With the emergence of the Internet, collaborative computing has become more
feasible than ever.  Organizations can share valuable information among each
other.  However, certain users should only access certain portions of source
data.  The CHAOS (Configurable Heterogeneous Active Object System) project
addresses security issues that arise when information is shared among
collaborating enterprises.  It provides a framework for integrating security
policy specification with source data maintenance.  In CHAOS, security
policies are incorporated into the data objects as active nodes to form
active objects.  When active objects are queried, their active nodes are
dynamically loaded by the active security mediator and executed.  The active
nodes, based on the security policy incorporated, can locate and operate on
all the elements within the active object, modifying the content as well as
the structure of the object.  A set of API's is provided to construct more
complex security policies, which can be tailored for different enterprise
settings.  This model moves the responsibility of security to the source
data provider, rather than through a central authority.  The design provides
enterprises with a flexible mechanism to protect sensitive information in a
collaborative computing environment.