A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z
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H

HACE

High Assurance Cryptographic Equipment

Hack

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

Hacker

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’.

Hacktivist

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

Handling requirements

An agreed standard for the storage and dissemination of information to ensure its protection. This can include electronic information, paper-based information or media containing information.

Hardware

A generic term for ICT equipment.

Hardware vulnerabilities

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

Hardware-based security (hardsec)

Vulnerability protection in the form of a physical device rather than software that is installed on a computer system.

Hash-based Message Authentication Code Algorithms

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

High Assurance Cryptographic Equipment (HACE)

ICT equipment containing cryptographic logic and components that have been designed and authorised for the protection of highly classified information.

High Assurance evaluation

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

High Assurance evaluation program

A program involving rigorous analysis and testing to search for any security vulnerabilities in products.

High assurance ICT equipment

ICT equipment that has been designed and authorised for the protection of highly classified information.

High-risk vendor

Part of supply chain management.

Highly classified information

Information that requires the highest level of security to protect its confidentiality (i.e. information marked SECRET or TOP SECRET).

HIPS

Host-based Intrusion Prevention System

HMAC

Hashed Message Authentication Code

Hoax

A falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as the truth.

Hoax emails

A scam that is distributed in email form that is designed to deceive and defraud email recipients, often for monetary gain.

Honeypot

A computer system designed specifically to attract potential malicious actors in order to inform the development of defensive measures and responses.

Host-based Intrusion Detection System

Software, resident on a system, which monitors system activities for malicious or unwanted behaviour.

Host-based Intrusion Prevention System

Software, resident on a system, which monitors system activities for malicious or unwanted behaviour and can react in real-time to block or prevent those activities.

Hotspot

An area where wireless internet access is available to the general public.

HSTS

HTTP Strict Transport Security

HTML

Hypertext Markup Language

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

HTTP Strict Transport Security

A web security policy mechanism that helps to protect websites against person-in-the-middle attacks such as protocol downgrade attacks and cookie hijacking.

HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure

HummingBad

Malware designed to target Android. According to research, the malware installs more than 50,000 fraudulent apps each day and displays 20 million malicious advertisements.

Hybrid hard drive

Non-volatile magnetic media that uses a cache to increase read/write speeds and reduce boot times. The cache is normally flash memory media or battery backed random-access memory (RAM).

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the fundamental protocol used for transferring files on the internet.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)

While Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the basic framework for transferring data across the web, HTTPS adds a layer of encryption for additional security; with 'S' standing for secure.