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vulnerability

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vulnerability

[‚vəl·nə·rə′bil·əd·ē]
(computer science)
A weakness in a computing system that can result in harm to the system or its operations, especially when this weakness is exploited by a hostile person or organization or when it is present in conjunction with particular events or circumstances.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Vulnerability

Vulgarity (See COARSENESS.)
Achilles
warrior vulnerable only in his heel. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 4]
Antaeus
only vulnerable if not touching ground. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.: Hall, 151]
Balder
conquerable only with mistletoe. [Norse Myth.: Walsh Classical, 43]
Diarmuid
Irish Achilles, killed through cunning Fionn’s deceit. [Irish Myth.: Jobes, 443; Parrinder, 79]
Maginot Line
French fortification zone along German border; thought impregnable before WWII. [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 1658]
Samson
strength derived from his hair; betrayed by Delilah. [O.T.: Judges 16]
Siegfried
vulnerable in only one spot on his back. [Ger. Opera: Wagner, Götterdämmerung, Westerman, 245]
Siegfried Line
German fortification zone opposite the Maginot Line between Germany and France. [Ger. Hist.: WB, 17: 370]
Superman
invulnerable except for Kryptonite. [TV: “The Adventures of Superman” in Terrace, I, 38; Comics: Horn, 642]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

vulnerability

A security exposure in an operating system or other system software or application software component. Before the Internet became mainstream and exposed every organization in the world to every attacker on the planet, vulnerabilities surely existed, but were not as often exploited.

In light of this madness, mostly perpetrated against Microsoft products, the architecture of future operating systems has changed. Designing software to be bulletproof against attacks is like building a house where every square inch is fortified with steel and sensors that detect intrusions. Patching an existing operating system written by hundreds of programmers who were not dwelling on this issue when they wrote the code is an onerous job.

Security firms maintain databases of vulnerabilities based on version number of the software. If exploited, each vulnerability can potentially compromise the system or network. To search for vulnerabilities and exposures in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), visit http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/search?cid=1. See network security scanner and vulnerability disclosure.
Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
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References in periodicals archive
Lastly, group cohesion was significantly and positively correlated with the groupthink symptom composite measure and with the illusion of invulnerability, collective rationalization, and illusion of unanimity.
Using these patterns as a guide to understand the process of overcoming perceived invulnerability can be advantageous when working with adolescents.
There are also optional invulnerability power-ups that only appear after repeated deaths.
Washington, Nov 17 (ANI): Taking multivitamins promotes a false sense of invulnerability that actually leads its users to engage in riskier behaviours, a new study has claimed.
America always had this sense of invulnerability before 9/1.
MANAMA: Solidarity and coherence, rallying behind the leadership and adherence to national unity symbolise Bahrainis' true mettle and reflect the invulnerability of their social fabric, the Premier said last night.
"After taking dietary supplements in the morning, individuals should monitor whether illusory invulnerability is activated.
WILL Smith plays the indestructible man John Hancock, who has the power of flight, superstrength and invulnerability. However, there''s just one problem - he''s a reckless, self-loathing drunk.
``An unhealthy environment is one in which we always look for someone to blame and someone to compensate us, and struggle to maintain fictions of our invulnerability to time and change
The "window of invulnerability" in which systems are protected from a new virus or worm has shrunk from a month to a week in the past year, says John Watters, CEO of iDEFENSE, a Reston, Va.-based provider of intelligence about cyber threats.
During the past year, HYDRA lived up to its claims of invulnerability by successfully defending more than 900,000 hacking attempts.
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