Cybersecurity Glossary

A false positive is an alert that incorrectly indicates that malicious activity is occurring.

A fill device is a ComSec item used to transfer or store keys in electronic form or to insert key into cryptographic equipment.

A firewall is a security system tool that includes any software or hardware aimed at preventing viruses, worms, and hackers from intruding into a system or network.

Failover is a system’s capability to switch over automatically without any warning or human intervention to a redundant or standby information system upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active system.

The federal information system is an information system used or operated by an executive agency, a contractor of an executive agency, or by another organization on behalf of an executive agency.

The global information grid is the globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating, and managing information on demand to warfighters, policy makers, and support personnel. The gig includes owned and leased communications and computing systems and services, software (including applications), data, security services, other associated services, and national security systems. Non-gig includes stand-alone, self-contained, or embedded that is not, and will not be, connected to the enterprise network.

Governance is a system for directing and controlling an organization. It includes a set of rules, processes, practices established to evaluate the options, needs, conditions of the stakeholders such as management, suppliers, financiers, customers, etc. It also includes a framework for attaining the established goals of an organization, alongside achieving a balance between the goals of organization and interests of the stakeholders. It aims to protect the interests of the organization by protecting assets of the organization, and the interests of the creditors, customers.

A guard system is a mechanism limiting the exchange of information between information systems or subsystems.

Graduated security is a security system that provides several levels (e.g., low, moderate, high) of protection based on threats, risks, available technology, support services, time, human concerns, and economics.

A group authenticator is used sometimes in addition to a sign-on authenticator, to allow access to specific data or functions that may be shared by all members of a particular group.