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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Backdoor

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈbækdɔːr/nounCommon term

In software engineering, backdoor means: A hidden way into a system that bypasses normal authentication, either left by developers or installed by attackers so they can return later.

In Turkish: arka kapı

How it is used

Used as a noun ('a backdoor') and sometimes as a verb ('backdoored software'). Incident reports say attackers 'planted' a backdoor for persistence; supply-chain attacks may hide one inside a trusted update. Policy debates about 'encryption backdoors' also use the word.

Example sentences

  1. The attackers left a backdoor on the web server so that they could return later.

  2. We rebuilt the server from scratch because we could not rule out a backdoor.

Common collocations

  • plant a backdoor
  • remove a backdoor
  • backdoored update
  • persistent access
  • trojanMalware disguised as a useful or harmless program, such as a free tool or a document, that secretly performs harmful actions once it is run.
  • malwareShort for 'malicious software': any program written to damage systems, steal data, spy on users or take control of a device without permission.
  • compromiseTo get unauthorised access to or control of a system, account or network, so that it can no longer be trusted.
  • authenticationThe process of checking who a user or system is, for example with a password, a token or a fingerprint, before giving access.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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