Ungesicherte

Ungesicherte is a German adjective meaning not secured or unsecured. It is formed with the prefix un- attached to gesichert and is used to describe objects, systems or situations that lack adequate protection or safety measures. The form ungesicherte is typically used attributively before feminine singular nouns (die ungesicherte Verbindung) or before plural nouns (ungesicherte Verbindungen), and in other cases according to German declension rules.

In everyday language and in technical contexts, ungesicherte describes things that do not provide sufficient security. Common usages include ungesicherte Daten, ungesicherte Verbindungen or ungesicherte Netzwerke, where a lack of authentication, encryption or access controls is implied. The term frequently appears in information technology, data protection and safety engineering discussions, but can also apply more broadly to non-digital domains such as procedures or facilities without proper safeguards.

In IT security, the concept of ungesichert contrasts with secured or encrypted states. An ungesicherte Verbindung or ungesicherte Übertragung indicates that data could be exposed to interception or tampering. The opposite terms are gesichert or verschlüsselt, and practical mitigations include using secure protocols (such as HTTPS) and implementing authentication and access controls.

Etymology stems from the negating prefix un- plus gesichert (secured). The usage of ungesichert and its inflected forms is common in German-language security discourse and documentation. See also Sicherheit, Datensicherheit, Verschlüsselung.