The government is looking for a person to oversee, and perhaps sometimes to overrule, classification decisions made throughout the Executive Branch. A job opening for the position of Director of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) was announced in USA Jobs last week. The ISOO director is appointed by the Archivist of the United States, […]
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Encryption: Legal Aspects, and More from CRS
A new report from the Congressional Research Service considers legal aspects of encryption policy. It reviews the existing case law concerning efforts to compel disclosure of encrypted data. It also discusses related issues including the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, and the scope of the All Writs Act that is now the focus of a […]
Read More“Climate Change” Enters the DoD Lexicon
The term “climate change” was included for the first time in the latest revision of the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication 1-02), published last week. Climate change is officially defined by DoD as “Variations in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer that encompass increases and […]
Read MoreDoD Use of Domestic Drones Complies with Law, IG Says
The domestic use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS, or drones) by the Department of Defense in support of civil authorities has been conducted in accordance with law and policy, the DoD Inspector General said in a 2015 report of an evaluation that was released last week. “DoD is fully compliant with laws, regulations, and national […]
Read MoreODNI Will Revise Declassification Fee Policy
In response to criticism of the hefty fees that could be charged to public requesters in its new Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) rule, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has agreed to modify the rule. The revised rule will adopt the more flexible and forgiving approach used in ODNI’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) […]
Read MoreBill Would Authorize Release of CRS Reports
A bill to make Congressional Research Service reports available to the public through authorized rather than unauthorized channels was introduced in Congress yesterday. The bill was sponsored in the Senate (S. 2639) by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and in the House (H.R. 4702) by Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Mike […]
Read MoreODNI Erects Cost Barrier to Mandatory Declassification
Updated below, twice Anyone who submits a mandatory declassification review request to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence seeking release of classified records “shall be responsible for paying all fees” resulting from the request, according to a new ODNI regulation. And those fees are considerable. A search for a requested document costs from […]
Read MoreAn Eight-Member Supreme Court, and More from CRS
A new report from the Congressional Research Service examines the implications of having only eight members on the Supreme Court following Justice Scalia’s death. “This report provides an overview of the Supreme Court’s procedural rules and requirements when the Court is staffed with less than nine members. Included in this discussion is an overview of […]
Read MoreIt’s a Plane: Visual Aircraft Recognition
The U.S. Army yesterday issued an updated manual to assist soldiers in identifying aircraft on the battlefield so as to determine whether they are friendly, hostile or something else. “Soldiers must be knowledgeable in the identification of all types of aerial platforms ranging from fixed wing attack aircraft to unmanned aircraft (UA), in order to […]
Read MoreNew Rules on Classified Human Subject Research at the Dept of Energy
The Department of Energy last month issued new guidance on the conduct of classified scientific research involving human subjects. While all human subject research is governed by federal regulations, the new DOE policy imposes several additional requirements whenever such research is to be performed on a classified basis. For example, the proposed classified research must […]
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