Information Flow (information Theory) - Information Flow Control

A mechanism for information flow control is one that enforces information flow policies. Several methods to enforce information flow policies have been proposed. Run-time mechanisms that tag data with information flow labels have been employed at the operating system level and at the programming language level. Static program analyses have also been developed that ensure information flows within programs are in accordance with policies.

Both static and dynamic analysis for current programming languages have been developed. However, dynamic analysis cannot be sound as noninterference is a property concerning all execution paths.

A prominent way to enforce information flow policies in a program is through a security type system: that is, a type system that enforces security properties. In such a sound type system, if a program type-checks, it meets the flow policy and therefore contains no improper information flows.

Read more about this topic:  Information Flow (information Theory)

Famous quotes containing the words information, flow and/or control:

    Theories of child development and guidelines for parents are not cast in stone. They are constantly changing and adapting to new information and new pressures. There is no “right” way, just as there are no magic incantations that will always painlessly resolve a child’s problems.
    Lawrence Kutner (20th century)

    And if blood of Martyrs is to flow on the steps
    We must first build the steps;
    And if the Temple is to be cast down
    We must first build the Temple.
    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)

    The human mind is indeed a cave swarming with strange forms of life, most of them unconscious and unilluminated. Unless we can understand something as to how the motives that issue from this obscurity are generated, we can hardly hope to foresee or control them.
    Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)