- Work factor A measure of the effort required to perform a certain task or to break a certain system. It is used in cryptography to determine the security of a cryptographic system. Examples of work factors include the time required to brute-force a password or the amount of memory required to perform a certain cryptographic operation.
- Workstation A computer that is connected to a network and is used for tasks like data processing, data analysis, and other professional applications. Workstations can be individually targeted in network attacks due to their access to valuable data or network resources. Thus, security measures such as antivirus software, firewalls, and user access controls are crucial to protect the data and network resources accessible from a workstation.
- World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO)An international organization that promotes the protection of intellectual property rights around the world. It is used in the field of intellectual property law to provide services and support for the enforcement of IP rights. For example, registering and protecting trademarks, patents, and copyrights through WIPO's international treaties and systems.
- World Wide Web (WWW) An information system where documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which may be interlinked by hypertext and accessible over the internet. The web has drastically changed how we access and share information globally.
- Worm A type of malware that self-replicates to spread to other computers. Unlike viruses, worms do not need to attach themselves to a host program. They often exploit network vulnerabilities to infect systems and can cause widespread damage without user intervention.
- WPA2 A security protocol for wireless networks that uses encryption to protect data transmitted over the network. It is commonly used in home and office Wi-Fi networks, as well as in public Wi-Fi hotspots. Examples of its use include securing data transmitted by a laptop to a wireless printer or protecting credit card information entered on a smartphone when connected to a public Wi-Fi network.
- WPA3 Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) is the third and latest generation of the WPA security protocol for wireless networks. It was introduced to provide more robust authentication and increased cryptographic strength for highly sensitive data markets. WPA3 offers improved security features over its predecessor, WPA2, such as greater protection against offline dictionary attacks and forward secrecy, which ensures that captured traffic can't be decrypted even if the password is compromised later.
- Write The act of creating or recording information on a storage medium such as a hard drive or flash drive. It is commonly used in computing to save and update data. Examples include saving a document, updating a database, and writing to a log file.
- Write access The permission granted to a user or process to modify, delete, or create new data within a system. Write access needs to be carefully controlled to prevent unauthorized changes and ensure data integrity.
- Write blocker A device used to prevent the alteration of data on a storage medium during an investigation. It is commonly used in forensic analysis to preserve the integrity of evidence. Examples include hardware write blockers, software write blockers, and bootable write blockers.
Share our FREE glossary with your friends and study buddies.
Disclaimer: The glossary is for informational purposes only, we are not liable for any errors or omissions, if you find errors please contact us.