| Information flow control regulates where information is allowed to travel within an information system and between information systems (as opposed to who is allowed to access the information) and without explicit regard to subsequent accesses to that information.
Information flow enforcement mechanisms compare security attributes on all information (data content and data structure), source and destination objects, and respond appropriately (e.g., block, quarantine, alert administrator) when the mechanisms encounter information flows not explicitly allowed by the information flow policy. When data is encrypted, devices and software designed to examine data content so as to detect attacks or malicious code are unable to accomplish the task unless they are capable of unencrypting the data. Example includes decrypting email in order to scan attachments. |
