Glossary · MWE Terms · D
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TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
Descriptive ClausenounMWEa subordinate clause that does not limit or restrict the meaning of the noun phrase it modifiesverified
Descriptive GeometrynounMWEthe geometry of properties that remain invariant under projectionverified
Descriptive LinguisticsnounMWEa description (at a given point in time) of a language with respect to its phonology and morphology and syntax and semantics without value judgmentsverified
Descriptive Top-Level SpecificationnounMWEA natural language descriptive of a system’s security requirements, an informal design notation, or a combination of the two.verified
Desensitisation ProcedurenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverified
Desensitisation TechniquenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverified
Desensitization ProcedurenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverified
Desensitization TechniquenounMWEa technique used in behavior therapy to treat phobias and other behavior problems involving anxietyverified
Desert Four O'clocknounMWEwildflower having vibrant deep pink tubular evening-blooming flowersverified
Desert HollynounMWEhandsome low saltbush of arid southwestern United States and Mexico having blue-green prickly-edged leaves often used for Christmas decorationverified
Desert IguananounMWEsmall long-tailed lizard of arid areas of southwestern United States and northwestern Mexicoverified
Desert Mariposa TulipnounMWEmariposa with clusters of bell-shaped vermilion or orange or yellow flowers atop short stemsverified
Desert OlivenounMWEspiny branching deciduous shrub of southwestern United States having clusters of insignificant yellow-white flowers appearing before leaves followed by attractive black berrylike fruitsverified
Desert PlumenounMWEperennial of southwestern United States having leathery blue-green pinnatifid leaves and thick plumelike spikes of yellow flowersverified
Desert RatnounMWEany of various leaping rodents of desert regions of North America and Mexicoverified
Desert RheumatismnounMWEan infection of the lungs and skin characterized by excessive sputum and nodulesverified
Desert RosenounMWESouth African shrub having a swollen succulent stem and bearing showy pink and white flowers after the leaves fallverified
Desert Sand VerbenanounMWEsoft-haired sticky plant with heads of bright pink trumpet-shaped flowersverified
Desert TortoisenounMWEburrowing tortoise of the arid western United States and northern Mexicoverified
Desert WillownounMWEevergreen shrubby tree resembling a willow of dry regions of southwestern North America having showy purplish flowers and long seed podsverified
Design CriterianounMWEcriteria that designers should meet in designing some system or deviceverified
Designated Approval AuthoritynounMWEOfficial with the authority to formally assume responsibility for operating a system at an acceptable level of risk. This term is synonymous with authorizing official, designated accrediting authority, and delegated accrediting authority.verified
Designated DrivernounMWEthe member of a party who is designated to refrain from alcohol and so is sober when it is time to drive homeverified
designated personnelnounMWEA collective noun for individuals or job roles within an organization that have been formally assigned—by policy, regulation, or organizational decision—specific security, privacy, or compliance responsibilities, and to whom corresponding obligations (such as receiving policy disseminations, executing controls, or leading incident response) are explicitly directed. Authority documents such as the DHS 4300A Sensitive Systems policy use the expression to introduce the roster of roles that "play a major role in the planning and implementation of information security requirements," while NIST SP 800-53 control language recurrently names "organization-defined personnel or roles" as the recipients of policy documents and procedural dissemination. Across frameworks the expression functions as a placeholder that an organization fills in during tailoring—naming the CISOs, privacy officers, system owners, or other accountable parties—rather than denoting a single fixed role; the underlying concept is that clearly assigning security responsibility to specific individuals or roles ensures accountability and helps prevent lapses in security management.verified
designated policy enforcement pointnounMWEAn architecturally assigned location — a specific node, mechanism, or boundary control — that an organization has formally chosen to serve as the place where information-flow or access-control policies are actively applied, typically at the juncture between systems of differing security domains or trust levels. The modifier *designated* signals intentional placement by policy decision rather than incidental occurrence: the organization has determined which points in its architecture carry the responsibility of checking and enforcing rules before data or transactions are allowed to cross a boundary. In practice the phrase appears in control language (e.g., when transferring information between systems representing different security domains with different security policies, information owners/stewards provide guidance at these designated locations between interconnected systems) to convey that enforcement is neither ad hoc nor emergent but is a deliberate architectural commitment. The whole phrase is therefore a compositional description — "designated" is an ordinary adjective modifying the well-defined technical noun phrase "policy enforcement point" — rather than an independentlyverified
designated sourcenounMWEAn endpoint — a network, individual, or device — that has been explicitly authorized and named in an information flow control policy as a permitted origin of information movement within or between systems, distinct from *who* may access the information. Flow control policies operate on the characteristics of the information or the information path, and enforcement is carried out in boundary protection devices such as firewalls, routers, and gateways that apply rule sets or packet- and message-filtering capabilities. In practice, organizations use information flow control policies and enforcement mechanisms to govern the movement of sensitive data (e.g., CUI) between designated sources and destinations, regulating *where* information may travel rather than merely *who* may see it. The expression is strictly paired — a source has meaning only relative to a corresponding destination — and the "designated" qualifier signals that the endpoint has been deliberately enumerated in policy, not simply inferred at runtime.verified
Desktop ComputernounMWEa personal computer small enough to fit conveniently in an individual workspaceverified
Desktop PublishingnounMWE(computer science) the use of microcomputers with graphics capacity to produce printed materialsverified
Desoxyribonucleic AcidnounMWE(biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helixverified
Destroying AngelnounMWEextremely poisonous usually white fungus with a prominent cup-shaped baseverified
destruction of datanounMWEThe complete physical destruction of data or of the data carrier containing them.verified
Destructive DistillationnounMWEheating a solid substance in a closed container and collecting the volatile productsverified
Destructive MetabolismnounMWEbreakdown in living organisms of more complex substances into simpler ones together with release of energyverified
Detached RetinanounMWEvisual impairment resulting from the retina becoming separated from the choroid in the back of the eyeverified
Detachment of the RetinanounMWEvisual impairment resulting from the retina becoming separated from the choroid in the back of the eyeverified
Detail FilenounMWE(computer science) a computer file containing relatively transient data about a particular data processing taskverified
Detect FunctionnounMWEDevelop and implement the appropriate activities to identify the occurrence of a cybersecurity event.verified
Detection devicenounMWEA device designed to recognize an event and alert management when events occur.verified
detection methodnounMWENo definition is given in NIST SP 800-171r3. The term is attested in use at 1 citation in that document; a definition is pending curation.verified
detective activitynounMWEAn activity designed to identify undesirable events that do occur and alert management about what has happened. This enables management to take corrective action promptly.verified
Detective controlnounMWEA mitigating technique designed to recognize an event and alert management when events occur.verified
Detective NovelnounMWEnovel in which the reader is challenged to solve a puzzle before the detective explains it at the endverified
Detective StorynounMWEa narrative about someone who investigates crimes and obtains evidence leading to their resolutionverified
Detention BasinnounMWEa storage site (such as a small reservoir) that delays the flow of water downstreamverified
Detention CampnounMWEan institution where juvenile offenders can be held temporarily (usually under the supervision of a juvenile court)verified
Detention CellnounMWEa large cell where prisoners (people awaiting trial or sentence or refugees or illegal immigrants) are confined together temporarilyverified
Detention CentrenounMWEa large cell where prisoners (people awaiting trial or sentence or refugees or illegal immigrants) are confined together temporarilyverified
Detention HomenounMWEan institution where juvenile offenders can be held temporarily (usually under the supervision of a juvenile court)verified
Detention HousenounMWEan institution where juvenile offenders can be held temporarily (usually under the supervision of a juvenile court)verified
Detergent BuildernounMWEa substance added to soaps or detergents to increase their cleansing actionverified
Deterministic AlgorithmnounMWEAn algorithm that, given the same inputs, always produces the same outputs.verified
Deterministic Random Bit GeneratornounMWEA Random Bit Generator (RBG) that includes a DRBG mechanism and (at least initially) has access to a source of entropy input. The DRBG produces a sequence of bits from a secret initial value called a seed, along with other possible inputs. A DRBG is often called a Pseudorandom Number (or Bit) Generator. Source of entropy input. The DRBG produces a sequence of bits from a secret initial value called a seed, along with other possible inputs. A DRBG is often called a Pseudorandom Number (or Bit) Generator.verified
Deterministic Random Bit Generator MechanismnounMWEThe portion of an RBG that includes the functions necessary to instantiate and uninstantiate the RBG, generate pseudorandom bits, (optionally) reseed the RBG and test the health of the DRBG mechanism.verified
Detonating DevicenounMWEa mechanical or electrical explosive device or a small amount of explosiveverified
Deus Ex MachinanounMWEany active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an insoluble difficultyverified
Deuterium OxidenounMWEwater containing a substantial proportion of deuterium atoms, used in nuclear reactorsverified
Developing CountrynounMWEa country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and economicallyverified
development environmentnounMWEThe set of processes and programming tools used to develop, test, and debug an application or program.verified