Classified Information

See also: Secrecy-defense

A classified information is a Sensitive information whose access is restricted by a Loi or a payment with a specific group people.

An enabling is necessary to have classified documents or to reach classified data. There are generally several levels of sensitivity, classified by a hierarchical system of the secrecy used potentially by the whole of the governments. The action to assign a level of sensitivity to a data is called classification of the data .

Governmental classification

The objective of a classification is to protect information against an employment likely to harm the national security.

Levels of classification

Although the systems of classification differ from a country with another, the majority of between-them have levels corresponding to those below definite (the corresponding English terms are in italic). The levels are classified higher with low:

Very secret ( Secret Signal )

more the high level of classification of information. The public disclosure of this information could cause an exceptionally serious damage for the national security.

Secret ( Secret )

the public disclosure of classified information secret could harm the national security seriously.

Confidentiel ( Confidential )

the public disclosure of confidential classified information could harm or be prejudicial for the national security.

Restreint ( Restricted )

the public disclosure of restricted classified information could cause undesirable effects. Some countries do not use this classification.

Not classified ( Unclassified )

Technically, it is not a classification, but this level is used for the governmental documents whose level of sensitivity does not correspond to one of classifications above. These documents can be read without having a specific enabling.

Share the information classified between country

When a governmental administration wishes to share information with an administration of one or more foreign governments, a specific classification is generally employed, with the prior agreement of the correspondents.

For example, of the sensitive informations shared by the allies of NATO are classified in four levels of classification: Cosmic Secret Signal (CTS), Secret NATO (NS), NATO Confidential (NC) and NATO Restricted (NR). A special case exists for not classified information NATO: NATO Unclassified (NU). Classified sensitive informations NATO are the property of NATO and cannot be made public without the permission of the organization.

Also, a European defense organization, whose name is OCCAR, has three levels of classifications: Secret OCCAR, OCCAR Confidential, OCCAR Restricted.

Classification by country

The United States of America

The system of classification of information in the United States of America east currently established according to “Executive Order 13292” and has three levels of classification: confidential, secret, and secret signal. The United States had also a Restricted level during the Second world war, but this level is not used any more today. The Freedom off Information Act (FOIA) gives access to certain types of information, provided that they are not covered any more by the Secret defense.

France

See also: Information classified in France

France uses 4 classifications of information. There are of them three for the information classified (Very Secret Defense, Secret Defense and Confidential Defense) and for not-classified information (however divided into four categories). There exists a mention Spécial France , but it is not a classification with whole share.

Great Britain

Great Britain currently uses four levels of classification. Bottom to the top, it there a: Restricted, Confidential, Secrecy and Secret Signal. Those which handle this classified information must have the level of enabling necessary, and sign a specific document most of the time (" Official Act" Secrecies;). The not classified governmental documents are stamps " Not protectively marked".

Zealand news

As well as the United Kingdom, the Zealand News employs the restricted level, which is lower than Confidentiel. Restricted classified information is not intended for a general diffusion but is not classified either in the strict direction of the term. “Restricted” is often used to control the updates of reports/ratios or other documents before those are officialized.

One can have access to restricted or confidential information with the authorization of his head of department, enabling being necessary only for the levels Secret and Very secrecy.

Table of equivalences

Source: NISPOM app. B

Industrial classification

The private companies often use clauses of confidentiality. One thus sees appearing in certain sensitive documents of the stringcourses entitled " Confidential industriel".

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • US " NISPOM" manual, explaining rules one classified information among other things - full title is " National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual".

  • Marking Classified National Security Information ISOO, booklet pdf
  • Trusted operating systems
  • Defense Vetting Agency. National Carries out security checks in the U.K.
  • The National Security Files - has collection off declassified documents acquired through the FOIA

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