Glossary

Action Log

A file that lists actions that have occurred during a given session or period of time. For example, Web servers maintain log files listing every request made to the server. With log file analysis, it's possible to understand users’ behaviors and system responses.

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AES

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is the new cryptographic algorithm selected for use since December 2002 by the U.S. Goverment to protect sensitive infomation.

AES is based on the Rijndael Block Cipher (developed by the Belgian cryptographers Jaoan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen), an iterated block cypher with a variable block length and key length of 128, 192 or 256-bits.

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Archiving

Information assets, such as tangible assets, must also be protected from accidental and physical damage. Archiving refers to the act of storing duplicate copies of documents and data in a safe domain, following strict security measures and procedures.

In the e-Capsule™ system, uploaded files can be marked for archiving on the secure repository. Once this is done, the encrypted files will be regularly backed-up and safeguarded against accidental or physical destruction. Using the AdminTools application, the e-Capsule™ Account administrators can also request immediate backup or restores of files archived in the repository.

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ASP

Application service providers (ASPs) are companies that offer to individuals or enterprises access over the Internet to applications and related services that would otherwise have to be installed and provided using their own personal or enterprise computers.

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Audit Trail

This is a record showing who has accessed the system and what operations he /she has performed during a given period of time. Audit trails are useful both for maintaining security and for recovering lost transactions. In particular, audit trails enable business managers to monitor the use of information resources and to enforce corporate security policies.

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Authentication

Authentication is the process of determining whether someone or something is, in fact, who or what he declares to be. The most common example of authentication protocol is the use of username and password, where the knowledge of the password is assumed to guarantee that the user’s claimed identity is valid. Usually, authentication is based on one of the following three factors: something the user knows (a PIN or a password), something the user has (e.g. a smart card or token), and something the user is (physically; e.g. finger prints or retina scan). Two-Factor Authentication refers to the act of requiring two out of the three previously listed authentication factors. The best known example is the act of withdrawing funds from an ATM machine, which requires both something the user has (the ATM card) and something the user knows (the PIN number).

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Authorization

The act of granting approval. Authorization to resources or information within an application can be based on simple or complex access control methods.

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Availability

Availability refers to the percentage of time (measured relatively to the "100%" or "never failing" status) a system or component remains continuously operational. For a system to be highly available, all components should be equally well-designed and thoroughly tested before they are deployed. Furthermore, no component should represent a single-point of failure for the system.