Mandatory Access Controls

Hello,

I have a very basic question regarding mandatory access controls(MACs).

Using the following diagram:

---------------------         ---------------------

|    Subject         |        |     Object         |

---------------------         ---------------------

|    Clearance       |        |    Classification  |
|  Ex - Top Secret   |        |  Ex - Top Secret   |
|                    |        |                    |

---------------------         ---------------------

In the MAC model the "need-to-know" flag, restricts the subject to access the
object. Is this flag, part of the subject's attributes or the object's
attributes? OR is "need-to-know" a seperate element, like subject and object,
in the MAC model?

Thank you in advance.

--
Subba Rao

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