To help you understand the jargon used, we have put together a brief glossary of e-business terms.

eBusiness Glossar

Please choose a letter.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

T

TAN

Transaction number in the form of a multi-digit secret code that, in addition to the PIN, provides additional protection for money transfers. Each transfer requires a new TAN. This ensures a high degree of security, e.g. in home banking.

TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol: The fundamental protocol of the Internet which the computers in the network use to communicate.

TCPA(Trusted Computing Platform Alliance)

Initiative by several PC vendors to collectively establish a security standard for B2B transactions. Participants are to develop hardware and software security specifications for release by the second half of 2000 prior to licensing to the PC industry.

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Circuit-switching mobile data network transferring data between a mobile device and a base station. Involves GSM capabilities, hence likely to upgrade to GPRS. Has 210 million subscribers worldwide.

Top Level Domain

The highest hierarchy level in the domains. Current top level domains are, e.g.: .de, .at, .ch, .com, org, net.

TPN (Trading Process Network)

This is a service in the WWW for commercial purchasing or sales in the B2B sector.

Transaction

This is any action between a cardholder and a merchant that results in activity on the account, such as an authorization and settlement. Merchants and financial institutions also conduct follow-on transactions that affect the cardholders' account, such as a capture and credit.

Transaction Layer Security (TLS)

A revision of SSL to offer increased security mechanisms within the protocol. Currently in draft with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Trojan Horse

The Trojan Horse is a type of virus in the form of a small program that, disguised as a harmless application running in the background, spies out and then transmits secret information such as passwords to the creator of the Trojan Horse.

Trustcenter

The Trustcenter is an organization to ensure security in electronic commerce in the WWW. On the basis of the signature law, legally binding transactions can be completed by means of encrypted signatures via data lines, without a real signature being required. The Trustcenter issues certificates that have approximately the function of an identity card for electronic business transactions.