Limiting access to sensitive information is crucial for its protection. Companies and agencies often use a need-to-know basis, where only those with legitimate reasons can access the information. Military intelligence is classified according to accessibility levels, and the primary purpose of a strict need-to-know is to protect sensitive or secret information. The Freedom of Information Act allows citizens to petition for access to declassified documents, but some information may still be classified.
Under certain circumstances, information is only as good as the security measures used to protect it. Sometimes the best way to protect sensitive information or a proprietary secret is to limit the number of people who can actually own it. This is why a number of companies or agencies deliberately dispense sensible ideas on a strict need-to-know basis. Only those people who have legitimate reasons to access that information could receive it.
Information held on a need-to-know basis is often split among multiple individuals or departments so that no one can own it all. When licensed engravers work on a new set of printing plates to produce government currency, for example, each engraver receives only a section of the finished design. That way, no engraver ever sees the entire printing plate, so he couldn’t be forced to reproduce it for the forgers. Each department along the way would also only receive specific information if they need it.
Military intelligence and other sensitive information is often classified according to its level of accessibility. A surprising number of government employees or private contractors could have access to “top secret” information, but very few would have access to ultra-secret information classified as “half-light” or “canoe”. At every level of security, there are those who need to know and those who simply would be interested in knowing.
The primary purpose of a strict need-to-know is to protect the integrity of sensitive or secret information. If a suspect in a local crime has participated in an undercover operation, for example, the federal agency responsible for the operation is not always obligated to share that information. Only those with proper credentials and security clearances could access this classified information.
Over the years, journalists and concerned private citizens have filed lawsuits to gain access to information the government deems necessary. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows private citizens to petition government agencies for the release of declassified or public documents, but many of these documents arrive in redacted form, meaning that the writing itself (or parts of it) has been covered in black ink. Information that may relate to national security matters or ongoing criminal investigations, for example, can still be deemed classified, even if the document itself is released under the Freedom of Information Act.
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