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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: August 2008

July 2008

• Lieberman, Collins Release Details on the National Cyber Security Initiative, July 31. "The response includes information on the National Cyber Security Center, how privacy will be protected under the CNCI, how success of the initiative will be measured, and how the Department views the private sector’s role in the initiative. The Department chose to redact information relating to contracting at the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD)."
• NRC Solicits Public Input on How It Can Increase Public Access to Security Information, news release, July 29. "We view nuclear regulation as the public’s business and believe it should be transacted as openly and candidly as possible," said NRC Executive Director of Operations Bill Borchardt. "Ensuring appropriate openness while also controlling sensitive information recognizes that the public must know about and be able to participate in the NRC’s regulatory processes."
• Wyden Seeks Declassification of FISA Court Opinions, news release, July 25. “It is impossible for Congress to evaluate the effectiveness of the nation’s surveillance laws without a thorough understanding of how the court is interpreting those laws,” said Wyden. “This is exactly the kind of issue that the Public Interest Declassification Board was created to tackle.”
• Can You Spot the Chinese Nuclear Sub? by Sharon Weinberger, Discover, July 21. "Today, with the advent of civilian satellites here and abroad, we have opened wide the window on places and events that, not so long ago, only spies could see."
• Interim rule on Export-Controlled Items in the Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Federal Register, July 21. "DoD has issued an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to address requirements for complying with export control laws and regulations when performing DoD contracts."
• LANL unable to release history report by Roger Snodgrass, Los Alamos Monitor, July 16 (via LANL: The Rest of the Story). "A spokesperson for LANL said Tuesday that the document could not be released at the time of the request because it did not have a Los Alamos Unclassified Report number (LAUR)."
• U.S. to Give Czechs Ballistic Missile Defense by Walter Pincus, Washington Post, July 16. "The United States also agreed to help prevent disclosure of any 'controlled unclassified information' (CUI) related to the radar site if the Czech Republic does not want it released."
• Congress Should Put Teeth in State Department Records Act by Jeff Stein, CQ Spy Talk, July 16. "The State Department has missed yet another deadline for producing decades-old records on important events in the foreign policy of the United States."
• True to form, CIA keeps its spy museum hush-hush by Peter Eisler, USA Today, July 14. "With five galleries spread over 11,000 square feet, the CIA Museum holds artifacts that curators can only dream about at the nearby International Spy Museum in Washington, where about 700,000 people a year pony up for $20 tickets. But the only way for the public to see the CIA's exhibits is an online tour via the CIA's website."
• Turns out, FBI HQ Is Secure For Classified Intel by Eric Umansky, ProPublica, July 11. "The FBI's HQ, known as the J. Edgar Hoover Building, is perfectly capable of handling sensitive intelligence."
• FBI HQ Not Secure for Classified Intel by Eric Umansky, ProPublica, July 8. "The FBI has long been criticized as a kind of technological trouble child. Its attempt to upgrade a key computer system has been a costly debacle. As of last year, about a third of FBI employees hadn't been given e-mail, while two-thirds weren't provided with computers. Add another item to the list."
• Security Concerns at FBI Headquarters by Maddy Sauer, ABC News Blotter, July 8. "Despite being one of the nation's core intelligence agencies assigned to protect the country from terror attacks and intelligence breaches, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has not done an adequate job of securing itself, according to a new Senate report."
• Pentagon: 'Fundamental' Research Best Left Unclassified by Sebastian Sprenger, InsideDefense.com, July 7. "Fundamental research conducted for the military by civilian research institutions should remain unclassified to ensure researchers can widely circulate the work in the scientific community, according to a recent memo from Pentagon acquisition chief John Young."
• DHS to Hold Public Workshop on Privacy Protections in Government Datamining on July 24, Federal Register notice. "To develop a comprehensive record regarding privacy protections in government data mining, the DHS Privacy Office also invites interested parties to submit written comments."
• Immune to Critics, Secret-Spilling Wikileaks Plans to Save Journalism From Itself by Ryan Singel, Wired, July 3. "Launched in January 2007, Wikileaks was conceived as a safe place for whistle-blowers to reveal their secrets to the world."

Older News: June 2008

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