrity and Availability of Critical Systems, 2019)

"In DDoS attack, the incoming network traffic affects a target (e.g., server) from many different compromised sources. Consequently, online services are unavailable due to the attack. The target's resources are affected with different malicious network-based techniques (e.g., flood of network traffic packets)." (Ana Gavrovska & Andreja Samčović, "Intelligent Automation Using Machine and Deep Learning in Cybersecurity of Industrial IoT", 2020)

"This refers to malicious attacks or threats on computer systems to disrupt or break computing activities so that their access and availability is denied to the consumers of such systems or activities." (Heru Susanto et al, "Data Security for Connected Governments and Organisations: Managing Automation and Artificial Intelligence", 2021)

"A denial of service technique that uses numerous hosts to perform the attack." (CNSSI 4009-2015)

"A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic on a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic." (proofpoint) [source]

🛡️Information Security: Privacy (Definitions)

"Privacy is concerned with the appropriate use of personal data based on regulation and the explicit consent of the party." (Martin Oberhofer et al, "Enterprise Master Data Management", 2008)

"Proper handling and use of personal information (PI) throughout its life cycle, consistent with data-protection principles and the preferences of the subject." (Alex Berson & Lawrence Dubov, "Master Data Management and Data Governance", 2010)

"Control of data usage dealing with the rights of individuals and organizations to determine the “who, what, when, where, and how” of data access." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed, 2011)

"Keeping information as a secret, known only to the originators of that information. This contrasts with confidentiality, in which information is shared among a select group of recipients. See also confidentiality." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"Control of data usage dealing with the rights of individuals and organizations to determine the “who, what, when, where, and how” of data access." (Carlos Coronel & Steven Morris, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management" 11th  Ed.", 2014)

"The ability of a person to keep personal information to himself or herself." (Jason Williamson, "Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies", 2015)

"The protection of individual rights to nondisclosure." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"The right of individuals to control or influence what information related to them may be collected and stored and by whom, as well as to whom that information may be disclosed." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

 "The right of individuals to a private life includes a right not to have personal information about themselves made public. A right to privacy is recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. See data protection legislation." (Open Data Handbook)

"to seclude certain data /information about oneself that is deemed personal." (Analytics Insight)

🛡️Information Security: Denial of Service [DoS] (Definitions)

"A type of attack on a computer system that ties up critical system resources, making the system temporarily unusable." (Tom Petrocelli, "Data Protection and Information Lifecycle Management", 2005)

"Any attack that affects the availability of a service. Reliability bugs that cause a service to crash or hang are usually potential denial-of-service problems." (Mark S Merkow & Lakshmikanth Raghavan, "Secure and Resilient Software Development", 2010)

"This is a technique for overloading an IT system with a malicious workload, effectively preventing its regular service use." (Martin Oberhofer et al, "The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture", 2010)

"Occurs when a server or Web site receives a flood of traffic - much more traffic or requests for service than it can handle, causing it to crash." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"Causing an information resource to be partially or completely unable to process requests. This is usually accomplished by flooding the resource with more requests than it can handle, thereby rendering it incapable of providing normal levels of service." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference, Second Edition" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"Attacks designed to disable a resource such as a server, network, or any other service provided by the company. If the attack is successful, the resource is no longer available to legitimate users." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"An attack from a single attacker designed to disrupt or disable the services provided by an IT system. Compare to distributed denial of service (DDoS)." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"A coordinated attack in which the target website or service is flooded with requests for access, to the point that it is completely overwhelmed." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"An attack that can result in decreased availability of the targeted system." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"An attack that generally floods a network with traffic. A successful DoS attack renders the network unusable and effectively stops the victim organization’s ability to conduct business." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"A type of cyberattack to degrade the availability of a target system." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"Any action, or series of actions, that prevents a system, or its resources, from functioning in accordance with its intended purpose." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed., 2018)

"The prevention of authorized access to resources or the delaying of time-critical operations." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"An attack shutting down running of a service or network in order to render it inaccessible to its users (whether human person or a processing device)." (Wissam Abbass et al, "Internet of Things Application for Intelligent Cities: Security Risk Assessment Challenges", 2021)

"Actions that prevent the NE from functioning in accordance with its intended purpose. A piece of equipment or entity may be rendered inoperable or forced to operate in a degraded state; operations that depend on timeliness may be delayed." (NIST SP 800-13)

"The prevention of authorized access to resources or the delaying of time-critical operations. (Time-critical may be milliseconds or it may be hours, depending upon the service provided)." (NIST SP 800-12 Rev. 1)

"The prevention of authorized access to a system resource or the delaying of system operations and functions." (NIST SP 800-82 Rev. 2)

🛡️Information Security: Cybersecurity (Definitions)

 "The art of ensuring the existence and continuity of the Information Society of a nation, guaranteeing and protecting, in Cyberspace, its information assets and critical infrastructure." (Claudia Canongia & Raphael Mandarino, "Cybersecurity: The New Challenge of the Information Society", 2012)

"The act of protecting technology, information, and networks from attacks." (Jason Williamson, "Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies", 2015)

"The practice of protecting computers and electronic communication systems as well as the associated information." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"Cybersecurity deals with damage to, unauthorized use of, exploitation of electronic information and communications systems that ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability." (Sanjukta Pookulangara, "Cybersecurity: What Matters to Consumers - An Exploratory Study", 2016)

"Focuses on protecting computers, networks, programs and data from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction." (Kimberly Lukin, "Russian Cyberwarfare Taxonomy and Cybersecurity Contradictions between Russia and EU", 2016)

"The activity or process, ability or capability, or state whereby information and communications systems and the information contained therein are protected from and/or defended against damage, unauthorized use or modification, or exploitation." (Olivera Injac & Ramo Šendelj, "National Security Policy and Strategy and Cyber Security Risks", 2016)

"The ability to protect against the unauthorized use of electronic data and malicious activity. This electronic data can be personal customer information such as names, addresses, social security numbers, credit cards, and debit cards, to name a few." (Brittany Bullard, "Style and Statistics", 2016)

"A trustworthiness property concerned with the protection of systems from cyberattacks." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"Information security (infosec) but broadly referring to technology and human systems that are built around the secure exchange, storage, and management of information." (Shalin Hai-Jew, "Safe Distances: Online and RL Hyper-Personal Relationships as Potential Attack Surfaces", 2018)

"Is defined as the collection of tools, policies, security concepts, security safeguards, guidelines, risk management approaches, actions, training, best practices, assurance and technologies that can be used to protect the cyber environment, organization, and user assets." (Thokozani I Nzimakwe, "Government's Dynamic Approach to Addressing Challenges of Cybersecurity in South Africa", 2018)

"Protection against criminal access to one’s data and information and against criminal manipulation of computer networks/data/systems." (Shalin Hai-Jew, "Beware!: A Multimodal Analysis of Cautionary Tales in Strategic Cybersecurity Messaging Online", 2018)

"The collection of tools, policies, security concepts, security safeguards, guidelines, risk management approaches, actions, training, best practices, assurance, and technologies that can be used to protect the cyberspace environment and organization and users’ assets." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"The organization and collection of resources, processes, and structures used to protect cyberspace from occurrences that misalign de jure from de facto property rights." (Mika Westerlund et al, "A Three-Vector Approach to Blind Spots in Cybersecurity", 2018)

"A computing-based discipline involving technology, people, information, and processes to enable assured operations. It involves the creation, operation, analysis, and testing of secure computer systems. It is an interdisciplinary course of study, including aspects of law, policy, human factors, ethics, and risk management in the context of adversaries." (Matt Bishop et al, "Cybersecurity Curricular Guidelines", 2019)

"Acts taken, technologies created and deployed, policies written and enacted, to protect computer systems and networks against misuse, intrusion, and exploitation." (Shalin Hai-Jew, "The Electronic Hive Mind and Cybersecurity: Mass-Scale Human Cognitive Limits to Explain the “Weakest Link” in Cybersecurity", 2019)

"Also known as computer security or IT security, is the protection of computer systems from the theft or damage to the hardware, software or the information on them, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide." (Soraya Sedkaoui, "Big Data Analytics for Entrepreneurial Success", 2019)

"Includes process, procedures, technologies, and controls designed to protect systems, networks, and data." (Sandra Blanke et al, "How Can a Cybersecurity Student Become a Cybersecurity Professional and Succeed in a Cybersecurity Career?", 2019)

"The protection of computer systems from theft and damage to their assets and from manipulation and distraction of their services." (Viacheslav Izosimov & Martin Törngren, "Security Awareness in the Internet of Everything", 2019)

"The protection of internet-connected systems including hardware, software, and data from cyberattacks."  (Semra Birgün & Zeynep Altan, "A Managerial Perspective for the Software Development Process: Achieving Software Product Quality by the Theory of Constraints", 2019)

"Cybersecurity is seen where security alerts and cyber-attacks are becoming more frequent and malicious, these threats include private access attempts and exploitation software or phishing, malware, web application attacks, and network penetration." (Theunis G Pelser & Garth Gaffley, "Implications of Digital Transformation on the Strategy Development Process for Business Leaders", 2020)

"Is the protection of internet-connected systems, including hardware, software and data, from cyberattacks. In a computing context, security comprises cybersecurity and physical security - both are used by enterprises to protect against unauthorized access to data centers and other computerized systems." (Alexander A Filatov, "Sovereign Bureaucrats vs. Global Tech Companies: Ethical and Regulatory Challenges", 2020)

"It is a general term which describes technologies, processes, methods, and practices for the purpose of protection of internet-connected information systems from attacks, i.e., cyberattacks. Cybersecurity can refer to security of data, software or hardware within information systems." (Ana Gavrovska & Andreja Samčović, "Intelligent Automation Using Machine and Deep Learning in Cybersecurity of Industrial IoT: CCTV Security and DDoS Attack Detection", 2020)

"Cybersecurity is an act to protect data, devices, applications, servers, network from the malicious attack through various tools and techniques. The process also ensures the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and non-repudiation of the content." (Shafali Agarwal, "Preserving Information Security Using Fractal-Based Cryptosystem", 2021)

"Cybersecurity refers to the set of technologies, processes, and practices designed to safeguard networks, devices, programs, and data from attack, threats, or unauthorized access." (Sanjeev Rao et al, "Online Social Networks Misuse, Cyber Crimes, and Counter Mechanisms", 2021)

"It is the organization and collection of resources, processes, and structures used to protect cyberspace from security events." (Carlos A M S Teles et al, "A Black-Box Framework for Malicious Traffic Detection in ICT Environments", Handbook of Research on Cyber Crime and Information Privacy, 2021)

"Prevention of damage to, protection of, and restoration of computers, electronic communications systems, electronic communications services, wire communication, and electronic communication, including information contained therein, to ensure its availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation." (CNSSI 4009-2015)

"The ability to protect or defend the use of cyberspace from cyber attacks." (NISTIR 8170)

"The prevention of damage to, unauthorized use of, exploitation of, and - if needed - the restoration of electronic information and communications systems, and the information they contain, in order to strengthen the confidentiality, integrity and availability of these systems." (NISTIR 8074 Vol. 2)

"The process of protecting information by preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks." (NISTIR 8183)

🛡️Information Security: Attack Surface (Definitions)

"The attack surface of a software environment is the code within a computer system that can be run by unauthenticated users. This includes, but is not limited to, user input fields, protocols, interfaces, and services." (Mark S Merkow & Lakshmikanth Raghavan, "Secure and Resilient Software Development", 2010)

"The total vulnerabilities of a system that can be exploited by an attacker." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"Components available to be used by an attacker against the product itself." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"The avenues of attack that are available to an attacker by virtue of those avenues being exposed in some manner." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"The reachable and exploitable vulnerabilities in a system." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

 "The sum of all externally addressable vulnerabilities within an environment or system." (Forrester)

🛡️Information Security: Attack (Definitions)

[active attack:] "Any network-based attack other than simple eavesdropping (i.e., a passive attack)." (Mark S Merkow & Lakshmikanth Raghavan, "Secure and Resilient Software Development", 2010)

"Unauthorized activity with malicious intent that uses specially crafted code or techniques." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"An attempt to destroy, expose, alter, disable, steal or gain unauthorised access to or make unauthorised use of an asset," (David Sutton, "Information Risk Management: A practitioner’s guide", 2014)

[active attack:] "Attack where the attacker does interact with processing or communication activities." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

[passive attack:] "Attack where the attacker does not interact with processing or communication activities, but only carries out observation and data collection, as in network sniffing." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"An attempt to gain unauthorized access to system services, resources, or information, or an attempt to compromise system integrity." (Olivera Injac & Ramo Šendelj, "National Security Policy and Strategy and Cyber Security Risks", 2016)

"A sequence of actions intended to have a specified effect favorable to an actor that is adversarial to the owners of that system." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"An attempt to bypass security controls in a system with the mission of using that system or compromising it. An attack is usually accomplished by exploiting a current vulnerability." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed., 2018)

"Any kind of malicious activity that attempts to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy information system resources or information itself." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"an aggressive action against a person, an organisation or an asset intended to cause damage or loss." (ISO/IEC 27000:2014)

🛡️Information Security: Digital Signature (Definitions)

"A form of electronic authentication of a digital document. Digital signatures are created and verified using public key cryptography and serve to tie the document being signed to the signer." (J P Getty Trust, "Introduction to Metadata" 2nd Ed., 2008)

"Data which proves that a document, message, or other piece of data was not modified since being processed and sent from a particular party." (Mark S Merkow & Lakshmikanth Raghavan, "Secure and Resilient Software Development", 2010)

"cryptographic transformations of data that allow a recipient of the data to prove the source (non-repudiation) and integrity of the data." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"Data that is appended to a message, made from the message itself and the sender’s private key, to ensure the authenticity of the message" (Nell Dale & John Lewis, "Computer Science Illuminated" 6th Ed., 2015)

"Ensuring the authenticity and integrity of a message through the use of hashing algorithms and asymmetric algorithms. The message digest is encrypted with the sender’s private key." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"A means of authenticating that a message or data came from a particular source with a known system identity." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"An electronic signature based upon cryptographic methods of originator authentication, computed by using a set of rules and a set of parameters such that the identity of the signer and the integrity of the data can be verified." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 8th Ed", 2018)

"An encrypted means of identification that cannot be forged and that enables clients to validate servers and vice versa." (Microfocus)

"The combination of the private key, public key, message and hashing generates a digital signature. A digital signature is unique for every transaction and is a way to prove that the originator of the message has access to the private key." (AICPA)

🛡️Information Security: Cyberattack (Definitions)

"Act or effect of an offensive activity cybernetic." (Claudia Canongia & Raphael Mandarino, "Cybersecurity: The New Challenge of the Information Society", 2012)

"Attacks on an organization’s IT resources through cyberspace. The purpose of the attacks might be for monetary gain, intelligence gathering, or vandalism." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"A cyberattack is a deliberate attack on computer systems, a website, or individual computers using a computer. A cyberattack compromises the integrity and/or availability of the computer/system on which the information is stored." (Sanjukta Pookulangara, "Cybersecurity: What Matters to Consumers - An Exploratory Study", 2016)

"Any type of offensive maneuver employed by individuals or whole organizations that targets computer information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, and/or personal computer devices by various means of malicious acts usually originating from an anonymous source that either steals, alters, or destroys a specified target by hacking into a susceptible system." (Kimberly Lukin, "Russian Cyberwarfare Taxonomy and Cybersecurity Contradictions between Russia and EU", 2016)

"When electronic data is used without authorization or malicious activities occur, such as spyware and viruses." (Brittany Bullard, "Style and Statistics", 2016)

"A deliberate exploitation of computer systems, technology-dependent enterprises and networks." (Mika Westerlund et al, "A Three-Vector Approach to Blind Spots in Cybersecurity", 2018)

"Is a deliberate exploitation of computer systems, technology systems, and networks. Cyberattacks use malicious code to alter computer code, logic or data, resulting in disruptive results that can compromise data. It is an illegal attempt to harm someone’s computer system or the information on it, using the internet." (Thokozani I Nzimakwe, "Government's Dynamic Approach to Addressing Challenges of Cybersecurity in South Africa", 2018)

"The state of being protected against the criminal or unauthorized use of electronic data, or the measures taken to achieve this." (Christopher T Anglim, "Cybersecurity Legislation", 2020)