Glossary

The unauthorised exploitation of weaknesses in a computer system or network.

A computer expert that can gain unauthorised access to computer systems. Hacker is an agnostic term and a hacker does not necessarily have malicious intent. See also ‘black hat’, ‘grey hat’, and ‘white hat’.

A hacker whose motivation is political, religious or ideological, as opposed to criminal.

A generic term for IT equipment and OT equipment.

A physical computing device that safeguards cryptographic keys and provides cryptographic processing. A hardware security module is or contains a cryptographic module. Hardware security modules are commonly deployed in Public Key Infrastructure, digital identity solutions and payment systems.

An exploitable weakness in a computer system that enables attacks through remote or physical access to system hardware.

A cryptographic function that can be used to compute Message Authentication Codes using a hash function and a secret key.

Cryptographic equipment that has been authorised by ASD for the protection of SECRET and TOP SECRET data.

The rigorous investigation, analysis, verification and validation of ICT equipment by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) against a stringent security standard.

The rigorous investigation, analysis, verification and validation of products by ASD to protect SECRET and TOP SECRET data.