AP Computer Science Principles: Big Data and Privacy Questions & Answers

Big Data - ANSWERSa broad term for datasets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate Moore's Law - ANSWERSa prediction made by Gordon Moore (1965) that computing power will double every 1.5-2 years; it has remained more or less true ever since One-Pager - ANSWERSa business/corporate term for one-page document that summarizes a large issue, topic, or plan Caesar Cipher - ANSWERSa technique for encryption that shifts the alphabet by some number of characters Cipher - ANSWERSthe generic term for a technique (or algorithm) that performs encryption Cracking Encryption - ANSWERSwhen you attempt to decode a secret message without knowing all the specifics of the cipher, you are trying to "crack" the encryption Decryption - ANSWERSa process that reverses the encryption, taking a secret message and reproducing the original plain text Encryption - ANSWERSa process of encoding messages to keep them secret, so only "authorized" parties who have the keys can use it or read it Random Substitution Cipher - ANSWERSan encryption technique that maps each letter of the alphabet to a randomly chosen other letters of the alphabet Computationally Hard - ANSWERSa "hard" problem for a computer is one in which it cannot arrive at a solution in a reasonable amount of time Asymmetric Encryption - ANSWERSused in public key encryption, it is scheme in which the key to encrypt data is different from the key to decrypt Modulo - ANSWERSa mathematical operation that returns the remainder after integer division Example: 7 MOD 4 = 3 8 MOD 4 = 0 Private Key - ANSWERSin an asymmetric encryption scheme, it is kept private and never shared, so only the intended recipient has the ability to decrypt a message that has been encrypted with a public key Public Key Encryption - ANSWERSused prevalently on the web, it allows for secure messages to be sent between parties without having to agree on, or share, a secret key. It uses an asymmetric encryption scheme in which the encryption key is made public, but the decryption key is kept private. DDoS Attack - ANSWERSDistributed Denial of Service Attack. Typically a virus installed on many computers (thousands) activate at the same time and flood a target with traffic to the point the server becomes overwhelmed and stops responding Antivirus Software - ANSWERSusually keeps big lists of known viruses and scans your computer looking for the virus programs in order to get rid of them Firewall - ANSWERSsoftware that runs on servers (often routers) that only allows traffic through according to some set of security rules Phishing Scam - ANSWERSa thief trying to trick you into sending them sensitive, personal information. Typically these include emails about system updates asking you send your username and password, social security number and other things SSL/TLS - ANSWERSSecure Sockets layer/Transport Layer Security - an encryption layer of HTTP that uses public key cryptography to establish a secure connection Virus - ANSWERSa program that runs on a computer to do something the owner of the computer does not intend