IIA Security Portal

A glossary of common terms used in discussing internet and computer security.

Cybercrime: Any criminal activity which uses the internet as a tool.

Cookies: A cookie is just one quite small pieces of information stored as text strings on your machine which has been loaded by a web server as you visit the site. It sends you a cookie and the browser stores it. The browser then returns the cookie to the server the next time the page is referenced so it automatically knows your preferences for the your visit to the site. They are not harmful.

Dialers: Are Trojans that, upon execution, connect the system to a pay-per-call location in which the unsuspecting user is billed for the call without his/her knowledge. Dialers often arrive in porn-related or other enticing service-related applications.

Digital Certificates/Keys: A digital certificate is an electronic means of identifying your credentials electronically whilst undertaking e-commerce or other activities over the internet. It is in effect your "passport". A certificate is issued by a certificate authority. It contains your name, a serial number, expiration dates, a copy of the certificate holder's public key (used for encrypting and decrypting messages and digital signatures), and the digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority.

Filters: Filters are used to 'clean' internet traffic of many types. For example there are email and web based filters to prevent viruses and spam from entering a company's network. These are often but not always installed inside a company's network and maybe integrated with, for example, an email gateway. Firwalls can also use filters to remove any unwanted or malicious network traffic before it enters the company's LAN.

Firewall: Is a barrier (either physical such as a router or software) designed to keep malicious code such as viruses, trojans or hackers away from computers. They are not expensive for small systems.

Hack(ing): A 'hacker' can be a person who simply likes to fiddle with hardware or software without any malicious intent. However, it has now become applied to what the computer security industry considers 'crackers' - that is people who abuse software and computer systems. It is illegal. Hackers often try to break into computer systems which are connected to the internet.

ID Fraud/Theft: According to law enforcement agencies and also the Australian Bankers Association, the use of false identities and identity theft has become a worldwide phenomenon and consumers in Australia are not immune from this problem. It involves criminals assuming your identity by applying for credit in your name. It has been said that criminals will not only steal from you but will 'become you' to steal from you.

Hoaxes: Are often warnings that contain incorrect information about malware or system events. These warnings often describe fantastical or impossible malware program characteristics that often fool the user into performing unwanted actions on their system or suggests that users should forward the warning to other users. A hoax can be considered a nuisance by the mere fact that by forwarding it causes a waste of time and bandwidth.

ISP: Internet Service Provider. The organisation that provides your connections to the internet and gives you access to the world wide web (www), email and other services.

Keyloggers: Are Trojans that, upon execution, log every keystroke or activity in a system. Although similar to third-party parenting/monitoring software, some malware actually employ the same technique to gather valuable data from unsuspecting users.

Malware: Malicious software designed to do damage to your system. See viruses and trojan horses.

Phishing: An increasingly common scam whereby hackers imitate legitimate companies and
banks using fake web pages and bulk e-mails to entice people to share passwords, account details or credit-card numbers.

Phreaking: Closely related to hacking, phreaking involves using a computer or other device to trick a phone system to make free calls or to have calls charged to a different account.

Skimming: Skimming involves the unauthorised copying of electronic data from credit or debit cards. Although it is often done by dishonest shop assistants, in recent years has involved more sophistocated electronic devices. This can include stealing credit card data by swiping the card through a machine (which may be concealed within a valid ATM) that reads information on the magnetic strip. These details are then used to make counterfeit cards, which are often sold on.

Spam: Spam is the term used to describe bulk and unsolicited electronic messages. They can a commercial focus, promoting or selling products or services, but increasingly are associated with banking or other fraud, pornography and other questionable aspects of the internet. Individual spam messages are usually distributed in very large numbers automatically and are sent in such a way as to disguise the originator.


Spam Filters: Software filters which are pre-programmed or which can be 'educated' to block, delete or divert email messages which contain certain words in the address, heading or text.

Spoofing: This is a technique used to fool a person or system into thinking it is dealing with a legitimate user or system by 'faking' the from credentials or other address details.

Spyware: A software applications that monitors a user's computing habits and personal information and sends this information to third parties without the user's authorization or knowledge.

Stealer: A stealer is a Trojan that gathers information from a system. The most common form of stealers are those that gather logon information, like usernames and passwords, and then send the information to another system either via email or over a network. Other stealers, called key loggers, log user keystrokes which may reveal sensitive information.

Trojan (Horse): A Trojan horse, as the name implies, secretly carries often-damaging software in the guise of an innocuous e-mail attachment. The file attachment name itself is normally misleading to entice you to open it. When the attachment is opened the program can do all sorts of things, from erasing files to changing your desktop. It then sends itself along to other people in your address book so that it can propagate itself.

Virus: A computer virus is a relatively small program or piece of code that is distributed via email, website, an infected floppy disk or CD and when loaded onto a computer is capable of replicating itself repeatedly. What triggers a virus will vary - by activation-execution, by viewing or by date. While some viruses will not cause any damage, there are many malicious viruses which attempt to execute damaging activities such as sending random emails using your own address book, deleting files from your PC, disabling various components such as anti-virus software.

Worm: A worm is a computer program that has been designed to copy itself from machine to machine. Worms normally move around and infect other machines through the internet. Using a network, a worm can expand from a single copy incredibly quickly.