Information barriers, historically called Chinese walls or ethical walls, are the controls that stop confidential information moving between teams whose clients have conflicting interests. They are standard practice in law firms and investment banks.
Barriers have a physical dimension that IT controls alone cannot cover: conflicted teams should not sit within earshot of each other, share printers, or wander into each other’s deal rooms. Zoned seating rules and booking permissions turn a compliance policy into an enforceable floor plan.