Training & Professional Development

radiation monitoring

A specific form of sniffing or eavesdropping that involves the detection, capture, and recording of radio frequency signals and other radiated communication methods, including sound and light.

radio frequency identification (RFID)

A technology that uses electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the radio frequency (RF) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to identify a specific device. Each RFID tag includes a unique identifier, so that when a nearby antenna/transceiver actives the tag, it transmits that identifier back to the antenna where that value is recorded or used to trigger some kind of action. For example, most modern toll-road systems use RFID devices that drivers attach to the windshield of their car, and each time a device is "read" by an antenna, the vehicle owner's toll balance is incremented by the cost of that transit. RFID devices may also be used to track individuals (carrying tags), equipment (bearing tags), and so forth, within the premises of an enterprise for security monitoring.

radio frequency interference (RFI)

A type of noise that is generated by a wide number of common electrical appliances, including fluorescent lights, electrical cables, electric space heaters, computers, elevators, motors, electric magnets, and so on. RFI can affect many of the same systems EMI affects.

RADIUS

See Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS).

RAID

See Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID).

rainbow table

A database of precomputed hashes for guessed passwords. Rainbow tables are used in password attacks, and they can significantly reduce the time it takes to crack the password.

random access memory (RAM)

Readable and writable memory that contains information the computer uses during processing. RAM retains its contents only when power is continuously supplied to it.

random access storage

Devices, such as RAM and hard drives, that allow the operating system to request contents from any point within the media.

read-only memory (ROM)

Memory that can be read but cannot be written to.

ready state

The state in which a process is ready to execute but is waiting for its turn on the CPU.

real evidence

Items that can actually be brought into a court of law; also known as object evidence.

real memory

Typically the largest RAM storage resource available to a computer. It is normally composed of a number of dynamic RAM chips and therefore must be refreshed by the CPU on a periodic basis; also known as main memory or primary memory.

realized risk

The incident, occurrence, or event when a risk becomes a reality and a breach, attack, penetration, or intrusion has occurred that may or may not result in loss, damage, or disclosure of assets.

reasonableness check

The crafting and use of special test suites of data that exercise all paths of the software to the fullest extent possible and comparison of the results to the known correct expected outputs.

record

Contents of a table in a relational database.

record retention

The organizational policy that defines what information is maintained and for how long. In most cases, the records in question are audit trails of user activity.The organizational policy that defines what information is maintained and for how long. In most cases, the records in question are audit trails of user activity. This may include file and resource access, logon patterns, email, and the use of privileges.

record sequence checking

Similar to hash total checking, but instead of verifying content integrity, it involves verifying packet or message sequence integrity.

recovery access control

A type of access control that is used to repair or restore resources, functions, and capabilities after a security policy violation.

recovery strategies

The practices, policies, and procedures to recover a business that include designating first responders to major incidents, performing critical follow-up tasks, and obtaining insurance to reduce risk of financial loss.

recovery time objective (RTO)

See maximum tolerable downtime (MTD).

red boxes

Devices used to simulate tones of coins being deposited into a pay phone.

reducing risk

The implementation of safeguards and countermeasures. Also referred to as mitigating risk.

reduction analysis

The purpose of this task is to gain a greater understanding of the logic of the product as well as its interactions with external elements. Whether an application,The purpose of this task is to gain a greater understanding of the logic of the product as well as its interactions with external elements. Whether an application, a system, or an entire environment, it needs to be divided into smaller containers or compartments. Those might be subroutines, modules, or objects if focusing on software; computers, operating systems, and protocols if focusing on systems or networks; or departments, tasks, and networks if focusing on an entire business infrastructure. Each identified sub element should be evaluated in order to understand inputs, processing, security, data management, storage, and outputs. This is also sometimes referred to as decomposing the application, system, or environment.

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)

A storage device technology that uses multiple hard drives in unique combinations to produce a storage solution that provides better throughput as well as resistance to device failure.

redundant servers

A fault-tolerant deployment option that provides for various server options in the event of a disaster, such as mirroring, electronic vaulting, remote journaling, database shadowing, and clustering.

reference monitor

A portion of the security kernel that validates user requests against the system's access control mechanisms.

reference profile

The digitally stored sample of a biometric factor.

reference template

See reference profile.

referential integrity

Used to enforce relationships between two tables. One table in the relationship contains a foreign key that corresponds to the primary key of the other table in the relationship.

reflected input

When a vulnerable website is fed script commands through form fields in such a manner as to trick the site, the input is reflected back to a visitor as if it was original and legitimate content.

register

A limited amount of onboard memory in a CPU.

register address

The address of a register, which is a small memory location directly on the CPU. When the CPU needs information from one of those registers to complete an operation, it can simply use the register address (for example, "register one") to access the information.

registration authority (RA)

A read-only version of a certificate authority that is able to distribute the CRL and perform certificate verification processes but is not able to create new certificates. An RA is used to share the workload of a CA.

regulatory policy

A policy that is required whenever industry or legal standards are applicable to your organization. This policy discusses the regulations that must be followed and outlines the procedures that should be used to elicit compliance.

reject risk

To deny that a risk exists or hope that by ignoring a risk, it will never be realized. It is an unacceptable response to risk. Also referred to as deny risk.

relational database

A database that consists of tables that contain a set of related records.

relationship

The association of information in tables of a relational database.

relevant

Characteristic of evidence that is applicable in determining a fact in a court of law.

Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS)

A service used to centralize the authentication of remote dial-up connections.

remote journaling

Transferring copies of the database transaction logs containing the transactions that occurred since the previous bulk transfer.

remote mirroring

Maintaining a live database server at the backup site. It is the most advanced database backup solution.

remote wipe

A mobile device security feature that can delete all data and possibly even configuration settings remotely.

repeater

A network device used to amplify signals on network cabling to allow for longer distances between nodes. Also known as a concentrator or amplifier.

replay attack

An attack in which a malicious user records the traffic between a client and server. The packets sent from the client to the server are then played back or retransmitted to the server with slight variations of the time stamp and source IP address (in other words, spoofing). In some cases, this allows the malicious user to restart an old communication link with a server. Also referred to as a playback attack.

residual risk

Risk that comprises specific threats to specific assets against which upper management chooses not to implement a safeguard. In other words, residual risk is the risk that management has chosen to accept rather than mitigate.

restricted interface model

A model that uses classification-based restrictions to offer only subject-specific authorized information and functions. One subject at one classification level will see one set of data and have access to one set of functions whereas another subject at a different classification level will see a different set of data and have access to a different set of functions.

retina scan

An example of a biometric factor, which is a behavioral or physiological characteristic that is unique to a subject. The blood vessel pattern at the back of the eyeball is used to establish identity or provide authentication.

Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP)

A subprotocol of the TCP/IP protocol suite that operates at the Data Link layer (layer 2). RARP is used to discover the IP address of a system by polling using its MAC address.

reverse engineering

This is considered an unethical form of engineering. Programmers decompile code to understand all the intricate details of its functionality, especially when employed for the purpose of creating a similar, competing, or compatible product.

reverse hash matching

The process of discovering the original message that has been hashed by generating potential messages, hashing them, and comparing their hash value to the original. When H(M) = H(M'), then M = M'.

revocation

A mechanism that allows a PKI certificate to be canceled, effectively removing a user from the system.

RFC 1918

The public standard that defines public and private IP addresses.

Rijndael block cipher

A block cipher that was selected to replace DES. The Rijndael cipher allows the use of three key strengths: 128 bits, 192 bits, and 256 bits.

risk

The likelihood that any specific threat will exploit a specific vulnerability to cause harm to an asset. Risk is an assessment of probability, possibility, or chance. Risk = threat x vulnerability.

risk analysis

An element of risk management that includes analyzing an environment for risks, evaluating each risk as to its likelihood of occurring and cost of damage, assessing the cost of various countermeasures for each risk, and creating a cost/benefit report for safeguards to present to upper management.

risk framework

A guideline or recipe for how risk is to be assessed, resolved, and monitored.

risk management

A detailed process of identifying factors that could damage or disclose data, evaluating those factors in light of data value and countermeasure cost, and implementing cost-effective solutions for mitigating or reducing risk.

risk tolerance

The ability of an organization to absorb the losses associated with realized risks.

Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA)

A public key encryption algorithm named after Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman, its inventors.

role-based access control

A form of nondiscretionary access controls that employs job function roles to regulate subject access to objects.

root

The administrator level of a system.

rooting

Rooting removes restrictions on Android devices and permits root-level access to the underlying operating system. It is similar to jailbreaking a device running the iOS operating system.

rootkit

A specialized software package that allows hackers to gain expanded access to a system.

router

A network device used to control traffic flow on networks. Routers are often used to connect similar networks together and control traffic flow between them. They can function using statically defined routing tables or employ a dynamic routing system.

RSA

See Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA).

rule-based access control

A variation of mandatory access controls. A rule-based system uses a set of rules, restrictions, or filters to determine what can and cannot occur on the system, such as granting subject access, performing an action on an object, or accessing a resource. Firewalls, proxies, and routers are common examples of rule-based access control systems.

running key cipher

A form of cryptography in which the key is a designation of a changing source, such as the third page of the New York Times.

running state

The state in which a process is actively executing. This is another name for problem state.