Glossary

A specialised agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies. It is the oldest global international organisation. Originally called the International Telegraph Union.

The global system of interconnected computer networks that use standardised communication protocols to link devices and provide a variety of information and communication facilities.

Network devices that operate at the boundary between an organisation’s network and the internet. For example, firewalls, load balancers, routers, virtual private network (VPN) concentrators and web application firewalls. Such network devices are commonly referred to as edge devices.

The network of physical objects, devices, vehicles, buildings and other items which are embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity, which enables these objects to connect to the internet and collect and exchange data.

A numerical representation of an address for a particular computer or device on a network or the internet.

A suite of protocols for secure communications through authentication or encryption of Internet Protocol (IP) packets as well as including protocols for cryptographic key establishment.

The transport of telephone calls over IP networks.

A protocol used for communicating over packet switched networks. Version 6 is the successor to version 4 which is widely used on the internet.

A company that provides subscribers with access to the internet.

An automated system used to identify malicious or unwanted activities. An intrusion detection system can be host-based or network-based.