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Encyclopedia of Database Systems pp 1684–1685Cite as

Mandatory Access Control

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Synonyms

Multilevel security

Definition

As stated in [1], “in computer security, ‘mandatory access control (MAC)’ refers to a kind of access control defined by the National Computer Security Center’s Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) as a means of restricting access to objects based on the sensitivity (as represented by a label) of the information contained in the objects and the formal authorization (i.e., clearance) of subjects to access information of such sensitivity.” With operating systems, the subjects are processes and objects are files. The goal is to ensure that when a subject accesses a file, no unauthorized information is leaked.

Key Point

MAC Models:MAC models were developed initially for secure operating systems mainly in the 1970s and early 1980s, and started with the Bell and La Padula security model. This model has two properties: the simple security property and the *-property (pronounced the star property). The simple security property states that...

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Recommended Reading

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_access_control

  2. Bell D. and LaPadula L. “Secure Computer Systems: Mathematical Foundations and Model,” M74–244. The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA, 1973.

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  3. Goguen J. and Meseguer J. Security policies and security models. In Proc. IEEE Symp. on Security and Privacy, 1982, pp. 11–20.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA

    Bhavani Thuraisingham

Authors
  1. Bhavani Thuraisingham
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, 30332-0765, Atlanta, GA, USA

    LING LIU (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Database Research Group David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    M. TAMER ÖZSU (Professor and Director, University Research Chair) (Professor and Director, University Research Chair)

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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Thuraisingham, B. (2009). Mandatory Access Control. In: LIU, L., ÖZSU, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_214

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