SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2017, Issue No. 52
July 7, 2017

Secrecy News Blog: https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/

SHARING INTELLIGENCE WITH NON-INTEL AGENCIES

Executive branch agencies that are not part of the US Intelligence Community (IC) can still get access to classified intelligence and to IC information technology systems under certain conditions.

But they must follow procedures that were spelled out last month in new policy guidance from Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats.

In a nutshell, the non-IC agency must have an identifiable need for access to intelligence information and must be able to meet required physical security standards for safeguarding the information.

"The originating [IC] element must receive confirmation from the [non-IC] Federal Partner that all applicable safeguarding requirements in law and policy are met prior to gaining access to the data."

See Federal Partner Access to Intelligence Community Information Technology Systems, Intelligence Community Policy Guidance 404.1, June 16, 2017.

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is responsible for monitoring the activities of non-IC personnel who are present on IC networks "to ensure access is consistent with U.S. legal and policy requirements, and report any variance."

CAN STATES UPHOLD PARIS ACCORD?, & MORE FROM CRS

Some American cities and states are committing to pursue the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change despite President Trump's repudiation of that policy.

But a new brief from the Congressional Research Service said the US Constitution may limit the ability of states to formally adopt such a course. In particular, the Constitution appears to bar states from making legally binding agreements with foreign nations. And the Supreme Court has often stated that the federal government preempts states in matters of foreign affairs.

See Constitutional Limits on States' Efforts to "Uphold" the Paris Agreement, CRS Legal Sidebar, June 27, 2017:

Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.

Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions about the 2015 Paris Agreement, updated June 28, 2017:

Help Wanted: Supreme Court Holds Vacancies Act Prohibits Nominees from Serving as Acting Officers, CRS Legal Sidebar, June 28, 2017:

Comparison of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), July 3, 2017:

Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: An Economic Analysis, updated June 29, 2017:

U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Trends and Current Issues, updated June 29, 2017:

The Federal Budget: Overview and Issues for FY2018 and Beyond, June 30, 2017:

Qatar: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, updated June 29, 2017:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy, updated June 28, 2017:

The Coast Guard's Role in Safeguarding Maritime Transportation: Selected Issues, updated June 28, 2017:

The Legal and Practical Effects of Private Immigration Legislation and Recent Policy Changes, CRS Legal Sidebar, June 30, 2017:

THE DARKENING WEB

Cyberspace has increasingly become an arena of national self-assertion and international conflict instead of the transnational global commons it once seemed to be. Preserving the vision and the possibility of a free internet is an urgent task.

That is the basic thrust of a new book called The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace by Alexander Klimburg (Penguin Press, July 2017).

For my review of the book, see Cybersecurity: The cold war online, Nature 547, 30-31 (06 July 2017).

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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