- Meet-In-The-Middle Attack A cryptanalytic technique where the attacker attempts to break a cipher by essentially meeting in the middle of the encryption process. The attacker independently computes both the plaintext-to-ciphertext and ciphertext-to-plaintext transformations for a range of values and then matches them to uncover the cryptographic key. This type of attack often requires significant computational resources, but it can effectively reduce the security of a cipher.
- Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) A written agreement between two or more parties detailing the cooperative relationship to be undertaken. This often involves the delineation of responsibilities, sharing of resources, and defining the terms for data sharing or processing, which is critical for maintaining data integrity and security.
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) A formal document that outlines mutual goals, expectations, and responsibilities between two or more entities, often used to establish partnerships. It's critical in setting up collaborations where data sharing or other interactions involving sensitive information are required, with an aim to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the shared resources.
- Memory cards Portable storage devices used for saving, transferring, and transporting data files. Memory cards are commonly used in digital cameras, mobile phones, and other electronic devices for expandable and removable data storage solutions.
- Memory Dump A process in which the contents of memory are displayed and stored in case of an application or system crash. This information can be used to diagnose and identify the cause of a failure. However, these files may contain sensitive data and, if not managed properly, could present an avenue for data leakage.
- Memory protection A method used to prevent processes from accessing memory outside their own address space. This isolation mechanism prevents a faulty or malicious process from interfering with another process or the operating system, effectively protecting against unauthorized access or corruption of memory content and thereby maintaining system stability and security.
- Memory scavenging A technique used to identify and recover unused memory within a system. In terms of security, it's crucial that once memory blocks are freed or repurposed, any sensitive data previously stored is properly sanitized to prevent information exposure to subsequent processes, effectively mitigating the risk of data leakage or exploitation.
- Merkle TreeA Merkle tree, named after Ralph Merkle, is a data structure in cryptography and computer science that consists of a hierarchical series of cryptographic hashes. Each non-leaf node is a hash of its respective children, and the hashes are organized into a binary tree. Merkle trees are used to efficiently and securely verify the contents of large data structures, such as the blocks in a blockchain, where they help confirm the integrity of transaction data.
- Mesh topology A network setup where each node (a device like a computer or a router) is connected directly to several other nodes. It's a self-healing and robust way of structuring a network, as it provides multiple paths for data transmission, ensuring data can still be sent even if a particular path becomes unavailable.
- Message Authentication Code (MAC) A Message Authentication Code (MAC) is a short string of characters that is used to verify the integrity and authenticity of a message. It is generated by applying a cryptographic hash function to the message and a secret key shared by the sender and intended receiver. A MAC helps ensure that a message has not been altered during transmission and confirms that it came from the authentic sender.
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