Multi-level security

Multilevel security or multiple levels of security (MLS) is the application of a computer system to process information with incompatible classifications (i.e., at different security levels), permit access by users with different security clearances and needs-to-know, and prevent users from obtaining access to information for which they lack authorization. There are two contexts for the use of Multilevel Security. One is to refer to a system that is adequate to protect itself from subversion and has robust mechanisms to separate information domains, that is, trustworthy. Another context is to refer to an application of a computer that will require the computer to be strong enough to protect itself from subversion and possess adequate mechanisms to separate information domains, that is, a system we must trust. This distinction is important because systems that need to be trusted are not necessarily trustworthy.

An MLS operating environment often requires a highly trustworthy information processing system often built on an MLS operating system (OS), but not necessarily. Most MLS functionality can be supported by a system composed entirely from untrusted computers, although it requires multiple independent computers linked by hardware security-compliant channels (see section B.6.2 of the Trusted Network Interpretation, NCSC-TG-005). An example of hardware enforced MLS is asymmetric isolation. If one computer is being used in MLS mode, then that computer must use a trusted operating system (OS). Because all information in an MLS environment is physically accessible by the OS, strong logical controls must exist to ensure that access to information is strictly controlled. Typically this involves mandatory access control that uses security labels, like the Bell–LaPadula model.

Customers that deploy trusted operating systems typically require that the product complete a formal computer security evaluation. The evaluation is stricter for a broader security range, which are the lowest and highest classification levels the system can process. The Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) was the first evaluation criteria developed to assess MLS in computer systems. Under that criteria there was a clear uniform mapping between the security requirements and the breadth of the MLS security range. Historically few implementations have been certified capable of MLS processing with a security range of Unclassified through Top Secret. Among them were Honeywell's SCOMP, USAF SACDIN, NSA's Blacker, and Boeing's MLS LAN, all under TCSEC, 1980s vintage and Intel 80386-based. Currently, MLS products are evaluated under the Common Criteria. In late 2008, the first operating system (more below) was certified to a high evaluated assurance level: Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) - EAL 6+ / High Robustness, under the auspices of a U.S. government program requiring multilevel security in a high threat environment. While this assurance level has many similarities to that of the old Orange Book A1 (such as formal methods), the functional requirements focus on fundamental isolation and information flow policies rather than higher level policies such as Bell-La Padula. Because the Common Criteria decoupled TCSEC's pairing of assurance (EAL) and functionality (Protection Profile), the clear uniform mapping between security requirements and MLS security range capability documented in CSC-STD-004-85 has largely been lost when the Common Criteria superseded the Rainbow Series.

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