Computer Terrorism: What are the risks?




Lexicon

ARPANET First network, created in 1969 by the ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency) to connect some American scientific laboratories. It is the ancestor of Internet.
AWACS Aiborne Warning and System Control. Plane radar (Photo 32K) (More infos)
BACK DOOR Literally " carries of behind ", creates by the programmer of an information processing system, in order to allow him to penetrate without other in the system, even when this one is installed at the customer, without the knowledge of this last.
LOGICAL BOMB Program or piece of program, placed in a computer. It's goal is to the destroy or the modify datas when a certain condition is carried out, for example the name of an employee is erased of of the employees list (technical used like revenge in the event of dismissal)
The CIA Central Intelligence Agency. (the CIA homepage)
COMPILER Program charged to translate the source code of a program (readable easily by the programmer), in a directly comprehensible file by the computer.
CRACKER Someone who breaks the safety measures in a system. Term invented, about 1985 by hackers to defend oneself of the misuse of the hacker term by the journalists, making the amalgam between the "good " hackers and the criminals!
DISA Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA Homepage)
DoD Department of Defence ( USA) (list of sites)
FAA Federal Aviation Admistration .
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation, charged, amongst other things, of counter-espionage (FBI homepage)
HACKER
  1. A person taking of the pleasure to explore the details of the programmable systems and how to use them to the maximum.
  2. Somebody programming with enthusiasm (see even in an obsessional way) or which is pleased to program rather than to make theories on the programming.
  3. A person appreciating the values of the hacking.
  4. A person who is good to program quickly.
  5. An expert about a certain program or somebody who frequently uses it. (UNIX hacker)
  6. An expert or enthusiastic of some kind, for example in astronomy.
  7. A person who likes the intellectual challenges, and to pass in addition to the limitations.
  8. [ Not correct but used] a fouinor who seeks has to discover significant information while excavating everywhere. (the correct term is cracker)

These definitions come from the Jargon, the dictionary of the hackers. Note: The meaning given by the expert in security, the journalists and general public, approaches definition NO 8. It is this meaning that I employ it in this document.

JSTARS Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System . Electronic plane of monitoring and control of the battle field.
The KGB Komitet Gossoudarstevennoï Bezopasnosti. Secret service sovetic.
LOGIN Action to connect itself on a computer, generally characterized by the introduction of its name and its password.
MODEM MODulator DEModulator. Device allowing to connect its computer to another computer, through normal telephone line.
NCCS National Computer Crime Squad
WHO The World Health Organization
PENTAGON Other name for the American Defence Department, given because of the shape of the building sheltering its offices.
PHREAKER Someone practitioner the phreaking
PHREAKING Art and science to pirate the telephone network (for example to make long-distance calls free).
SDN Society of the Nations, ancestor of UNO (United Nations)
TEMPEST Transient Electro-Magnetic Pulse Emanation STandart . Indicate the standard defining the rate of radiation which a system can emit without compromising information that it contains. Official designation for the equipment of listening of the systems which are not to standard TEMPEST is always classified. Authors then use also the term of TEMPEST, with the following significance: Transient Electro-Magnetic PulsE Surveillance Technology .
UNIX Operating system, invented in the Bell laboratories around 1970.

Additional information


Contents
Bookmarks


Please, send your comments to

Patrick Galley (Patrick.Galley@theoffice.net)

Last update: June 1, 1998


Return to the page about the computer security
Return to my home page