Patent ID: 8527754

Claim:
A method, in a data processing system, for authorizing information flows between devices of the data processing system, the method comprising: receiving an information flow request from a first device to authorize an information flow from the first device to a second device, wherein the information flow request includes an identifier of the second device; retrieving, based on an identification of the first device and the identifier of the second device, security information identifying an authorization level of the first device and second device; determining a sensitivity of an information object that is to be transferred in the information flow; and authorizing or denying the information flow based on the sensitivity of the information object and the authorization level of the first and second devices irregardless of the particular action being performed on the information object as part of the information flow, wherein the security information of the first and second device indicate a sensitivity of information objects that the first and second devices are permitted to maintain, respectively, and do not define the authorization level of the first and second device in terms of the operations which the first and second device are permitted to use to transform or transmit the information objects.