International Business Machines Corporation

Janet A Cugini

Khalid A Asad

Mark E Carson

Mudumbai Ranganathan

A secure process for untrusted windowing system client programs to transfer data between security domains is mediated by a special trusted client program, the Selection Manager. The mechanism used can be configured to meet the Compartmented Mode Workstation (CMW) requirements capability for regrading cut and paste operations. To meet the CMW cut and paste requirements and to prevent the regrading selection mechanism from acting as a covert channel, the regrading selection mechanism uses dummy window IDs in communicating to the lower level process during a Mandatory Access Control (MAC) upgrade operation, and for all regrading operations, an event is sent to the Selection Manager that causes the Selection Manager to put up a pop-up requesting user confirmation before the transfer is allowed to proceed. This selection mechanism supports configurable regrading selection operations for cutting and pasting (MAC upgrading for all users, MAC downgrading for privileged users, and information label upgrading and downgrading for all users).

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Frederick County, MD, United States of America

Janet A Cugini