How do the Information Labels of Compartmented Mode Workstation differ from the Sensitivity
Levels of B3 evaluated systems?

A.
Information Labels in CMW are homologous to Sensitivity Labels, but a different term was
chosen to emphasize that CMW’s are not described in the Orange Book.

B.
Information Labels contain more information than Sensitivity Labels, thus allowing more
granular access decisions to be made.

C.
Sensitivity Labels contain more information than Information Labels because B3+ systems
should store more sensitive data than workstations.

D.
Information Labels contain more information than Sensitivity Labels, but are not used by the
Reference Monitor to determine access permissions.

Explanation:
The primary goal of the compartmented mode workstation (CMW) project was to
articulate the security requirements that workstations must meet to process highly classified
intelligence data. As a basis for the validity of the requirements developed, a prototype was
implemented which demonstrated that workstations could meet the requirements in an
operationally useful manner while still remaining binary compatible with off-the-shelf software. The
security requirements not only addressed traditional security concerns but also introduced
concepts in areas such as labeling and the use of a trusted window management system. The
CMW labeling paradigm is based on associating two types of security labels with objects:
sensitivity levels and information labels. Sensitivity levels describe the levels at which objects must
be protected. Information labels are used to prevent data over classification and also provide a
mechanism for associating with data those markings that are required for accurate data labeling,
but which play no role in access control decisions. The use of a trusted window manager allows
users to easily operate at multiple sensitivity levels and provides a convenient mechanism for
communicating security information to users in a relatively unobtrusive manner. Information labels
are not used by reference monitor, permissions are referenced in Sensibility labels.