Classified information
Classified information is secret information to which access is restricted by law or corporate rules to a particular hierarchical class of people. A security clearance is permission to view a particular classified document or class of information, often requiring a satisfactory background check. This sort of hierarchical system of secrecy is used by virtually every national government, and by many corporations as well.The desired degree of secrecy about such information is known as its sensitivity. It is often the case that sensitive information is disseminated on the basis of need-to-know, the assertion that if an individual needs to know certain information in order to satisfactorily perform her or his function in the organization, their viewing of that information is authorized, otherwise it is not.
Such information is called "classified" because it falls into a certain classification of secrecy. Information which isn't secret is called unclassified information, which carries the implication that the natural state of information is to be classified, in other words, to be made secret. While this phrase is doublespeak in general usage, it arises naturally as jargon for those who work with secrets on a daily basis. In such environments, one may assume that a document is classified for the same reason that one assumes that a gun is loaded. In general use, "unclassified" often refers to information which has recently had its classification removed, thus the media may speak of a "unclassified report."
The United States government, for example, has a formal hierarchy of classification for secrets:
- Top secret – this is the highest security level, and is defined as information which would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security if disclosed to the public. This classification is most often subdivided on the basis of "need to know", and includes such information as the design of cutting-edge weaponry, etc.
- \Secret – the second highest classification may include, for example, details of other security measures and procedures. It is defined as information which would cause "serious damage" to national security if disclosed.
- Confidential – is the lowest classification level. It is defined as information which would "damage" national security if disclosed.
- Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) – data which is not related to national security but whose disclosure to the public could cause some harm; such data includes personal demographic information from recent censuses, for example. This category is often referred to as Unclassified/FOUO or for official use only. Personal data, and information which requires confidentiality such as contract negotiations, will often fall in this category as well.
- Unclassified – not technically a "classification", this is the default, and refers to information that is not sensitive and can be freely disclosed to the public. Information which was previously classified under one of the above levels is often declared "unclassified" at a certain time because its age has made its classification no longer necessary. Past troop movements are one example; they may be of paramount importance before occurring, and shortly after, but ten years later will not require classification. There have been (controversial) attempts to make all information in certain nuclear-related fields classified from its origination; these have faced challenges in court. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is the law most often mentioned in this context.
There are also "code words" which pertain to specific projects, and are used to more easily manage which individuals require certain information. Code words are not levels of classification themselves, but a person working on project X may have the code word for that project added to his file, and then will be given access to the relevant documents. Code words may also label the sources of various documents; for example, there are code words used to indicate that a document may break the cover of intelligence operatives if its content becomes known. The WWII MAGIC code word identified information found by decrypting Enigma, and which -- regardless of its own significance -- might inform the Germans that Enigma was broken if they became aware that it was known.
The United States also has a system of "designations" which can be added to a document; these are constantly changing, but can include (in abbreviated form) a requirement that the document not be shared with civilian contractor, or not leave a specific room. Technically, one violating these directives would be guilty of violating a lawful order -- not the laws pertaining to the levels of classification -- and most of these designations do not appear in written law at all.
Where information from different levels of classification or codeword sets is combined, the resulting information is given the most restrictive classification and label set from the original information.
Various UFO conspiracies mention a level "above top secret" used for UFO design information and related data; this is generally regarded as evidence of ignorance, since the levels of classification are themselves not secret. As such, the books available claiming to contain "above top secret" information on UFOs or remote viewing should arguably be taken with a grain of salt.
There is one level "above top secret" in US use, the Yankee White clearance given to military personal who work directly with the President. It is however unclear whether this clearance is used more widely, or is an actual classification for documents, and some sources imply that it is an indication of having been through an especially intensive background check however. [1]
The classification scheme of course varies between organizations; for example, in Canada information which the U.S. would classify SBU is called "protected," and further subcategorized into levels A, B, and C.
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2 See also 3 External link |
Specialized computer operating systems known as trusted operating systems are available for processing classified information: they enforce the classification and labeling rules described above in software.
Trusted operating systems
See also
External link