compartmented mode

1. [An] information systems (IS) mode of operation wherein each user with direct or indirect access to a system, its peripherals, remote terminals, or remote hosts has all of the following: (a) valid security clearance for the most restricted information processed in the system; (b) formal access approval and signed nondisclosure agreements for that information [to] which a user is to have access; and (c) valid need-to-know for information [to] which a user is to have access. [INFOSEC-99]2.A system operating in this mode is one whose users are all cleared for all the data stored on and/or processed by it, but who only need to have, and are only given, access to some of that data[CESG]. A.k.a. compartmented security mode