Directory Traversal: A kind of security vulnerability that allows unauthorized access to directories and files on a system. It works by exploiting insufficient security validation or sanitization of user-supplied input file names, enabling attackers to step out of the intended directory tree and access other parts of the file system. Such attacks could potentially allow unauthorized viewing, copying, or modifying of sensitive information.

Direct Reporting Engagement: Direct Reporting Engagement is a specific type of assessment where an auditor or reviewer directly communicates the results of their evaluation to interested parties without intermediation. The engagement results in a report or statement detailing the auditor's findings regarding the subject matter under review, which could pertain to financial, operational, or security-related concerns.

Disaster: An unforeseen event that causes significant disruption to the normal functioning of systems, operations, or services, ranging from natural events like floods, earthquakes, and fires to human-induced incidents like system failures, cyber-attacks, or data breaches. These events require activation of disaster recovery plans to restore functionality and minimize operational and financial impact.

Disaster Declaration: A formal statement made by an organization's management acknowledging the occurrence of a disaster. It triggers the implementation of a disaster recovery plan and mobilizes resources to respond to and recover from the disaster. Such a declaration is typically based on predefined criteria related to the severity and impact of the incident, and only certain people are allowed to declare a disaster. It should be noted that this is also a very formal declaration and is generally backed by documentation for insurance and compliance purposes.

Disaster Recovery: An area of security planning that aims to protect an organization from the effects of significant negative events. It involves policies, tools, and procedures to enable the recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology systems supporting critical business functions, as opposed to business continuity, which involves keeping all essential aspects of a business functioning despite significant disruptive events. Disaster recovery strategies typically include data backup and recovery, systems fail-over, and site redundancy. This is one area of the much broader business continuity plan.

Disaster Recovery Plan: A documented, structured approach with instructions for responding to unplanned incidents such as natural disasters, power outages, cyberattacks, and other disruptive events. This plan outlines measures to minimize the effects of a disaster so an organization can continue to operate or quickly resume mission-critical functions. The disaster recovery plan typically covers data backup and recovery, maintenance of critical systems, chain of command, and testing and drills to ensure readiness. It is an essential part of an organization's business continuity planning.