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Controlled Unclassified Information

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) refers to unclassified information that is to be protected from public disclosure. The CUI designation, created by a Presidential memorandum of 7 May 2008, replaces "sensitive but unclassified" and other similar control markings. A CUI Office has been established at the National Archives to develop guidance for implementing and enforcing the new CUI policy.

Official CUI Policy Documents

• Designation and Sharing of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Memorandum from the President, May 7, 2008
• Background on the Controlled Unclassified Information Framework (pdf), to accompany the Presidential Memorandum, released May 9, 2008
• Establishment of the Controlled Unclassified Information Office, memorandum to executive departments and agencies from Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, May 21, 2008

News, Commentary and Criticism

• Controlled Unclassified Info May Be Classified, US-Czech Doc Says, Secrecy News, July 14, 2008
• FAS Comments on the Controlled Unclassified Information Framework, letter to Rep. Anna Eshoo, chair, House Intelligence Committee Subcommittee on IC Management, June 16, 2008
• White House Issues Policy on "Controlled Unclassified Info", Secrecy News, May 12, 2008
• Bush issues new secrecy directive by Smintheus, Daily Kos, May 10, 2008
• Keeping Secrets: In Presidential Memo, A New Designation for Classifying Information by Walter Pincus, Washington Post, May 19, 2008

Congressional Resources

• Hearing on The "Improving Public Access to Documents Act of 2008", House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Intelligence, June 11, 2008
• Laws and Regulations Governing the Protection of Sensitive But Unclassified Information, a report prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, September 2004
• "Sensitive But Unclassified" Information and Other Controls: Policy and Options for Scientific and Technical Information, Congressional Research Service, updated December 29, 2006
• Drowning in a Sea of Faux Secrets: Policies on Handling of Classified and Sensitive Information, hearing before the Subcomm on National Security, House Comm on Govt Reform, March 14, 2006

GAO Reports on Sensitive Information

• Transportation Security Administration's Processes for Designating and Releasing Sensitive Security Information [GAO-08-232R], November 30, 2007
• Managing Sensitive Information: DOJ Needs a More Complete Staffing Strategy for Managing Classified Information and a Set of Internal Controls for Other Sensitive Information [GAO-07-83], October 2006
• Managing Sensitive Information: DOD Can More Effectively Reduce the Risk of Classification Errors [GAO-06-706], June 30, 2006
• Managing Sensitive Information: Actions Needed to Ensure Recent Changes in DOE Oversight Do Not Weaken an Effective Classification System [GAO-06-785], June 30, 2006
• Information Sharing: DHS Should Take Steps to Encourage More Widespread Use of Its Program to Protect and Share Critical Infrastructure Information [GAO-06-383], April 2006
• Information Sharing: The Federal Government Needs to Establish Policies and Processes for Sharing Terrorism-Related and Sensitive but Unclassified Information [GAO-06-385], March 2006
• Managing Sensitive Information: Departments of Energy and Defense Policies and Oversight Could Be Improved [GAO-06-369], March 2006
• Critical Infrastructure Protection: Establishing Effective Information Sharing with Infrastructure Sectors, GAO-04-699T, April 21, 2004
• Homeland Security: Efforts to Improve Information Sharing Need to Be Strengthened, GAO-03-760, August 2003

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http://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood