Glossary (English only)

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Rainbow Series A series of documents published by the National Computer Security Center (NCSC) to discuss in detail the features of the DoD, Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) and provide guidance for meeting each requirement. The name "rainbow" is a nickname because each document has a different color of cover. See also: NCSC
Random Number As opposed to a pseudorandom number, a truly random number is a number produced independently of its generating criteria. For cryptographic purposes, numbers based on physical measurements, such as a Geiger counter, are considered random.
Read A fundamental operations that results only in the flow of information from an object to a subject
Recovery The process of restoring a MIS facility and related assets, damaged files, or equipment so as to be useful again after a major emergency which resulted in significant curtailing of normal ADP operations. See also: Disaster Recovery
Reduced Keyspace When using an n bit key, some implementations may only user
Remanence The residual information that remains on storage media after erasure. For discussion purposes, it is better to characterize magnetic remanence as the magnetic representation of residual information that remains on magnetic media after the media has been erased. The magnetic flux that remains in a magnetic circuit after an applied magnetomotive force has been removed. [Random House Webster's College Dictionary, 1994] See also: Object Reuse
Replay Attack Cryptographic attack by sending a copy of an old message. One should always number or time stamp a messages before encryption.
Residual Risk The part of risk remaining after security measures have been implemented
Risk Analysis The process of identifying security risks, determining their magnitude, and identifying areas needing safeguards. An analysis of an organization's information resources, its existing controls, and its remaining organizational and MIS vulnerabilities. It combines the loss potential for each resource or combination of resources with an estimated rate of occurrence to establish a potential level of damage in dollars or other assets. See also: Risk Assessment, Risk Management
Risk Assessment Process of analyzing threats to and vulnerabilities of an MIS to determine the risks (potential for losses), and using the analysis as a basis for identifying appropriate and cost-effective measures. See also: Risk Analysis, Risk Management.Note: Risk analysis is a part of risk management, which is used to minimize risk by specifying security measures commensurate with the relative values of the resources to be protected, the vulnerabilities of those resources, and the identified threats against them. The method should be applied iteratively during the system life-cycle. When applied during the implementation phase or to an operational system, it can verify the effectiveness of existing safeguards and identify areas in which additional measures are needed to achieve the desired level of security. There are numerous risk analysis methodologies and some automated tools available to support them
Risk Management The total process of identifying, measuring, controlling, and eliminating or minimizing uncertain events that may affect system resources. Risk management encompasses the entire system life-cycles and has a direct impact on system certification. It may include risk analysis, cost/benefit analysis, safeguard selection, security test and evaluation, safeguard implementation, and system review. See also: Risk Analysis, Risk Assessmen
ROM Read Only Memory. See also: Nonvolatile Memory Units
Root Certificate A self-signed digital certificate which is the foundation of every x.509 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) implementation. If the root certificate is untrustworthy, so is every certificate that the root Certificate Authority (CA) signed.
Round Each application of confusion and diffusion in a cipher.
RSA A public-key cryptosystem for both encryption and authentication based on exponentiation in modular arithmetic. The algorithm was invented in 1977 by Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman and is generally accepted as practical or secure for public-key encryption. See also: DES, Capstone, Clipper, RSA, Skipjack


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