Get the LinuxSecurity news you want faster with RSS
Powered By
Security Dictionary
Can't tell 'smtp' from 'snmp'? Find the precise meaning of these and hundreds of other security-related terms in our convenient and up-to-date Security Dictionary.
back door
(I) A hardware or software mechanism that (a) provides access to a
system and its resources by other than the usual procedure, (b)
was deliberately left in place by the system's designers or
maintainers, and (c) usually is not publicly known. (See: trap
door.)
(C) For example, a way to access a computer other than through a
normal login. Such access paths do not necessarily have malicious
intent; e.g., operating systems sometimes are shipped by the
manufacturer with privileged accounts intended for use by field
service technicians or the vendor's maintenance programmers. (See:
trap door.)
