CSP Unit 1 Vocabulary

Question	Answer
innovation(s)	The process of imagining something that does not yet exist, but that has potential value, and making it real through the application of design, implementation, and production.
security breach	Unauthorized access of data, applications, services, networks and/or devices by bypassing underlying security mechanisms.
algorithm	A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problems solving operations
flow patterns	Patterns that can emerge when data is transformed using computational tools
sequencing	To do things in order, one after another. Executing the statement one at a time, often called linear
iteration	Repetition. One complete step of a loop, repeated until a certain condition is met
selection	Uses "if...then" to tell computer how to select a step or to tell the sequence that should be executed
condition (Boolean)	A statement that has a particular outcome or result that is either true or false
loop	The repetition of some code.
indefinite loops	When it is unknown how many times a loop will iterate, usually we are waiting for an event to occur such as "repeat until...."
definite loops	Executes a predetermined set of times for a loop to be repeate
flowchart	A simple diagram with symbols showing the "flow" of a process
imperative statement	A command statement with a verb phrase that indicates an operation to perform (example: "move forward")
descriptive qualifier	A specific adverb or adjective that further qualifies or limits the meaning of a word (example: left shoe)
cryptography	Securing (or encrypting) information such that it is inaccessible by third parties.
plaintext	Text that is not written in code such as an unencrypted message.
ciphertext	The result of encryption performed on plaintext using an algorithm or cipher.
Caesar cipher	Also called substitution cipher. Substitutes each letter of the original, unencrypted message (plaintext)with a corresponding letter in the encrypted message(ciphertext)
Vigenère cipher	More sophisticated algorithms used to improve encryption from Caesar Cipher by adding a key phrase
cybersecurity	Measures taken to protect a computer or computer system against unauthorized access or attack
CIA Triad	Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
confidentiality	The ability to limit access to information to a certain set of users
integrity	The certainty that information is accurate
availability	The reliability of access to information
authentication	The process of determining whether someone or something is who or what they claim to be.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)	The standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser, typically indicated with padlock icon in the address bar.
digital certificate	Validates the ownership of encrypted keys used in secured communications and are based on a trust model.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack	Distributed Denial of Service - an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
firewall	Part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication.
public key encryption	A non-symmetric encryption method that uses a paired public and private (asymmetric) key algorithm.
viruses	Code that is capable of copying itself and corrupting a system or destroying data.
symmetric encryption	A method of encryption involving one key for encryption and decryption.
social engineering	The psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information
phishing	Obtaining confidential information by masquerading as an "official" person, site, or entity. A form of social engineering
malware	Software that is intended to damage or disable computers and computer systems.
ambiguity	Uncertainty or being open to more than one interpretation.
natural language	A complex, but structured language, both written and spoken, that has evolved naturally in humans through use, repetition and adaptation.
artificial language	A limited size language, usually developed by a small group for specific purposes, usually much simpler and structured.
visual programming language	A programming language that lets users drag and drop icons into organized blocks of code to create programs rather than typing text.
high-level language	A programming language that is is easier for humans to read, write and parse. Guaranteed to be unambiguous.
low-level language	A programming language that has little or no abstraction and communicates closely to the hardware using assembly or machine language. Less natural for humans.
source code	Programs that programmers write in high-level languages
machine code	Machine-level instructions that are uniquely read by computer processors using patterns of 1s and 0s.
compilation	Source code that has been translated into machine code.
compiler	A program that translates high-level, human-readable languages into a corresponding string of 1's and 0's for computer processing.
hardware	Physical components of a computer built using multiple levels of abstraction such as transistors, logic gates,chips, memory, motherboard, special purpose cards, and storage devices.
RAM	Random-access memory consists of tiny electrical circuits that dynamically store frequently used program instruction to increase speed of the system (volatile).
secondary storage	External/auxiliary memory such as a USB flash drive, hard drive, etc.
primary storage	Main storage or memory that stores data for quick access by the computer's processor (RAM)
Central Processing Unit	CPU - the processor or brains of the computer where calculations take place
pseudocode	An informal method or writing algorithmic instructions that do not necessarily follow grammatical rules and syntax of a particular language.
sequential execution	Program instructions are executed one at a time, in order.
unsolvable problem	A problem that cannot be solved using any algorithm.
Halting Problem	There cannot be a program that will determine which computer programs will halt (or exit) and which programs will go on forever (infinite loop).
undecidable problem	Where no algorithm can be made that always leads to a correct yes or no answer.
scalability	How well do algorithms perform at increasingly larger scales.
Big-O Notation	A mathematical concept used by computer scientists to determine how well algorithms scale. Performances classified into different categories.
sequential search	A linear search method of finding a targeted value within a list, looking one at a time until a match is found.
binary search	A method of searching by dividing the search interval in half each time.
logarithmic behavior	Doubling the size of a problem only requires one extra unit of work.
brute forcing	Trial and error method used to decode encrypted data such as passwords.
Moore's Law	Gordon Moore accurately predicted that the number of transistors that could fit on a chip would roughly double every one to two years.
heuristics	A method for deriving an approximate solution - Rules of Thumb but not guaranteed an accurately correct answer.
distributed computing	Computers that interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal.
botnets	A network of private computers infected with a malicious software and controlled as a group without the owners knowing.
bitcoin mining	The processing of transactions in the digital currency system, in which the records of current Bitcoin transactions, known as a blocks, are added to the record of past transactions, known as the blockchain.

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CSP Unit 1 Vocabulary

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	Created by Andrei Timothy Salazar about 6 years ago