Classified information

Classified Information

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Classified information

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law

LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
or regulation to particular class

Class

Class may refer to:...
es of persons. A formal security clearance

Security clearance

For use by the United Nations, see Security Clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, e.g., state secrets....
is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation.

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Encyclopedia

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law

LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
or regulation to particular class

Class

Class may refer to:...
es of persons. A formal security clearance

Security clearance

Secrecy

Secrecy or furtiveness is the practice of sharing information among a group of people, which can be as small as one person, while hiding it from all others....
is used by virtually every nation

Nation

A nation is a cultural and social community. In as much as most members never meet each other, yet feel a common bond, it may be considered an imagined community....
al government

Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
. The act of assigning the level of sensitivity to data is called data classification.

Some corporation

Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
s and non-government organizations also assign sensitive information to multiple levels of protection, either from a desire to protect trade secret

Trade secret

Government classification

The purpose of classification is ostensibly to protect information from being used to damage or endanger national security

National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
. Classification formalises what constitutes a "state secret" and accords different levels of protection based on the expected damage the information might cause in the wrong hands.

Classification levels

Although the classification systems vary from country to country, most have levels corresponding to the following British definitions (from the highest level to lowest):

Top Secret (TS)

The highest level of classification of material on a national level. Such material would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security

National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
if publicly available.

Secret

Such material would cause "grave damage" to national security if publicly available.

Confidential

Such material would cause "damage" or be "prejudicial" to national security if publicly available.

Restricted

Such material would cause "undesirable effects" if publicly available. Some countries do not have such a classification.

Unclassified

Technically not a classification level, but is used for government documents that do not have a classification listed above. Such documents can sometimes be viewed by those without security clearance.

Clearance

Depending on the level of classification there are different rules controlling the level of clearance needed to view such information, and how it must be stored, transmitted, and destroyed. Additionally, access is restricted on a "need to know

Need to Know

Category:Articles to be expanded"Need to Know" is an episode of the American television series The New Twilight Zone....
" basis. Simply possessing a clearance does not automatically authorize the individual to view all material classified at that level or below that level. The individual must present a legitimate "need to know" in addition to the proper level of clearance.

Compartmented information

In addition to the general risk-based classification levels above, often there are additional constraints on access, such as (in the U.S.) Special Intelligence (SI) which protects intelligence sources and methods, No Foreign dissemination (NOFORN) which restricts dissemination to U.S. nationals, and Originator Controlled dissemination (ORCON), which ensures that the originator can track possessors of the information. Documents in some compartments are marked with specific "code words" in addition to the classification level.

Nuclear information

Government information about nuclear weapon

Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
s such as nuclear warheads often has an additional marking to show it contains such information.

Sharing classified information between countries

When a government agency or group shares information between an agency or group of other country’s government they will generally employ a special classification scheme which both parties have previously agreed to honour. For example, sensitive information shared amongst NATO

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
allies has five levels of security classification; from most to least classified, COSMIC TOP SECRET (CTS), FOCAL TOP SECRET (FTS), NATO SECRET (NS), NATO CONFIDENTIAL (NC), and NATO RESTRICTED (NR). A special case exists with regard to NATO UNCLASSIFIED (NU) information. This is NATO property and must not be made public without NATO permission.

Another marking, ATOMAL, is applied to U.S. RESTRICTED DATA or FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA and United Kingdom Atomic information that has been released to NATO. ATOMAL information is marked COSMIC TOP SECRET ATOMAL (CTSA), NATO SECRET ATOMAL (NSA), or NATO CONFIDENTIAL ATOMAL (NCA).

In cases where a country wishes to share classified information bilaterally (or multilaterally) with a country that has a sharing agreement, the information is with the countries it can be shared with. Those countries would have to maintain the classification of the document at the level originally classified (TOP-SECRET, SECRET, etc.) with the appropriate caveat (USNZ, AUSGE, CANUK, etc.).

International organisations

European Commission
European Commission

The European Commission is the executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Treaties of the European Union and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, has 5 levels, EU TOP SECRET, EU SECRET, EU CONFIDENTIAL, EU RESTRICTED, and EU COUNCIL / COMMISSION. (Note that usually the French term is used)
NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
, has 5 levels: COSMIC TOP SECRET (CTS), FOCAL TOP SECRET (FTS), NATO SECRET (NS), NATO CONFIDENTIAL (NC), and NATO RESTRICTED (NR)
OCCAR
OCCAR

OCCAR is a European organisation which facilitates and manages collaborative European Armament Programmes.OCCAR was established on the 12 November 1996 by the Defence Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom....
, a European defence organisation, has three levels of classification: OCCAR SECRET, OCCAR CONFIDENTIAL, OCCAR RESTRICTED. .

By country

Most countries employ some sort of classification system for certain government information. For example, in Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
information which the U.S. would classify SBU (Sensitive but Unclassified) is called "protected" and further subcategorised into levels A, B, and C.

Australia

National security classifications in Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
comprise TOP SECRET, SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL, RESTRICTED and UNCLASSIFIED. Background checks for access to TOP SECRET material are carried out at either of two levels: at TOP SECRET NEGATIVE VETTED (TSNV), or at the even more stringent and expensive TOP SECRET POSITIVE VETTED (TSPV) level, depending on the extent of required access to TOP SECRET material and on the potential damage to national security should such material be disclosed to unauthorised parties. Most background checks for access to TOP SECRET material are carried out at the TOP SECRET NEGATIVE VETTED level.

Australia also has a non-national security based classification system that is used in areas of the Federal Government not directly related to national security matters. This system is used for information whose compromise would not directly threaten the security of the nation, but the release of which could threaten the security or interests of individuals, groups, commercial entities, government business and interests, or the safety of the community

Highly protected: which broadly corresponds to SECRET in the national security system. Protected : which broadly corresponds to CONFIDENTIAL in the national security system. 'X'-in-confidence : which broadly corresponds to RESTRICTED in the national security system.

In addition, documents marked 'CABINET-IN-CONFIDENCE', relating to discussions in Federal Cabinet, are treated as PROTECTED.

Canada

Background and hierarchy

There are 2 main type of sensitive information designation used by the Government of Canada: Classified and Protected. The access and protection of both types of information is governed by the Security of Information Act
Security of Information Act

In Canada, the Security of Information Act is part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act which received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001 and came into effect on December 24, 2001....
, effective December 24, 2001, replacing the Official Secrets Act 1981. In order to access the information, a person must have the appropriate level of clearance and a Need to know

Need to Know

Category:Articles to be expanded"Need to Know" is an episode of the American television series The New Twilight Zone....
.

Special operational information

SOI is not a classification of data per se, rather it is defined under the Security of Information Act
Security of Information Act

In Canada, the Security of Information Act is part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act which received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001 and came into effect on December 24, 2001....
for which the unauthorised release of such information constitute a higher breach of trust, with penalty of life imprisonment.

SOIs include:

military operations in respect of a potential, imminent or present armed conflict
the identity of confidential source of information, intelligence or assistance to the Government of Canada
tools used for information gathering or intelligence
the object of a covert investigation, or a covert collection of information or intelligence
the identity of any person who is under covert surveillance
encryption and cryptographic systems
information or intelligence to, or received from, a foreign entity or terrorist group

Classified information

Classified information can be designated Top Secret, Secret or Confidential. These classifications are only used on matters of national security.

Top Secret: This applies when compromise might reasonably cause exceptionally grave injury to the national interest. The possible impact must be great, immediate and irreparable. Secret: This applies when compromise might reasonably cause serious injury to the national interest. Confidential: When disclosure might reasonably cause injury to the national interest.

Protected information

Protected information is not classified. Protected information pertains to any sensitive information which does not relate to national security and cannot be disclosed under the access and privacy legislation because of the possible injury to particular public or private interests. Protected C (Extremely Sensitive designated information): is used to protect extremely sensitive information if compromised, could reasonably be expected to cause extremely grave injury outside the national interest. Examples could include bankruptcy, identities of informants in criminal investigations, etc. Protected B (Particularly Sensitive designated information): is used to protect information which could cause severe injury or damage to the people or group involved if it was released. Examples include medical records, annual personnel performance reviews, etc. Protected A (Low-Sensitive designated information): is applied to low sensitivity information which should not be disclosed to the public without authorisation and could reasonably be expected to cause injury or embarrassment outside the national interest. Example of Protected A information could include employee number, pay deposit banking information, etc.

Federal Cabinet (Queen's Privy Council for Canada

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada , sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council, is the council of advisers to the Monarchy of Canada, whose members are appointed by the Governor General of Canada of Canada for life on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada....
) papers are either designated (ie. overhead slides prepared to make presentations to Cabinet) or classified (draft legislations, certain memos).

People's Republic of China

The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (which is not operative in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
and Macau

Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region, , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong....
) makes it a crime to release a state secret. However, what constitutes a state secret is vaguely defined. There is no formal system of classification, nor are there legal requirements limiting what can be declared secret or even preventing information previously released from being retroactively declared state secrets.

France

In France, classified information defined by article 413-9 of the Penal Code. The three levels of military classification are Confidentiel Défense (Confidential Defence): Information deemed potentially harmful to national defence, or which could lead to uncovering an information classified at a higher level of security. Secret Défense (Secret Defence): Information deemed very harmful to national defence. Such information cannot be reproduced without authorisation from the emitting authority, except in exceptional emergencies. Très Secret Défense (Very Secret Defence): Information deemed extremely harmful to national defence, and relative to governmental priorities in national defence. No service or organisation can elaborate, process, stock, transfer, display or destroy information or protected supports classified at this level without authorisation from the Prime Minister or the national secretary for National Defence. Partial or exhaustive reproduction is strictly forbidden.

Less sensitive information is "protected". The levels are

Non Protégé (unprotected)
Diffusion restreinte administrateur ("administrative restricted information")
Diffusion restreinte ("restricted information")
Confidentiel personnels Sous-Officiers ("Confidential non-commissioned officers")
Confidentiel personnels Officiers ("Confidential officers")

A further mention, "spécial France" (reserved France) restricts the document to French citizens (in its entirety or by extracts). This is not a classification level.

Declassification of documents can be done by the Commission consultative du secret de la défense nationale (CCSDN), an independent authority. Transfer of classified information is done with double envelopes, the outer layer being plastified and numbered, and the inner in strong paper. Reception of the document involves examination of the physical integrity of the container and registration of the document. In foreign countries, the document must be transferred through specialised military mail or diplomatic bag

Diplomatic bag

A diplomatic bag, also known as a diplomatic pouch, is an envelope, parcel, shipping container or any other kind of receptacle used by diplomatic missions....
. Transport is done by an authorised convoyer or habilitated person for mail under 20 kg. The letter must bear a seal mentioning "PAR VALISE ACCOMPAGNEE-SACOCHE". Once a year, ministers have an inventory of classified information and supports by competent authorities.

Once their usage period is expired, documents are transferred to archives, where they are either destroyed (by incineration, crushing or electrical overtension), or stored.

In case of compromission of a classified information, competent authorities are the Ministry of Interior

Minister of the Interior (France)

The Minister of the Interior in France is one of the most important governmental French government ministers, responsible for the following:* The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes...
, the Haut fonctionnaire de défense et de sécurité ("high civil servant for defence and security") of the relevant ministry, and the General secretary for National Defence. Violation of such secrets is an offence punishable with 7 years of imprisonment and a 100 000 Euro fine; if the offence is committed by imprudence or negligence, the penalties are 3 years of imprisonment and a 45 000 Euro fine.

Hong Kong

Security Bureau

Security Bureau (Hong Kong)

The Security Bureau is a body of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for a range of activities, including law enforcement, search and rescue and administer various laws in relation to the security of Hong Kong....
is responsible for developing policies in regards to the protection and handling of confidential government information. In general, the system used in Hong Kong is very similar to the UK system, developed from the Colonial Hong Kong

Colonial Hong Kong

The British Hong Kong period began in the 19th century when the United Kingdom, Netherlands, French, Demographics of Indias and United States saw China as the world's largest untapped market....
era.

Four classifications exists in Hong Kong, from highest to lowest in sensitivity:

Top Secret
Secret
Confidential

Temporary Confidential

Restricted (????/????)

Restricted (staff) (????(??))
Restricted (tender) (????)
Restricted (administration) (????)

Restricted documents are not classified per se, but only those who have a need to know will have access to such information, in accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

New Zealand

Like the United Kingdom, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
uses the Restricted grade, which is lower than Confidential. Information with a Restricted classification is not for general dissemination, but is not classified in the strictest sense of the word - it is often used for controlling the release of reports and other documents until it can be done officially.

People may be given access to Restricted and Confidential information on the strength of an authorisation by their Head of Department, without being subjected to the background vetting

Vetting

Vetting is a process of examination and evaluation, generally referring to performing a background check on someone before offering him or her employment....
associated with Secret and Top Secret clearances. New Zealand's security classifications and the national-harm requirements associated with their use are roughly similar to those of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

In addition to national security classifications there are a number of classifications used within ministries and departments of the government, to indicate, for example, that information should not be released outside the originating ministry.

Because of strict privacy requirements around personal information, personnel files are controlled in all parts of the public and private sectors. Information relating to the security vetting of an individual is usually classified at the Confidential level even though it has no national security significance, because of the detail that is recorded through the vetting process.

Sweden

The Swedish classification has been updated due to increased NATO/PfP co-operation. All classified defence documents will now have both a Swedish classification (Kvalificerat Hemlig or Hemlig), and an English classification (Top Secret, Secret, Confidential or Restricted).

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
currently uses five levels of classification — from lowest to highest, they are: PROTECT, RESTRICTED, CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET and TOP SECRET. Those working with such material must have the relevant security clearance

Classified information in the United Kingdom

Classified information, now called Protectively Marked Information, in the United Kingdom is a system used to protect information from intentional or inadvertent release to another state....
and often must sign to confirm their understanding and acceptance of the Official Secrets Act

Official Secrets Act

The Official Secrets Act is any of several Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the protection of official information, mainly related to national security....
. Government documents without a classification may be marked as UNCLASSIFIED or NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED.

United States

The U.S. classification system is currently established under Executive Order 13292

Executive Order 13292

Executive Order 13292 is an Executive order issued by United States United States President George W. Bush on March 25 2003, entitled "Further Amendment to Executive Order 12958, as Amended, classified information." The Executive Order modified the manner in which sensitive information was handled, set out by President Bill Clinton's 1995 ex...
and has three levels of classification — Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. The U.S. had a Restricted level during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
but no longer does. U.S. regulations state that information received from other countries at the Restricted level should be handled as Confidential. A variety of markings are used for material that is not classified, but whose distribution is limited administratively or by other laws, e.g., For Official Use Only (FOUO), or Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU). The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 provides for the protection of information related to the design of nuclear weapons. The term "Restricted Data" is used to denote certain nuclear technology. Information about the storage, use or handling of nuclear material or weapons is marked "Formerly Restricted Data." These designations are used in addition to level markings (Confidential, Secret and Top Secret). Information protected by the Atomic Energy Act is protected by law and information classified under the Executive Order is protected by Executive privilege.

Table of equivalent classification markings in various countries

Country	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Argentina Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....	Estrictamente Secreto y Confidencial	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Australia Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....	Streng Geheim	Geheim	Verschlußsache	Nur für den Dienstgebrauch
Belgium Belgium * A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium.... (Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native... )	Zeer Geheim	Geheim	Vertrouwelijk
Bolivia Bolivia The Republic of Bolivia , named after Sim?n Bol?var, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west....	Supersecreto or Muy Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkans peninsula of South Eastern Europe with an area of 51,129 square kilometres . Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is Landlocked#Nearly landlocked, except for 26 kilometres of the Adriatic Sea coas...	Strogo Povjerljivo	Tanjno	Konfidencialno	Restiktirano
Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Bulgaria Bulgaria The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....	?????? ????????	????????	???????????	?? ???????? ????????
Cambodia Cambodia The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....	Sam Ngat Bamphot	Sam Ngat Roeung	Art Kambang	Ham Kom Psay
Canada Canada Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....	Top Secret/Très secret	Secret/Secret	Confidential/ Confidentiel
Chile Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....	Secreto	Secreto	Reservado	Reservado
China, People's Republic of People's Republic of China The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....	Juémì	Jimì	Mìmì	Neibu(??)
Colombia Colombia Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....	Ultrasecreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reserva del sumario
Costa Rica Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east....	Alto Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial
Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....	Vrlo tajno	Tajno	Povjerljivo
Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....	Prísne Tajné	Tajné	Duverné	Vyhrazené
Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....	Yderst Hemmeligt	Hemmeligt	Fortroligt	Til Tjenestebrug Foreign Service: Fortroligt (thin Black border}
Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west....	Secretisimo	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Egypt Egypt Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
El Salvador El Salvador El Salvador is the smallest country in the Americas and Central America by size, and the most densely populated nation in Central America. It borders on the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras....	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Estonia Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Finland across the Gulf of Finland, to the west by Sweden across the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russia ....	Täiesti salajane	Salajane	Konfidentsiaalne	Piiratud
Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....	Yemiaz Birtou Mistir	Mistir	Kilkil
Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic countries situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland....	Erittäin salainen (TTL I)	Salainen (TTL II)	Luottamuksellinen (TTL III)	Viranomaiskäyttöön (TTL IV) ¹
France France France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....	Très secret défense	Secret défense	Confidentiel défense	Diffusion restreinte
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....	Streng Geheim	Geheim	VS-Vertraulich	VS-Nur für den Dienstgebrauch
Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....	????? ?p????t??	?p????t??	?µp?ste?t????	?e?????sµ???? ???s??
Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....	Alto Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Haiti Haiti Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Haitian Creole language- and French language-speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago....	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Reserve
Honduras Honduras Honduras is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras ....	Super Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Hong Kong S.A.R. Hong Kong Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south.... , People's Republic of China People's Republic of China The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....	Top Secret, ????	Secret, ??	Confidential, ??	Restricted, ????/????
Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....	Szigorúan Titkos	Titkos	Bizalmas
India India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....	??? ????? (Param Gupt)	????? (Gupt)	?????? (Gopniya)	??????????/????? (Pratibandhit/seemit)
Indonesia Indonesia The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....	Sangat Rahasia	Rahasia	Rahasia Dinas	Terbatas
Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....	Bekoliserri ?? ???? ????	Serri ????	Kheili Mahramaneh ???? ???????	Mahramaneh ???????
Iraq Iraq Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
Iceland Iceland Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland , is an island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean between mainland Europe and Greenland....	Algert Leyndarmál	Leyndarmál	Þjónustuskjal	Trúnaðarmál
Ireland Ireland Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet.... (Irish language Irish language Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people.... )	An-sicreideach	Sicreideach	Runda	Srianta
Israel Israel Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....	Sodi Beyoter ???? ?????	Sodi ????	Shamur ????	Mugbal ?????
Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....	Segretissimo	Segreto	Riservatissimo	Riservato
Japan Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....	Kimitsu, ??	Gokuhi, ??	Hi, ?	Toriatsukaichuui, ??????
Jordan Jordan Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
Korea South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.... , South	I-Kup Bi Mil, 1???	II-Kup Bi Mil, 2???	III-Kup Bi Mil, 3???	Dae Woi Bi, ???
Laos Laos Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....	Lup Sood Gnod	Kuam Lup	Kuam Lap	Chum Kut Kon Arn
Latvia Latvia Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....	Seviški slepeni	Slepeni	Konfidenciali	Dienesta vajadzibam
Lebanon Lebanon Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....	Tres Secret	Secret	Confidentiel
Lithuania Lithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....	Visiškai Slaptai	Slaptai	Konfidencialiai	Riboto Naudojimo
Malaysia Malaysia Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....	Rahsia Besar	Rahsia	Sulit	Terhad
Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Restringido
Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....	Zeer Geheim	Geheim	Vertrouwelijk	Beperkt verspreid
New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democracy republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, about the size of the state of New York....	Alto Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....	STRENGT HEMMELIG	HEMMELIG	KONFIDENSIELT	BEGRENSET
Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th... (Urdu Urdu Urdu is a Central_Indo-Aryan_languages#Central_Zone_.28Madhya_or_Hindi.29 Indo-Aryan languages of the Indo-Iranian languages, belonging to the Indo-European languages family of languages.... )	Intahai Khufia	Khufia	Sigh-e-Raz	Barai Mahdud Taqsim
Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th... (English English language English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa... )	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Paraguay Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay , is one of the only two landlocked countries in South America . It lies on both banks of the Paraguay River and is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest....	Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....	Estrictamente Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Philippines Philippines The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....	Scisle tajne	Tajne	Poufne	Zastrzezone
Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....	Muito Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Romania Romania Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....	Strict Secret de Importanta Deosebita	Strict Secret	Secret	Secret de serviciu
Russia Russia Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....	?????? ???????? (???????: ?????????? ???????? (Sovershenno Sekretno))	?????????? ???????? (???????: ???????? (Sekretno))	???????? (???????: ?? ???????? ????????? (???????????????) (Ne podlezhit oglasheniyu (Konfidentsial'no))	??? ?????????? ??????????? (Dlya Sluzhebnogo Pol'zovaniya)
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....	Saudi Top Secret	Saudi Very Secret	Saudi Secret	Saudi Restricted
Serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans.... Proposition of non government organisation (in parliament procedure)	Drzavna tajna	Strogo poverljivo	Poverljivo	Interno
Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
Slovak Republic	Prísne tajné	Tajné	Dôverné	Vyhradené
Slovenija	Strogo tajno	Tajno	Zaupno	Interno
Spain Spain Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....	Secreto	Reservado	Confidencial	Difusión Limitada
Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....	Kvalificerat Hemlig (KH); Hemlig/Top Secret (H/TS)	Hemlig (H); Hemlig/Secret H/S)	Hemlig/Confidential (H/C)	Hemlig/Restricted (H/R)
Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....		Geheim / Secret	Vertraulich / Confidentiel	Dienstlich / Interne au service
Thailand Thailand The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....	Lup Tisud, ?????????	Lup Maag, ??????	Lup,???
Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....	Çok Gizli	Gizli	Özel	Hizmete Özel
South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa.... (English)	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential	Restricted
South Africa (Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from Dutch language and thus classified as Low Franconian languages West Germanic languages. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, United States of America, Taiwa... )	Uiters Geheim	Geheim	Vertroulik	Beperk
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....	TOP SECRET	SECRET	CONFIDENTIAL	RESTRICTED
United States United States The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...	Top Secret	Secret	Confidential
Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.46 million people, of whom 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area....	Ultra Secreto	Secreto	Confidencial	Reservado
Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....	T?i M?t	M?t	Kín	Ph? Bi?n H?n Ch?
NATO NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....	Cosmic Top Secret	NATO Secret	NATO Confidential	NATO Restricted

Original source: NISPOM Appendix B [https://www.dss.mil/portal/ShowBinary/BEA%20Repository/new_dss_internet/isp/fac_clear/download_nispom.html] ¹ In addition, Finland uses label Salassa pidettävä, "to be kept secret" for information which is not classified but must not be revealed on some other basis than national security. (E.g. privacy, trade secrets etc.)

Corporate classification

Private corporation

Corporation

Non-disclosure agreement

A non-disclosure agreement , also known as a confidentiality agreement, confidential disclosure agreement , proprietary information agreement , or secrecy agreement, is a law contract between at least two party that outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain pur...
and conduct background check

Background check

A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
s on candidates for sensitive positions. In the U.S. the Employee Polygraph Protection Act

Employee Polygraph Protection Act

The U.S. Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 generally prevents employers from using polygraph tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exemptions....
prohibits private employers from requiring lie detector tests, but there are a few exceptions. Policies dictating methods for marking and safeguarding company-sensitive information (e.g. "IBM Confidential") are common and some companies have more than one level. Such information is protected under trade secret

Trade secret

A trade secret is a formula, Best practice, process, design, Legal instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers....
laws. New product development teams are often sequestered and forbidden to share information about their efforts with un-cleared fellow employees, the original Apple Macintosh project being a famous example. Other activities, such as mergers and financial report preparation generally involve similar restrictions. However, corporate security generally lacks the elaborate hierarchical clearance and sensitivity structures and the harsh criminal sanctions that give government classification systems their particular tone.

Traffic Light Protocol

The Traffic Light Protocol

Traffic Light Protocol

This document reltes to areas of classified information and document classification.The Traffic Light Protocol was created in order to encourage greater sharing of information....
was developed by the G8 countries to enable the sharing of sensitive information between government agencies and corporations. This protocol has now been accepted as a model for trusted information exchange by over 30 other countries. The protocol provides for four "information sharing levels" for the handling of sensitive information.

External links and references

[https://www.dss.mil/portal/ShowBinary/BEA%20Repository/new_dss_internet/isp/odaa/nispom06.html US "NISPOM" manual], explaining rules on classified information among other things - full title is "National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual".
ISOO booklet PDF
. Carries out national security checks in the UK.
- a collection of declassified documents acquired through the FOIA
Freedom of Information Act (United States)

The Freedom of Information Act is the implementation of freedom of information freedom of information in the United States in the United States....
Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth & K. Lee Lerner, eds. Terrorism: essential primary sources. Thomson Gale, 2006. ISBN 9781414406213 Library of Congress. Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms LC Control Number: 2005024002.
Peter Galison
Peter Galison

Peter Louis Galison is the Pellegrino University Professor in history of science and technology and Physics at Harvard University.Galison received his Ph.D....
, in Critical Inquiry
Critical Inquiry

Critical Inquiry is a peer-reviewed journal in the humanities published by the University of Chicago Press. It is considered a leading journal within literary studies, and particularly in the field of critical theory....
n°31 (Autumn 2004)
, proposition of Serbian non government working group for Classification of secrets law.

Classified information

Government classification

Classification levels

Top Secret (TS)

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

Clearance

Compartmented information

Nuclear information

Sharing classified information between countries

International organisations

By country

Australia

Canada

Background and hierarchy

Special operational information

Classified information

Protected information

People's Republic of China

France

Hong Kong

New Zealand

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States

Table of equivalent classification markings in various countries

Corporate classification

Traffic Light Protocol

See also

External links and references