Glossary · Nouns · A
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TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
Audit charternounMWEA document approved by the board of directors that defines the IT audit function's responsibility, authority to review records, and accountability.ArtifactInternal
audit committeenounMWEAn operating committee of the Board of Directors charged with oversight of audit operations, including appraising the performance of the CPA firm, financial reporting and disclosure. Committee members are drawn from members of the company's board of directors, with a Chairperson selected from among the committee members.OrganizationRegulated
audit cyclenounMWEThe accounting process that auditors employ in the review of a company's financial information. The audit cycle includes the steps that an auditor will take to ensure that the company's financial information is valid and accurate before releasing any financial statements.ProcessRegulated
Audit DatanounMWEChronological record of system activities to enable the reconstruction and examination of the sequence of events and changes in an event.DataRegulated
audit findingnounMWEThe documented conclusion reached as a result of an official inspection of an organization’s accounts or other item or process being audited, typically by an independent body.FindingRegulated
Audit functionnounMWEThe purpose of this function is to provide an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance.Capability
audit informationnounMWEA category of security-sensitive data comprising everything an organization generates and relies upon to document, verify, and reconstruct system activity for accountability purposes. It includes audit records, audit log settings, audit reports, and personally identifiable information captured in the course of logging — in other words, not just the raw log entries but the configuration and tooling that shapes them. Because this data can itself be attacked, the field treats it as a protection target: access and execution rights over audit logging tools are restricted to authorized individuals, with additional technical, media, physical, and environmental controls applied. In operational use, "audit information" also appears as the input to downstream processes — for example, it is collected and then manipulated into summary formats more meaningful to analysts.DataRegulated
audit lognounMWEA chronological record of system activities, including records of system accesses and operations performed in a given period.ArtifactRegulated
Audit Log eventnounMWEAny of the various triggering actions that cause an application to write a new entry into the log.ArtifactRegulatedCUI
audit manualnounMWEA compilation of current audit policies, procedures, and guidelines.ArtifactInternal
Audit plannounMWEA high level description of the audit work to be performed in a certain period of time (ordinarily a year). It includes the areas to be audited, the type of work planned, the high level objectives and scope of the work, and topics such as budget, resource allocation, schedule dates, type of report, and its intended audience and other general aspects of the work.ArtifactInternal
audit policynounMWEA description of the standards and guidelines an organization uses for going through external audits or conducting internal audits.RequirementInternal
audit procedurenounMWEA detailed description of the steps necessary to implement an audit in conformance with applicable standards.Requirement
Audit programnounMWEThe audit policies, procedures, and strategies that govern the audit function, including Information Technology (IT) audit.Process
audit recordnounMWEAn individual entry in an audit log related to an audited event.ArtifactRegulatedCUI
Audit Reduction ToolsnounMWEPreprocessors designed to reduce the volume of audit records to facilitate manual review. Before a security review, these tools can remove many audit records known to have little security significance. These tools generally remove records generated by specified classes of events, such as records generated by nightly backups.Capability
audit reportnounMWEA report issued by an independent Auditor that expresses an opinion about whether the financial statements present fairly a company's financial position, operating results, and cash flows in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.ArtifactRegulated
audit resourcenounMWEThe materials that are used by auditors to conduct an audit.ArtifactConfidential
Audit ReviewnounMWEThe assessment of an information system to evaluate the adequacy of implemented security controls, assure that they are functioning properly, identify vulnerabilities, and assist in implementation of new security controls where required. This assessment is conducted annually or whenever significant change has occurred and may lead to recertification of the information system.ProcessRegulatedCUI
audit schedulenounMWEThe dates on which a planned, official examination of a system or equipment will be performed.ArtifactInternal
audit scopenounMWEDetermination of the range of the activities and the period (months or years) of records that are to be subjected to an audit examination.RequirementInternal
audit standardnounMWERules prescribed for auditors by various national and international organizations such as the Auditing Practices Board (in the UK) and the Auditing Standards Board (in the US).FrameworkRegulated
Audit trailnounMWEA chronological record that reconstructs and examines the sequence of activities surrounding or leading to a specific operation, procedure, or event in a security relevant transaction from inception to final result.ArtifactRegulated
audit universenounMWEAn inventory of audit areas that is compiled and maintained to identify areas for audit during the audit planning process.ArtifactInternal
Audit Work PapernounMWEThis record category contains records of working papers that are vital to the successful accomplishment of all audit assignments performed.ArtifactRegulated
Audited AccountnounMWEan inspection of the accounting procedures and records by a trained accountant or CPAverified
AuditingnounAuditing is the information gathering and analysis of assets to ensure such things as policy compliance and security from vulnerabilities.Process
auditornounA person who conducts audits from either inside or outside of the organization being audited.Role
Auditory AphasianounMWEan impairment in understanding spoken language that is not attributable to hearing lossverified
Auditory ApparatusnounMWEall of the components of the organ of hearing including the outer and middle and inner earsverified
Auditory AreanounMWEthe cortical area that receives auditory information from the medial geniculate bodyverified
Auditory CanalnounMWEeither of the passages in the outer ear from the auricle to the tympanic membraneverified
Auditory CenternounMWEthe part of the brain (in a fold of the cerebral cortex of the temporal lobe on both sides of the brain) that receives impulses from the ear by way of the auditory nerveverified
Auditory CortexnounMWEthe cortical area that receives auditory information from the medial geniculate bodyverified
Auditory HyperesthesianounMWEabnormal acuteness of hearing due to increased irritability of the sensory neural mechanismverified
Auditory MeatusnounMWEeither of the passages in the outer ear from the auricle to the tympanic membraneverified
Auditory NervenounMWEa composite sensory nerve supplying the hair cells of the vestibular organ and the hair cells of the cochleaverified
Auditory OssiclenounMWEossicles of the middle ear that transmit acoustic vibrations from the eardrum to the inner earverified
Auditory TubenounMWEeither of the paired tubes connecting the middle ears to the nasopharynxverified
Augitenoundark-green to black glassy mineral of the pyroxene group containing large amounts of aluminum and iron and magnesiumverified
Augmentationnounthe statement of a theme in notes of greater duration (usually twice the length of the original)verified
Auranouna sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizureverified
Auriclenouna small conical pouch projecting from the upper anterior part of each atrium of the heartverified
Auricula AtriinounMWEa small conical pouch projecting from the upper anterior part of each atrium of the heartverified
Auricular PointnounMWEthe craniometric point at the center of the opening of the external acoustic meatusverified
Auricularenounthe craniometric point at the center of the opening of the external acoustic meatusverified
Auroranounan atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands of light caused by charged solar particles following the earth's magnetic lines of forceverified
Auscultationnounthe process of listening to sounds within the body, usually with a stethoscopeverified
Austenitic Manganese SteelnounMWEa steel with a relatively large component (10-14%) of manganeseverified
Austenitic SteelnounMWEsteel that has enough nickel and chromium or manganese to retain austenite at atmospheric temperaturesverified
Autacoidnounany physiologically active internal secretion especially one of uncertain classificationverified
Auteurnouna filmmaker who has a personal style and keeps creative control over his or her worksverified
AuthenticationnounVerifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in a system. [7, adapted]Process
Authentication CodenounMWEA cryptographic checksum based on an Approved security function (also known as a Message Authentication Code [MAC]).CredentialRegulated
authentication controlnounMWEOne of several systems which restrict user access to a network.ControlRegulated
authentication mechanismnounMWEHardware or software-based mechanisms that forces users, devices, or processes to prove their identity before accessing data on an information system.Control
authentication methodnounMWEA method of Verifying the identity of a user, such as a challenge password or a digital certificate.ControlRegulated