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The IT Law Wiki

Definitions[]

Data[]

Granularity is

[a]n expression of the relative size of a data object; e.g., protection at the file level is considered coarse granularity, whereas protection at field level is considered to be of a finer granularity.[1]

General[]

Granularity is "[t]he size and level of complexity of a resource."[2]

Geospatial[]

Granularity is

the extent to which a system contains separate components, e.g., the fineness or coarseness with which data fields are subdivided in data collection, transmission, and storage systems. The more components in a system, the more flexible it is. In more general terms, the degree to which a volume of information is finely detailed.[3]
the level of detail of the organizational unit in information systems and is used to explain the difference between a system that, for example, treats a map as the information object and another system that treats the features within the datasets of the map as the information objects (i.e., at a more detailed level of granularity).[4]

Intelligence activities[]

Granularity

[c]onsiders the specific details and pieces of information, including nuances and situational inferences, that constitute the elements on which intelligence is developed through analysis.[5]

Security[]

Granularity is

[t]he relative fineness or courseness by which a mechanism such as access controls can be adjusted to implement discretionary access requirements.[6]

Overview[]

In more general terms, granularity is the degree to which a volume of information is finely detailed.

References[]

  1. Department of Defense, National Computer Security Center, Glossary of Computer Security Terms (NCSC-TG-004, Ver. 1) (Oct. 21, 1988).
  2. CETIS Reference (Jan. 2, 2004) (full-text).
  3. Guidelines for Smart Grid Cyber Security, Vol. 3, at I-5.
  4. Georeferencing: The Geographic Associations of Information, Glossary, at 230.
  5. U.S. Department of Justice, Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards for Law Enforcement and Other Criminal Justice Agencies in the United States 39 (Ver. 2) (Oct. 2007) (full-text).
  6. USDA Information Systems Security Policy, §8(j) (full-text).

See also[]