{"id":600,"date":"2022-08-12T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T20:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/heres-how-government-documents-are-classified-to-keep-sensitive-information-safe\/"},"modified":"2025-01-24T12:07:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T20:07:37","slug":"what-are-classified-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3749-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3749-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Donald Trump is under federal investigation for mishandling classified documents. (Image Source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=politics\">Politics<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  What are classified documents? Who gets to see them? What happens if they are released? A USC Dornsife scholar explains the ins and outs of how the U.S. government controls access to sensitive information \u2014 including the meaning of TOP SECRET.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Jeffrey Fields<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 12, 2022<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg 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   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Documents sought by the U.S. Justice Department from former President Donald Trump may contain material related to what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2022\/08\/12\/us\/trump-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times described<\/a> as \u201csome of the most highly classified programs run by the United States.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2022\/08\/11\/garland-trump-mar-a-lago\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post reported<\/a> that \u201cclassified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items FBI agents sought\u201d during a search of Trump\u2019s Florida home on Aug. 8, 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Classified information is the kind of material that the U.S. government or an agency deems sensitive enough to national security that access to it must be controlled and restricted.<\/p>\n<p>There are several degrees of classification. Documents related to nuclear weapons will have different classification levels depending on the sensitivity of the information contained. Documents containing information related to nuclear weapons design or their location would be highly classified. Other information may still be highly classified but deemed not as sensitive. For example, in 2010 <a href=\"https:\/\/fas.org\/blogs\/security\/2014\/04\/nuclearstockpile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">President Barack Obama declassified<\/a> the number of nuclear weapons in the U.S. stockpile.<\/p>\n<p>In general, classified documents must be handled in a way that protects the integrity and confidentiality of the information they contain. This includes securing documents in a safe or other authorized storage container when the documents are not being used by staff. If staff needs to move them from one place to another, they must follow security protocols to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Though classified information can be taken off the premises in the course of official duties, taking classified documents home is prohibited by <a href=\"https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/the-press-office\/executive-order-classified-national-security-information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">executive order<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Clearance and classification<\/h2>\n<p>Before coming to <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1006509\">academia, I worked for many years<\/a> as an analyst at both the State Department and the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n<p>I held a top-secret clearance, frequently worked with classified information and participated in classified meetings. For example, I dealt with information related to weapons of mass destruction and their proliferation.<\/p>\n<p>Handling written classified information is generally straightforward. Documents are marked indicating classification levels.<\/p>\n<p>Tens of thousands of people working for the U.S. government both directly and as contractors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/top-secret-america\/2010\/07\/19\/hidden-world-growing-beyond-control-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have security clearances allowing access to classified information<\/a>. Many people with security clearances never handle classified material but need to be cleared so they can be present when classified information is discussed.<\/p>\n<p>But not all of classified details describe covert operations or identities of spies. Many are rather mundane. A former colleague of mine who was a retired CIA analyst used to tell his students he would never knowingly, but almost certainly would inadvertently, share a tidbit of classified information in the classroom. It is difficult to remember many \u201csmaller\u201d details that are sensitive.<\/p>\n<p>Dealing with large amounts of classified information over a career increases the possibility of accidentally sharing a small nugget. Sharing classified information knowingly, or revealing information one should know is sensitive, is a different matter.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how the system of classification works.<\/p>\n<h2>Classification levels and content<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. government uses <a href=\"https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/the-press-office\/executive-order-classified-national-security-information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three levels of classification<\/a> to designate how sensitive certain information is: confidential, secret and top secret.<\/p>\n<p>The lowest level, confidential, designates information whose release could damage U.S. national security. The designation \u201csecret\u201d refers to information whose disclosure could cause \u201cserious\u201d damage to U.S. national security. The designation \u201ctop secret\u201d means disclosure of the document could cause \u201cexceptionally grave\u201d damage to national security.<\/p>\n<p>At the top-secret level, some information is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commerce.gov\/osy\/programs\/information-security\/sensitive-compartmented-information-sci-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">compartmented<\/a>.\u201d That means only certain people who have a top-secret security clearance may view it to reduce the risk of any revelations. Just because someone has a clearance at a level that matches a document doesn\u2019t mean the person has a need to access it.<\/p>\n<p>This is often used for the most highly sensitive information, such as that pertaining to sources and methods \u2013 that is, how and from where intelligence is collected.<\/p>\n<p>Several other designations indicate restricted access within the top-secret and secret designations. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.directives.doe.gov\/terms_definitions\/critical-nuclear-weapon-design-information-cnwdi#:%7E:text=A%20DoD%20category%20of%20weapon,demolition%20munitions%2C%20or%20test%20device.\">Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information<\/a> is a designation given to classified material related to the design and operation of nuclear weapons. This designation would be in addition to a secret or top-secret designation, but is not a level of classification. For example, a person with a top-secret clearance working on counterinsurgency issues would not have Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information access.<\/p>\n<p>It is common for written documents to contain information that is classified at different levels, and some information that isn\u2019t even classified. Individual paragraphs are marked to indicate the level of classification. For example, a document\u2019s title might be preceded with the marker \u201cU,\u201d indicating the title and existence of the document are unclassified.<\/p>\n<p>Within a document, paragraphs might carry the markers \u201cS\u201d for secret, \u201cC\u201d for confidential or \u201cTS\u201d for top secret. The highest classification of any portion of the document determines its overall classification. This approach allows for the easy identification and removal of classified portions of a document so that less sensitive sections can be shared in unclassified settings.<\/p>\n<p>A sitting president can access any classified material.<\/p>\n<h2>Who decides?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpo.gov\/fdsys\/pkg\/FR-2010-01-05\/pdf\/E9-31418.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Executive Order 13256<\/a>, issued by Obama, spells out who specifically may classify information.<\/p>\n<p>Authority to take certain information \u2013 say, the existence of a weapons program \u2013 and classify it top secret is given only to specific individuals, including the president and vice president and certain agency heads.<\/p>\n<p>Procedures for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/federal-register\/codification\/executive-order\/12356.html#part3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declassification of materials are complicated<\/a>. However, the president has ultimate declassification authority and may declassify anything at any time, subject to certain provisions of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/laws-regulations\/summary-atomic-energy-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Atomic Energy Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Deciding what information is classified is subjective. Some things clearly need to be kept secret, like the identity of covert operatives or battle plans. Other issues are not so obvious. Should the mere fact that the secretary of state had a conversation with a counterpart be classified? Different agencies disagree about questions like this all the time.<\/p>\n<p>Mishandling classified information, especially if it is accidental, is usually handled as an administrative matter. However, more serious violations can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/04\/us\/petraeus-plea-deal-over-giving-classified-data-to-lover.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">incur criminal charges<\/a> and penalties. Federal law (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/18\/1924\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">18 U.S. Code \u00a7 1924<\/a>) states that anyone who \u201cknowingly removes such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This story is an updated version of <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-is-classified-information-and-who-gets-to-decide-77832\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an article that was originally published<\/a> on May 16, 2017.<\/em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/188687\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jeffrey-fields-282008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeffrey Fields<\/a>, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Relations, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/heres-how-government-documents-are-classified-to-keep-sensitive-information-safe-188687\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/military-veteran-alumni-of-usc-dornsife\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >6 military veterans who graduated from USC Dornsife<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-there-anyone-out-there\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Is There Anyone Out There?<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/mlk-vietnam-speech-time-magazine-viet-thanh-nguyen\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Pulitzer Prize-winning professor extols the wisdom of a lesser known MLK speech<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are classified documents? Who gets to see them? What happens if they are released? A USC Dornsife scholar explains the ins and outs of how the U.S. government controls access to sensitive information \u2014 including the meaning of TOP SECRET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[87,83],"class_list":["post-600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are classified documents? Who gets to see them? What happens if they are released?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are classified documents? Who gets to see them? What happens if they are released?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-12T20:40:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T20:07:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3749.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alvaro Ching\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alvaro Ching\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/a00716eb7922bd05ad5d1bf54ff2449a\"},\"headline\":\"Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-12T20:40:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-24T20:07:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/\"},\"wordCount\":12,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3749.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"expert viewpoint\",\"the conversation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/\",\"name\":\"Here\u2019s how government documents are classified to keep sensitive information\u00a0safe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-are-classified-documents\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3749.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-12T20:40:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-24T20:07:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"What are classified documents? 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