A language for information flow: dynamic tracking in multiple interdependent dimensions

This paper presents <i>λ<sub>I</sub></i>, a language for dynamic tracking of information flow across multiple, interdependent dimensions of information. Typical dimensions of interest are integrity and confidentiality. <i>λ<sub>I</sub></i> supports arbitrary domain-specific policies that can be developed independently. <i>λ<sub>I</sub></i> treats information-flow metadata as a first-class entity and tracks information flow on the metadata itself (integrity on integrity, integrity on confidentiality, etc.). This paper also introduces IMPOLITE, a novel class of information-flow policies for <i>λ<sub>I</sub></i>. Unlike many systems, which only allow for absolute-security relations, IMPOLITE can model more realistic security policies based on relative-security relations. IMPOLITE demonstrates how policies on interdependent dimensions of information can be simultaneously enforced within <i>λ<sub>I</sub></i>'s unified framework.

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