[net-gold] Secrecy News -- 07/29/10
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Net-Gold @ Nabble" <ml-node+3172864-337556105@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K-12ADMINLIFE <K12ADMIN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, MediaMentor <mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Digital Divide Diversity MLS <mls-digitaldivide@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:53:51 -0400 (EDT)
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Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:02:50 -0400
From: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
To: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Secrecy News -- 07/29/10
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2010, Issue No. 61
July 29, 2010
Secrecy News Blog:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** RETHINKING "FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA"
** SENATE ASSISTS DOJ WITH LEAK INVESTIGATION
** SENATOR: SECRECY OBSCURES CYBER THREATS
RETHINKING "FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA"
Congress should eliminate the classification category known as "Formerly
Restricted Data" in order to simplify and streamline classification policy,
the Public Interest Declassification Board was told last week.
While most national security information (NSI) is classified by executive
order, information related to nuclear weapons is classified under the Atomic
Energy Act. And such classified nuclear weapons information in turn falls
into two categories: Restricted Data (RD), which deals mainly with weapons
design and production of nuclear material, and Formerly Restricted Data
(FRD), which typically concerns the storage, maintenance and utilization of
nuclear weapons. (Despite its somewhat misleading name, FRD is still
classified information and cannot be shared with uncleared persons.)
Incredibly, each component of this three-part classification system -- NSI,
RD, and FRD -- has different criteria for classifying, handling, and
declassifying information within its scope. So, for example, RD can be
declassified by the Secretary of Energy only when it poses no "undue risk."
But FRD can be declassified only when doing so presents no "unreasonable
risk," and only by joint action of the Secretary of Energy and the
Department of Defense. And so on. When items from different classification
categories are intermingled within the same document or records group, the
processing of records for declassification all but grinds to a halt.
"The entire FRD classification category should be eliminated," I told the
Public Interest Declassification Board, "because it adds needless complexity
to an already baroque classification system, and it poses an unnecessary
obstacle to the efficient functioning of the declassification process."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/sa-frd.pdf
In the past, policymakers have considered transferring FRD to the regular
classification system, or partitioning FRD partly into RD and partly into
NSI, but they decided against it. "The cost and effort to manage such a
partition, the judgment that it was unlikely for Congress [to make the
needed legislative changes], and the problems discovered at NARA [where some
unmarked RD and FRD were found in declassified files] resulted in no changes
in the FRD category," said Andrew Weston-Dawkes, the Director of the Office
of Classification at the Department of Energy, in a statement to the Board.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/awd-frd.pdf
But the "no change" approach has significant long-term costs of its own,
because the current three-tiered classification system is a massive
impediment to the efficient production, handling and ultimate
declassification of classified government records.
"A workable classification system of the future will be simple in design,
easy to implement and to correct, and modest in scale," I suggested to the
PIDB. "The Formerly Restricted Data category is not consistent with that
goal, and so it needs to go."
Dr. William Burr of the National Security Archive and Dr. Robert S. Norris
of the Natural Resources Defense Council described to the PIDB the
historical importance of information currently withheld as FRD, the often
irrational barriers to its disclosure, and the benefits of careful
declassification of historically significant FRD. Steve Henry of the
Department of Defense said that the Pentagon is currently reviewing the
possible declassification of historical nuclear weapons storage locations.
SENATE ASSISTS DOJ WITH LEAK INVESTIGATION
In response to a request from the Department of Justice, the Senate
yesterday authorized the Senate Intelligence Committee to cooperate with a
pending investigation of an unauthorized disclosure of classified
information.
"The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, acting jointly, are authorized to provide to the United States
Department of Justice, under appropriate security procedures, copies of
Committee documents sought in connection with a pending investigation into
the unauthorized disclosure of classified national security information, and
former and current employees of the Committee are authorized to testify in
proceedings arising out of that investigation," according to Senate
Resolution 600 that was passed yesterday.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2010_cr/ssci_leak.html
The target of the leak investigation was not specified, but Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid said it involved "someone not connected with the
committee."
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently released a copy
of Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) Number 700 on "Protection of
National Intelligence," which was issued on September 21, 2007. Among other
things, the Directive mandated the establishment of "fora for the
identification and solution of issues affecting the protection of national
intelligence and intelligence sources and methods."
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icd/icd-700.pdf
SENATOR: SECRECY OBSCURES CYBER THREATS
"I believe we are suffering what is probably the biggest transfer of wealth
through theft and piracy in the history of mankind," said Sen. Sheldon
Whitehouse (D-RI), referring to the penetration and compromise of U.S.
information systems by foreign nations and criminal entities.
In a statement on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Sen. Whitehouse described
some of the findings of a classified Task Force that he chaired and that
recently reported to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The defense of U.S. information networks "is the greatest unmet national
security need facing the United States," he said. "The intelligence
community is keenly aware of the threat and is doing all it can within
existing laws and authorities to counter it. The bad news is the rest of
our country--including the rest of the Federal Government--is not keeping
pace with the threat."
Part of the problem, he said, is that "threat information affecting the
dot.gov and the dot.mil domains is largely classified--often very highly
classified" and so "the public knows very little about the size and scope of
the threat their Nation faces.... If they knew how vulnerable America's
critical infrastructure is and the national security risk that has resulted,
they would demand action. It is hard to legislate in a democracy when the
public has been denied so much of the relevant information."
Among several proposed responses that he described, he said "we must more
clearly define the rules of engagement for covert action by our country
against cyber-threats. This is an especially sensitive subject and highly
classified. But for here, let me just say that the intelligence community
and the Department of Defense must be in a position to provide the President
with as many lawful options as possible to counter cyber-threats, and the
executive branch must have the appropriate authorities, policies, and
procedures for covert cyber-activities, including how to react in real time
when the attack comes at the speed of light. This all, of course, must be
subject to very vigilant congressional oversight."
More than 40 bills on cyber security are currently pending in Congress, Sen.
Whitehouse noted.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2010_cr/cyber.html
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation
of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
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Support the FAS Project on Government Secrecy with a donation:
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@xxxxxxx
voice: (202) 454-4691
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