E-Prime for security: a new security paradigm

This paper details a true and striking paradigm shift: the use of E-Prime for (at least) user-centered security, organizational/enterprise security policies and informal security policy modeling. In 1965, D. David Bourland, Jr. proposed E-Prime as an addition to Korzybski’s General Semantics. Bourland defined E-Prime as that proper subset of the English language that omits any forms of the verb “to be.” E-Prime seems desirable because two forms of the verb “to be” have structural problems with security implications that the use of E-Prime would eliminate. I first examine the rationale for E-Prime (reviewing the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and the relevant parts of General Semantics), and then cover the basics of E-Prime. Next I examine the use of E-Prime with several “before and after” examples in the areas of user-centered security (Microsoft and ZoneAlarm software messages), organizational/enterprise security policy, and informal security policy modeling (including some e...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: NSPW
• Authors: Steven J. Greenwald
• Keywords: Distributed And Parallel Computing, E-Prime, NSPW 2006, Security, Security Policy