Glossary
To view glossaries for other IBM® products, see http://www-01.ibm.com/software/globalization/terminology/.
A
- AES
- Advanced Encryption Standard. A data encryption technique that improved upon and officially replaced the Data Encryption Standard (DES).
- alias
- See key label.
- authentication
- A security service that provides proof that a user of a computer system is genuinely who that person claims to be. Common mechanisms for implementing this service are passwords and digital signatures. See also authorization.
- authorization
- The process of granting a user either complete or restricted access to an object, resource, or function. See also authentication.
C
- certificate
- In computer security, a digital document that binds a public key to the identity of the certificate owner, enabling the certificate owner to be authenticated. A certificate is issued by a certificate authority and is digitally signed by that authority.
- certificate Authority (CA)
- A trusted organization or company that issues the digital certificates. The certificate authority typically verifies the identity of the individuals who are granted the unique certificate.
- certificate label
- See key label.
- challenge
- A request for certain information to a system. The information, which is sent back in response to this request, is necessary for authentication.
- cipher suite
- The combination of authentication, key exchange algorithm, and the TLS cipher specification that is used for the secure exchange of data.
- cluster
- A collection of independent systems (nodes) that are organized into a network for sharing resources and communicating with each other.
- command-line interface (CLI)
- A computer interface in which the input and output are text-based.
- cryptography
- A method for protecting information by transforming it (encrypting it) into an unreadable format, called ciphertext. Only users who possess a secret key can decipher (or decrypt) the message into plain text.
- CSV file
- A common type of file that contains data that you can separate by commas.
D
- data key
- An alphanumeric string that is used to encrypt data.
- digital certificate
- An electronic document that identifies an individual, server,
company, or some other entity. A digital certificate associates a
public key with the entity. A digital certificate is issued by a certification
authority and is digitally signed by that authority. See also
certificate authority
. - data source
- The source of data itself, such as a database or XML file, and the connection information necessary for accessing the data.
E
- ECDSA
- Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. A system for asymmetric, public-key cryptography that is used for encryption and authentication. This algorithm uses elliptic curve cryptography to provide a variant of the Digital Signature Algorithm.
- encryption
- The conversion of data into a cipher. A key is required to encrypt and decrypt the data. Encryption provides protection from persons or software that attempt to access the data without the key.
- externally encrypted data key
- A data key that is encrypted (wrapped) by a key encryption key before you store it in the data cartridge. See key encrypting key.
F
- failover
- An automatic operation that switches to a redundant or standby system in the event of a software, hardware, or network interruption.
- failback
- In high availability disaster recovery, the process of restarting the original primary system and returning it to its status of primary system after a failover has occurred.
H
- Hardware Security Module (HSM)
- A hardware security module (HSM) is a device that provides secure storage to store cryptographic keys.
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
- An Internet protocol that is used to transfer and display hypertext and XML documents on the web.
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
- An Internet protocol that is used by web servers and web browsers to transfer and display hypermedia documents securely across the Internet.
J
- JAR file
- A Java™ archive file.
- JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
- A lightweight data-interchange format that is based on the object-literal notation of JavaScript. JSON is programming-language neutral but uses conventions from various languages.
- JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)
- An industry standard for database-independent connectivity between the Java platform and a wide range of databases. The JDBC interface provides a call-level API for SQL-based database access.
K
- key encrypting key
- An alphanumeric, asymmetric key that is used to encrypt the data key. See externally encrypted data key.
- key label
- A unique identifier that is used to match the externally encrypted data key with the private key that is required to unwrap the protected symmetric data key.
- Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP)
- Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) is a communication protocol between a key management server and an encryption system. The KMIP standard is developed by the KMIP technical committee Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).
- key ring
- In computer security, a file that contains public keys, private keys, trusted roots, and certificates.
- keystore
- A database of private keys and their associated X.509 digital certificate chains that are used to authenticate the corresponding public keys. In security, a file or a hardware cryptographic card where identities and private keys are stored, for authentication and encryption purposes. Some keystores also contain trusted, or public, keys.
L
- LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
- An open protocol that uses TCP/IP to provide access to directories that support an X.500 model and that does not incur the resource requirements of the more complex X.500 Directory Access Protocol (DAP). For example, LDAP can be used to locate people, organizations, and other resources in an Internet or intranet directory.
- LDAP directory
- A type of repository that stores information on people, organizations, and other resources and that is accessed by using the LDAP protocol. The entries in the repository are organized into a hierarchical structure, and in some cases the hierarchical structure reflects the structure or geography of an organization.
- lifecycle
- Passage or transformation through different stages over time. For example, markets, brands, and offerings have lifecycle.
- lifecycle rules
- A set of rules in a policy that determine which operations to use when automatically handling commonly occurring events, such as suspending an account that is inactive for a period.
M
- migration
- The movement of data when the software is upgraded or the data is transferred to a different hardware system or model.
N
- node
- A node is a computer system that is a member of a cluster.
P
- password
- In computer and network security, a specific string of characters that is used by a program, computer operator, or user to access the system and the information that is stored within it.
- policy
- A set of considerations that influences the behavior of a managed resource or a user.
- private key
- In secure communication, an algorithmic pattern, which is used to encrypt messages that only the corresponding public key can decrypt. The private key is also used to decrypt messages that were encrypted by the corresponding public key. The private key is kept on the user's system and is protected by a password.
- public key
- The non-secret half of a cryptographic key pair that is used with a public key algorithm. The public key is made available to everyone. Public keys are typically used to verify digital signatures or decrypt data that is encrypted with the corresponding private key.
R
- rekey
- The process of changing the asymmetric Key Encrypting Key that protects the Data Key that is stored on an already encrypted tape, allowing different entities access to the data.
- replication
- The process of maintaining a defined set of data in more than one location. Replication involves copying designated changes for one location (a source) to another (a target) and synchronizing the data in both locations.
- Representational State Transfer (REST)
- A software architectural style for distributed hypermedia systems like the World Wide Web. The term is also often used to describe any simple interface that uses XML (or YAML, JSON, plain text) over HTTP without an additional messaging layer such as SOAP.
- response file
- A file that can be customized with the setup and configuration data that automates an installation. During an interactive installation, the setup and configuration data must be entered, but with a response file, the installation can proceed without any intervention.
- RSA
- Rivest-Shamir-Adleman algorithm. A system for asymmetric, public-key cryptography that is used for encryption and authentication. The security of the system depends on the difficulty of factoring the product of two large prime numbers.
- rule
- A condition that is used in the evaluation of a policy.
S
- Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
- A security protocol that provides communication privacy. SSL enables client/server applications to communicate in a way that is designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery.
- security
- The protection of data, system operations, and devices from accidental or intentional ruin, damage, or exposure.
- syslog
- A standard for transmitting and storing log messages from many sources to a centralized location to enhance system management.
- system administrator
- An individual who is responsible for the configuration, administration, and maintenance of a computer system or application.
T
- Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
- An industry-standard, non-proprietary set of communication protocols that provides reliable end-to-end connections between applications over interconnected networks of different types.
- Transport Layer Security (TLS)
- A set of encryption rules that uses verified certificates and encryption keys to secure communications over the Internet. TLS is an update to the SSL protocol.
- TLS handshake
- A Transport Layer Security (TLS) session always begins with an exchange of messages called the TLS handshake. The handshake allows the server to authenticate itself to the client by using public key techniques, and then allows the client and the server to cooperate in the creation of symmetric keys that are used for rapid encryption, decryption, and tamper detection during the session that follows.
- truststore
- In security, a storage object, either a file or a hardware cryptographic card, where public keys are stored in the form of trusted certificates, for authentication purposes in Web transactions. In some applications, these trusted certificates are moved into the application keystore to be stored with the private keys.
U
- Unified Key Orchestrator
- Unified Key Orchestrator is a key management system that provides centralized key management.
- UKO
- See Unified Key Orchestrator.
- Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
- The unique address of an information resource that is accessible in a network such as the Internet. The URL includes the abbreviated name of the protocol that is used to access the information resource and the information used by the protocol to locate the information resource.
W
- worldwide name
- Name of a device such as a tape drive. The worldwide name is a non-secure, 64-bit address that is used in networks to uniquely identify each element. For example, to define devices and device paths, you might combine the value of the worldwide name with a device serial number, and other information of each disk device and tape drive used.
X
- X.509 certificate
- A certificate that contains information that is defined by the X.509 standard.