Computer/System Terms - K
Katmai New Instructions (KNI) - (Alternative name for Intel's Pentium III processor, until it was introduced in 1999.)
KDesktop Environment (KDE) - (A widely-used graphical desktop environment for Linux and UNIX systems, based on the X Windows system.)
Key Derivation Function (KDF) - (An algorithm used in key generation which uses random values to ensure that new keys will change, rather than being identical copies of the original key.)
Key Distribution Center (KDC) - (A Kerberos (computer-network authentication protocol) server which receives a request for service from a user, authenticates the user, and provides the user with a "ticket" containing an encryption key which allows the users to send and receive encrypted messages for a communication session.)
key encrypting key (KEK) - (A shared master key that is used to encrypt and exchange session keys between two parties.)
Key Exchange Key (KEK) - (BIOS (basic input/output system) menu display setting within the system secure boot services indicating whether the unified extended firmware interface (UEFI) Key Exchange Key (KEK) variable has been installed.)
Key Management System (KMS) - (A system that manages keys within a cryptosystem - it deals with the generation, exchange, storage, replacement, use, and destruction of cryptographic keys.)
key performance indicator(s) (KPI) - (An indicator considered of particular significance to management in judging/measuring the operation and goals of an information security management system (ISMS), or more generally, the performance of any division within an organization.)
key risk indicator(s) (KRI) - (An organizational measure of risk which focuses on activities which are deemed to have a high impact and likelihood of occurance and considered to be of greater significance than other indicators, or, in other words, the most signicant risks of all possible risks.)
Keyboard-Video-Mouse switch (KVM) - (A device that allows several computers to share a single keyboard, screen, and mouse.)
kibibyte (KiB) - (1024 bytes or 2(10) bytes)
kilobit (Kb) - (Loosely is 1000 bits, but in binary code, the exact number is 1,024 bits or 2(10).)
kilobits per second (kbps) - (Measure of speed, such as writing or data transfer, of 1000 bits, or 1,024 bits, per second.)
kilobyte (K or KB) - (Unit of computer memory, although it is used in two different contexts. For a computer's internal RAM and solid state storage devices, such as USB memory sticks, a kilobyte is 1024 bytes (a byte is 8 bits, usually enough to form a character) or 2(10) (2 to the power of 10), usually expressed in terms of a megabyte (MB), or 1,024 kilobytes, which is 2(20) or (1024X1024) or 1,048,576 bytes. When dealing with hard disk storage capacity, expressed in megabytes, calculated as 2(30) or (1024X1024X1024) which comes out to 1,073,741,824 bytes.)
kiloBytes per second (kBps) - (Measure of speed, such as writing or data transfer, of 1000 bytes per second.)
knowledge discovery in database (also known as data mining) (KDD) - (A process of analyzing large volumes of data stored in a central storage device or location, called a warehouse, using tools that look for patterns, trends, correlations, relationships, and anomalies, without knowing the meaning of the data.)
known plaintext attack (KPA) - (In the area of cryptanalysis (the study of breaking, or solving, encrypted messages), the analyst compares encrypted messages with known plaintext (unencrypted) results/messages to guess what the enccryption key is.)