The national security classification system at the Department of Homeland Security is “broken,” and one of the top ten challenges facing the next Secretary of Homeland Security is to fix it, according to a recent report (pdf) from the Homeland Security Advisory Council. “The federal security clearance process and classification system is broken and is […]
When an Army aircraft is flying in a zone where detonation of a nuclear explosive is anticipated, one of the pilots would be well advised to wear a patch over one eye to protect against flash blindness from the nuclear burst. “This practice allows vision in this eye in case blindness occurs to the unprotected […]
Information that would reveal a violation of the law may be properly classified as long as it is not deliberately classified for the purpose of concealing the violation, a federal judge indicated this week. That view, in a ruling (pdf) against the ACLU by DC District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, all but nullifies one of […]
By Ivan Oelrich and Hans M. Kristensen Only one week before Barack Obama is expected to win the presidential election, Defense Secretary Robert Gates made one last pitch for the Bush administration’s nuclear policy during a speech Tuesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. What is the opposite of visionary? Whatever, that’s the word […]
A range of presidential transition policy issues — including records management, budget preparation and the role of executive orders — is explored in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See “Presidential Transitions: Issues Involving Outgoing and Incoming Administrations” (pdf), October 23, 2008. Other noteworthy new CRS reports obtained by Secrecy News that were […]
The Director of National Intelligence today disclosed the 2008 budget for the National Intelligence Program: $47.5 billion. That figure does not include spending for the Military Intelligence Program, which is at least another $10 billion. The disclosure marks only the fourth time that the intelligence budget has been officially disclosed. The aggregate intelligence budget figure […]
The Director of National Intelligence issued a directive (pdf) this month that will make it easier for a person whose spouse or immediate family is not a U.S. citizen to gain a security clearance for access to intelligence information. The new policy lowers a barrier that has long impeded intelligence agency hiring of qualified area […]
Could terrorists use Twitter, the instant messaging and micro-blogging service? Presumably so, just as they could use credit cards and can openers. The potential use of Twitter and other communications technologies by terrorists is considered in a new draft Army intelligence paper, based on a review of jihadist web sites and other public sources. The […]
On October 23, President Bush named former CIA information officer Herbert Briick to the Public Interest Declassification Board, and also reappointed former CIA general counsel Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker. The Board will hold its next public meeting at the National Archives on Friday, October 31, where it will discuss how to identify and prioritize “historically valuable” […]
Executive branch agencies often classify information inconsistently or unnecessarily. But when challenged, they will sometimes modify their practices. These elementary but important facts were illustrated recently by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, who described the process by which his office’s investigative reports are reviewed by agency officials prior to release. “We have seen […]
Pentagon officials say that the Department of Defense and its contractors are failing to adequately protect “controlled unclassified information” (CUI) that may have significant military or technological value to adversaries or competitors. “Simply stated, hostile actors can exfiltrate large volumes of unclassified program information in a single attack that can potentially net enough information to […]
“Why are Docs From the Bailout Being Redacted?” by Ben Protess, ProPublica, October 22. “U.S. Army delays, alters medical studies under little-known scientific censorship program” by Bryant Furlow, EPINews, October 21. “GeoEye’s New Satellite Offers Unprecedentedly Sharp Images” by William Matthews, Defense News, October 20. “IG: Army is lax in overseeing issuance of contractor ID […]