High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In computer security, a covert channel is a type of computer security attack that creates a capability to transfer information objects between processes that are not supposed to be allowed to communicate by the computer security policy. The term, originated in 1972 by Lampson is defined as "(channels) not intended for information transfer at all, such as the service program`s effect on system load." to distinguish it from Legitimate channels that are subjected to access controls by COMPUSEC.