Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!peregrine!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!linus!linus!mbunix!blk From: blk@mitre.org (Brian L. Kahn) Newsgroups: comp.object Subject: Information Security and (vs?) object oriented programming Message-ID: Date: 5 Dec 90 18:16:25 GMT Sender: usenet@linus.mitre.org Organization: The MITRE Corp. Bedford, MA Lines: 22 I work in the field of computer security (compusec), also known as information security (infosec). There is about 10 years of literature in this community based on a notion of a "reference monitor", a small but omnipresent watchdog that enforces some access control policy. The reference monitor must OK any access to a data object by a subject, based upon permissions and rights attached to all subjects and objects. It is difficult to apply many of the concepts from this traditional (old-fashioned? archaic? 8-) view of system architecture to OOP. This is unfortunate because OOP has much to offer the infosec world, a domain which prizes any improvements in functional assurance, life cycle maintenance, requirements tracing, and perhaps formal modelling. Can anyone give me references to papers on infosec or access control in OOP? How about formal models (based in mathematics) for OOPLs? ADthanksVANCE, -- B< Brian Kahn blk@security.mitre.org "may the farce be with you"