Dictionary of Information Security

L

label piece of information that represents the security level

of an object and describes the sensitivity of the infor-

mation in the object

labelling means to identify the sensitivity of a unit of

information (object) or a process (subject), or, in a

system supporting mandatory access controls, the assign-

ment of sensitivity labels to every subject or object

in the system

latency situation in which a system may be penetrated but

some time may elapse between the penetration and

further activity.This term is generally used in con-

nection with malware such as viruses and worms.A

virus with a long latent period may have time to

reproduce and spread further before an overt payload

renders detection likely. On the other hand, since

viruses in the wild are ...