Dictionary of Computing – 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 1996).
Existing Citations
acceptable risk (s.v. "tolerable risk"): A level of risk deemed acceptable by society in order that some particular benefit or functionality can be obtained, but in the knowledge that the risk has been evaluated and is being managed. (†1341)
class (s.v. "object"): Objects are derived from a template, and the collection of objects that are instances of a particular template are said to form a class. (†2530)
object (s.v. "object"): In object-oriented design, objects are the basic components from which the model of the system to be implemented is constructed. In object-oriented programming, the term has a more precise definition. A object is an instance of a component comprising data structures and procedures (called methods) for manipulating the structures. These methods are activated by messages sense to the object, and the interior structure of the object is entirely hidden from any other object (a property called encapsulation). Objects are derived from a template, and the collection of objects that are instances of a particular template are said to form a class. (†2529)
security (s.v. "security"): Prevention of or protection against (a) access to information by unauthorized recipients or (b) intentional but unauthorized destruction or alteration of that information. Security may guard against both unintentional as well as deliberate attempts to access sensitive information, in various combinations according to circumstance. The concepts of security, integrity, and privacy are interlinked. (†1340)
threat (s.v. "threat"): Any action intended to breach the security of information stored in a system by (a) gaining unauthorized access to that information usually without alerting the authorized user, (b) denial of service to the authorized user, (c) spoofing, which aims to confuse by introducing false information, usually as to the identity of the user. Some threats are with premeditated malicious intent but others are opportunistic, e.g., browsing, or occur during a crash. See also vulnerability. (†1342)
vulnerability (s.v. "vulnerability"): Any mechanism that could lead to a breach of the security of a system in the presence of a threat. Vulnerabilities may arise unintentionally due to inadequacy of design or incomplete debugging. Alternatively the vulnerability may arise through malicious intent, e.g. the insertion of a Trojan horse. (†1343)
