IT standards and organizations

Terms related to information technology (IT) standards, including definitions about IT organizations and words and phrases about policies and compliance.

10BASE-T - 10BASE-T is an Ethernet standard for local area networks and one of several physical media specified in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.
11th dimension - The 11th dimension is a characteristic of space-time that has been proposed as a possible answer to questions that arise in superstring theory.
5G New Radio (NR) - 5G New Radio, or 5G NR, is a set of standards that replace the fourth-generation wireless (4G) LTE network communications standard.
802.11n - 802.11n is an IEEE standard for wireless networking that boosts the speed, dependability and range of wireless transmissions in wireless local area networks (WLANs).
absolute truth - In general, absolute truth is whatever is always valid, regardless of parameters or context.
absolute value - Absolute value is a term used in mathematics to indicate the distance of a point or number from the origin (zero point) of a number line or coordinate system.
accountability - Accountability is an assurance that an individual or an organization is evaluated on its performance or behavior related to something for which it is responsible.
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) - Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a protocol that maps dynamic IP addresses to permanent physical machine addresses in a local area network (LAN).
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) - The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a symmetric block cipher chosen by the U.
alphanumeric (alphameric) - Alphanumeric, also referred to as alphameric, is a term that encompasses all of the letters and numerals in a given language set.
American Wire Gauge (AWG) - American Wire Gauge (AWG) is the standard way to denote wire size in North America.
anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a method for allowing users to access public files from a remote server or archive site without requiring them to identify themselves to the server or site.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) - ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is the primary organization for fostering the development of technology standards in the United States.
anti-replay protocol - The anti-replay protocol provides Internet Protocol (IP) packet-level security by making it impossible for a hacker to intercept message packets and insert changed packets into the data stream between a source computer and a destination computer.
Army Knowledge Online (AKO) - Army Knowledge Online (AKO) is the United States Army intranet.
ARPANET - The U.S.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) - ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is the most common character encoding format for text data in computers and on the internet.
ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) - ASHRAE was formed in 1959 by the merger of the American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHAE), founded in 1894, and the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (ASRE), founded in 1904.
atomic mass unit (AMU or amu) - The atomic mass unit (AMU or amu) of an element is a measure of its atomic mass.
Australian Assistance and Access Bill - The Australian Assistance and Access Bill is legislation introduced and passed in 2018 by the Parliament of Australia to support law enforcement and security agencies in their ability to collect evidence from electronic devices.
Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) - Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) is a feature of Windows-based OSes -- included since Windows 98 and Windows ME -- that enables a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol client to automatically assign an IP address to itself when there's no DHCP server available to perform that function.
BAI2 file format - BAI2 file format is a specialized and standardized set of codes used for cash management and bank reconciliations, and introduced by the Bank Administration Institute (BAI).
balanced scorecard - The balance scorecard (BSC) is a management system aimed at translating an organization's strategic goals into a set of organizational performance objectives that, in turn, are measured, monitored, and changed if necessary to ensure that an organizations strategic goals are met.
bank identifier code (BIC) - A bank identifier code (BIC) is a unique identifier for a specific financial institution.
barcode (or bar code) - A barcode (sometimes seen as two words, bar code) is the small image of lines (bars) and spaces that is affixed to retail store items, identification cards and postal mail to identify a particular product number, person or location.
Basel II - Basel II is an international business standard that requires financial institutions to maintain enough cash reserves to cover risks incurred by their operations.
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) - BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is the protocol that enables the global routing system of the internet.
binary - Binary describes a numbering scheme in which there are only two possible values for each digit -- 0 or 1 -- and is the basis for all binary code used in computing systems.
biotechnology (biotech) - Biotechnology is the use of biology to develop new products, methods and organisms intended to improve human health and society.
Blue Origin - Blue Origin is a private spaceflight company based in Kent, Wash.
Bluetooth - Bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that describes how mobile devices, computers and other endpoints can easily communicate with each other using a short-range wireless connection.
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR - Bluetooth 2.
Bohr radius - The Bohr radius is a physical constant that represents the most probable distance between the electron and nucleus of a hydrogen atom at its ground state (lowest energy level).
BOOTP (Bootstrap Protocol) - BOOTP (Bootstrap Protocol) is an internet protocol that lets a network user automatically be configured to receive an IP address and have an operating system booted without user involvement.
business process - A business process is an activity or set of activities that accomplish a specific organizational goal.
Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI) - Established in August 2000, the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI) is a nonprofit organization that promotes the standardization of common business processes, as a means of furthering e-business and B2B development.
Business Process Modeling Language (BPML) - Business Process Modeling Language (BPML) is an XML standard metalanguage used to outline business processes in an easy-to-understand way.
call signaling - Call signaling is a process that is used to set up a connection in a telephone network.
CamelCase - CamelCase is a way to separate the words in a phrase by making the first letter of each word capitalized and not using spaces.
canonical name (CNAME) - A canonical name (CNAME) is a type of Domain Name System (DNS) database record that indicates that a domain name is the nickname or alias for another domain name.
Categories of twisted-pair cabling systems - A twisted-pair cabling system is a cable consisting of one or several pairs of copper wires.
CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) - CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) refers to any of several protocols used in second-generation (2G) and third-generation (3G) wireless communications.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Promoting a healthy general public and sharing data about chronic diseases are main goals of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CERT-In (the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) - CERT-In (the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) is a government-mandated information technology (IT) security organization.
change control - Change control includes the various steps needed to process changes made to a product or system.
CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol) - CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol) is a challenge and response authentication method that Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) servers use to verify the identity of a remote user.
chatty protocol - A chatty protocol is an application or routing protocol requiring a client or server to wait for an acknowledgment before transmitting data again.
closed captions - Closed captions are a text version of the spoken part of a television, movie or computer presentation.
cloud audit - A cloud audit is an assessment of a cloud computing environment and its services, based on a specific set of controls and best practices.
Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) - The Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) is an international standard that defines a functional interface that applications use to create, retrieve, update and delete data elements from cloud storage.
Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) - The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is a nonprofit organization that promotes research into best practices for securing cloud computing and the use of cloud technologies to secure other forms of computing.
cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) - A cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) is an agreement between a cloud service provider and a customer that ensures a minimum level of service is maintained.
COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) - COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) is a high-level programming language for business applications.
cold/warm/hot server - In the backup and recovery of a computer server, a cold server is a backup server whose purpose is solely to be there in case the main server is lost.
Common Access Card (CAC) - A Common Access Card (CAC) is a smart card issued by the Unites States Department of Defense for accessing DOD systems and facilities.
Common Criteria (CC) for Information Technology Security Evaluation - Common Criteria (CC) is an international set of guidelines and specifications developed for evaluating information security products, specifically to ensure they meet an agreed-upon security standard for government deployments.
Common Information Model (CIM) - The Common Information Model (CIM) is a computer industry standard that defines device and application characteristics so system administrators and management programs can control devices and applications from different manufacturers.
Common Service Center (CSC) - Common Service Center (CSC) is an initiative by the government of India to establish locations with computers that are freely available for citizens to use.
compliance - Compliance is the state of being in accordance with established guidelines or specifications, or the process of becoming so.
compound - In chemistry, a compound is a substance made up of two or more different chemical elements that are combined in a fixed ratio.
CompTIA Project+ - CompTIA Project+ is the Computing Technology Industry Association's certification program designed to demonstrate a person has a validated understanding of and skills in project management.
Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) - A Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a group of information security experts responsible for the protection against, detection of and response to an organization’s cybersecurity incidents.
connectionless - In telecommunications, connectionless describes communication between two network endpoints in which a message can be sent from one endpoint to another without prior arrangement.
content aggregator - A content aggregator is an individual, organization or tool that gathers web content and applications from different online sources for reuse.
COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS - COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS are abbreviations that describe prepackaged software or -- less commonly -- hardware purchase alternatives.
coulomb (C) - A coulomb (C) is the standard unit of electric charge in the International System of Units (SI).
critical infrastructure - Critical infrastructure is the collection of systems, networks and public works that a government considers essential to its functioning and safety of its citizens.
CSO (Chief Security Officer) - A Chief Security Officer (CSO) is a C-suite executive responsible for a company's physical and digital security.
customer data integration (CDI) - Customer data integration (CDI) is the process of defining, consolidating and managing customer information across an organization's business units and systems to achieve a "single version of the truth" for customer data.
cyber espionage - Cyber espionage (cyberespionage) is a type of cyber attack that malicious hackers carry out against a business or government entity.
cyberpicketing - Cyberpicketing is the use of the Internet to protest a corporation or other institution's wages, work conditions, products, environmental policy, or other issues.
cybersecurity - Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyberthreats.
cyberterrorism - Cyberterrorism is usually defined as any premeditated, politically motivated attack against information systems, programs, and data that threatens violence or results in violence.
cyberwarfare - The generally accepted definition of cyberwarfare is a series of cyber attacks against a nation-state, causing it significant harm.
data breach - A data breach is a cyber attack in which sensitive, confidential or otherwise protected data has been accessed or disclosed in an unauthorized fashion.
data latency - Data latency is the time it takes for data packets to be stored or retrieved.
data link layer - The data link layer is the protocol layer in a program that handles how data moves in and out of a physical link in a network.
decimal - Decimal is a numbering system that uses a base-10 representation for numeric values.
Defense Acquisition Regulatory Council (DARC) - The Defense Acquisition Regulatory Council (DARC) is a group composed of representatives from each Military department, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) - The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is a component of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that works with defense contractors to ensure government services and supplies are delivered on time, come at the expected cost and satisfy all performance requirements.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a network management protocol used to dynamically assign an IP address to any device, or node, on a network so it can communicate using IP.
dielectric constant - The dielectric constant of a substance or material is a measure of its ability to store electrical energy.
differentiated services (DiffServ or DS) - Differentiated services, often shortened to DiffServ or DS, is a class of service (CoS) model to specify and control IP network traffic by class.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) - The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a controversial United States digital rights management (DRM) law enacted October 28, 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton.
digital profiling - Digital profiling is the process of gathering and analyzing information about an individual that exists online.
digital video broadcasting (DVB) - Digital video broadcasting (DVB) is a set of standards that define digital broadcasting using DVB satellite, cable and terrestrial broadcasting infrastructures.
displacement - Displacement (symbolized d or s), also called length or distance, is a one-dimensional quantity representing the separation between two defined points.
DisplayPort - DisplayPort is an interface for digital displays, particularly computer monitors.
domain name system (DNS) - The domain name system (DNS) is a naming database in which internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
downloading - Downloading is the transmission of a file or data from one computer to another over a network, usually from a larger server to a user device.
Dublin Core - Dublin Core is an international metadata standard formally known as the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set and includes 15 metadata (data that describes data) terms.
dynamic port numbers - Dynamic port numbers, also known as private port numbers, are the port numbers that are available for use by any application to use in communicating with any other application, using the internet's Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP).
E-Sign Act (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act) - The E-Sign Act (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act) is a U.
E911 (Enhanced 911) - In the United States, E911 (Enhanced 91 is support for wireless phone users who dial 911, the standard number for requesting help in an emergency.
electric field strength - Electric field strength is a quantitative expression of the intensity of an electric field at a particular location.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) - The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is a United States federal statute that prohibits a third party from intercepting or disclosing communications without authorization.
element - An element is a fundamental item that can't be easily broken into smaller pieces.
element-of symbol - The element-of symbol is used in mathematical set theory to indicate that a point, object or number belongs to a certain set.
encoding and decoding - Encoding and decoding are used in many forms of communications, including computing, data communications, programming, digital electronics and human communications.
Energy Star - Energy Star is a government-backed labeling program that helps people and organizations save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by identifying factories, office equipment, home appliances and electronics that have superior energy efficiency.