SAFEGUARDING OFFICIAL INFORMATION IN THE INTERESTS OF THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP70-00211R000700130051-3
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
K
Document Page Count:
13
Document Creation Date:
January 4, 2017
Document Release Date:
September 25, 2006
Sequence Number:
51
Case Number:
Publication Date:
November 5, 1953
Content Type:
REQ
File:
Attachment | Size |
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Body:
9
EXECUTIVE ORDER
6
SAFEGUARDING OFFICIAL INFORMATION IN THE
INTERESTS OF THE
DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES
WHEREAS it is essential that the citizens of the United States be
informed concerning the activities of their government; and
WHEREAS the interests of national defense require the preservation
of the ability of the United States to protect and defend itself against
all hostile or destructive action by covert or overt means, including
espionage as well as military action; and
WHEREAS it is essential that certain official information affecting
the national defense be protected uniformly against unauthorized
disclosure:
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and statutes, and as President of the United States, and
deeming such action necessary in the best interests of the national
security, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Classification Categories: Official information which
requires protection in the interests of national defense shall be limited
to three categories of classification, which in descending order of
importance shall carry one of the following designations: Top Secret,
Secret, or Confidential. No other designation shall be used to classify
defense information, including military information, as requiring
protection in the interests of national defnnee, except as expressly
provided by statute. These categories are defined as follows:
(a) Tod Secret: Except as may be expressly provided by
statute, the use of the classification Top Secret shall be
authorized, by appropriate authority, only for defense information
or material which requires the highest degree of protection. The
Top Secret classification shall be applied only to that information
or material the defense aspect of which is paramount, and the
unauthorized disclosure of which could result in exceptionally
grave damage to the Nation such as leading to a definite break in
diplomatic relations affecting the defense of the United States,
an armed attack against the United States or its allies, a war,
or the compromise of military or defense plans, or intelligence
operations, or scientific or technological developments vital to
the national defense.
(b) Secret: Except as may be expressly provided by statute,
the use of the classification Secret shall be authorized, by
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appropriate authority, only for defense information or material
the unauthorized disclosure of which could result in serious
damage to the Nation, such as by jeopardizing the international
relations of the United States, endangering the effectiveness of
a program or policy of vital importance to the national defense,
or compromising important military or defense plane, scientific
or technological developments important to national defense, or
information revealing important intelligence operations.
(c) Confidential: Except as may be expressly provided by
statute, the use of the classification Confidential shall be
authorized, by appropriate authority, only for defense information
or material the unauthorized disclosure of which could be
prejudicial to the defense interests of the nation.
Section 2e Limitation of Authority to Classify: The authority
to classify defense information or material under this order shall be
limited in the departments and agencies of the executive branch as
hereinafter specified,, Departments and agencies subject to the
specified limitations shall be designated by the President:
(a) In those departments and agencies having no direct
responsibility for national defense there shall be no authority
for original classification of information or material under
this order,,
(b) In those departments and agencies having partial but
not primary responsibility for matters pertaining to national
defense the authority for original classification of information
or material under this order shall be exercised only by the head
of the department or agency, without delegation,
(c) In those departments and agencies not affected by the
provisions of subsections (a) and (b), above, the authority for
original classification of information or material under this
order shall be exercised only by responsible officers or
employees, who shall be specifically designated for this purpose.
Heads of such departments and agencies shall limit the delegation
of authority to classify as severely as is consistent with the
orderly and expeditious transaction of Government business.
Section 3, Classification: Persons designated to have authority
for original classification of information or material which requires,
protection in the interests of national defense under this order 4hall
be held responsible for its proper classification in accordance with
Approved For Release 2006/09/25: CIA-R?P70-002
the definitions of the three categories in section 1, hereof, Unnecessary
classification and over-classification shall be scrupulously avoided.
The following special rules shall be observed in classification of
defense information or material:
(a) Documents in Generals Documents shall be classified
according to heir own content and not necessarily according to
their relationship to other documents. References to classified
material which do not reveal classified defense information shall
not be classified.
(b) PMIioally Connected Documents: The classification of
a file or group of physically connected documents shall be at
least as high as that of the most highly classified document
therein. Documents separated from the file or group shall be
handled In accordance with their individual defense classification.
(c) Multiple Classifications A document, product, or
substance shall bear a classification at least as high as that
of its highest classified components. The document, product, or
substance shall bear only one over-all classification,
notwithstanding that pages, paragraphs, sections, or components
thereof bear different classifications.
(d) Transmittal Letters: A letter transmitting defense
information shall be classified at least as high as its highest
classified enclosure.
(e) Information originated, by a Foreign Government or
Organizations Defense information of a classified nature
furnished to the United States by a foreign government or
international organization shall be assigned a olaeeifioation
which will assure a degree of protection equivalent to or
greater than that required by the government or international
organization which furnished the information.
Section 4. Declassification, Downgrading, or Upgrading: Heads of
departments or agencies origins ing classified material shall designate
persons to be responsible for continuing review of such classified
material for the purpose of declassifying or downgrading it whenever
national defense considerations permit, and for receiving requests for
such review from all sources. Formal procedures shall be established to
provide specific means for prompt review of classified material and its
declassification or downgrading in order to preserve the effectiveness
and integrity of the classification system and to eliminate accumulation
of classified material which no longer requires protection in the
defense interest. The following special rules shall be observed with
respect to changes of classification of defence material.
(a) Automatic Chan es. To the fullest extent practicable,
the claeeifying authority shall indicate on the material (except
telegrams) at the time of original classification that after a
specified event or date, or upon removal of classified enclosures,
the material will be downgraded or declassified.
(b) Non-Automatic Changes. The persons designated to receive
requests for review of classified material may downgrade or
declassify each material when circumstances no longer warrant itr
retention in its original classification provided the consent of
the appropriate classifying authority has been obtained. The
downgrading or declassification of extracts from or paraphrases
of classified documents shall also require the consent of the
appropriate classifying authority unless the agency making such
extracts knows positively that they warrant a classification
lower than thrt of the document from which extracted, or that they
are not c-aeeifieda
(o) Material Officially Transferred. In the case of material
transferred by or pursuant to statute or Executive order from one
department or agency to another for the latter's use and as part
of its official files or property,, ue distinguished from transfers
merely for purposes of storage, the receiving department or agency
shall be deemed to be the classifying authority for all purposes
under this order, including declassification and downgrading.
(d) Material Not Officially Transferred. When any department
or agency has in its possession any classified material which has
become five years old, and it appears (1) that each material
originated in an agency which has since become defunct and whose
files and other property have not been officially transferred to
another department or agency within the meaning of subsection (c),
above, or (2) that it is impossible for the possessing department
or agency to identify the originating agency, and (3) a review of
the material indicates that it should be downgraded or declassified,
the said possessing department or agency shall have power to
declassify or downgrade such material. If it appears probable
that another department or agency may have a substantial interest
in whether the classification of any particular information should
be maintained, the possessing department or agency shall not
exercise the power conferred upon it by this subsection, except
with the consent of the other department or agency, until thirty
days after it has notified such other department or agency of the
nature of the material and of its intention to declassify or
downgrade the same. During such thirty-day period the other
department or agency may, if it so desires, express its objections
to declassifying or downgrading the particular material, but the
power to make the ultimate decision shall reside in the possessing
department or agency,
(e) Classified Telegrams. Such telegrams shall not be
referred to, extracted from, paraphrased, downgraded, declassified,
or disseminated, except in accordance with special regulations
issued by the head of the originating department or agency.
Classified telegrams transmitted over cryptographic systems shall
be handled in accordance with the regulations of the transmitting
department or agency.
(f) Downgradin. If the recipient of classified material
believes that it has been classified too highly, he may make a
request to the reviewing official who may downgrade or declassify
the material after obtaining the consent of the appropriate
classifying authority.
(g) Upgrading. If the recipient of unclassified material
believes that it should be classified, or if the recipient of
classified material believes that its classification is not
sufficiently protective, it shall be safeguarded in accordance
with the classification deemed appropriate and a request made to
the reviewing official, who may classify the material or upgrade
the classification after obtaining the consent of the appropriate
classifying authority.
(h) Notification of Changes in Classification: The reviewing
official taking action to declassify, downgrade, or upgrade classified
material shall notify all addressees to whom the material was originally
transmitted.
Section 5. Marking of Classified Material. After a determination
of the proper defense classification to be assigned has been made in
accordance with the provisions of this order, the classified material
shall be marked as follows.
(a) Bound Documentss The assigned defense classification on
bound documents, such as books or pamphlets, the pages of which
are permanently and securely fastened together, shall be conspicuously
marked or stamped on the outside of the front cover, on the title
page, on the first page, on the back page and on the outside of the
back cover. In each case the markings shall be applied to the top
and bottom of the page or cover.
(b) Unbound Dorunents: The assigned defense classification
on unbound documents, such as letters, memoranda, reports, telegrams,
and other similar documents, the pages of which are not permanently
and securely fastened together, shall be conspicuously marked or
stamped at the top and bottom of each page, in such manner that the
marking will be clearly visible when the pages are clipped or
stapled together.
(c) Charts, Maps, and Drawings: Classified charts, maps,
and drawings shall carry the defense classification marking under
the legend, title block, or scale in such manner that it will be
reproduced on all copies made therefrom. Such classification
shall also be marked at the top and bottom in each instance.
(d) Photographs, Films and Recordings: Classified photographs,
films, and recordings, and their containers, shall be conspicuously
and appropriately marked with the assigned defense classification.
(e) Products or Substances: The assigned defense classification
shall be conspicuously marked on classified products or substances,
if possible, and on their containers, if possible, or, if the article
or container cannot be marked, written notification of such classifica-
tion shall be furnished to recipients of such products or substances.
(f) Reproduction*: All copies or reproductions of classified
material shall be appropriately marked or stamped in the same
manner an the original thereof.
(g) Unclassified Material: Normally, unclassified material
shall not be marked or stamped Unclassified unless it Is essential
to convey to a recipient of such material that it has been examined
specifically with a view to imposing a defense classification and
has been determined not to require such olasssifioation.
(h) CMnge or Removal of Classifloation: Whenever classified
material is declassified, downgraded, or upgraded, the material
shall be marked or stamped in a prominent place to reflect the
change in classification, the authority for the action, the date of
action, and the identity of the person or unit taking the action.
In addition, the old classification marking shall be cancelled and
the new classification (if any) substituted therefor. Automatic
change in classification shall be indicated by the appropriate
classifying authority through marking or stamping in a prominent
place to reflect information specified in subsection 4 (a) hereof.
(1) Material Furnished Persons not in the Executive Branch of
the Government: When classified material affecting the national
defense is furnished authorized persons, in or out of Federal service,
other than those in the executive branch, the following notation, in
addition to the assigned classification marking, shall whenever
practicable be placed on the material, on its container, or on the
written notification of its assigned classifications
"This material contains information affecting the national
defense of the United States within the meaning of the
espionage laws, Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 793 and 794, the
transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an
unauthorized person is prohibited by law".
Use of alternative marking concerning "Restricted Data" as defined by
the Atomic Energy Act in authorized when appropriate.
Section 6. Custod and Safekee in s The possession or use of
classified defense information or material shall be limited to locations
where facilities for secure storage or protection thereof are available
by means of which unauthorized persons are prevented from gaining access
thereto. Whenever such information or material is not under the personal
supervision of its custodian, whether during or outside of working hours,
the following physical or mechanical means shall be taken to protect it:
(a) Storage of IM Secret Materials Top Secret defense
material shall be protected in storage by the most secure facilities
possible. Normally it will be stored in a safe or a safe type steel
file container having a three"position, dial type, combination lock,
and being of such weight, size, construction, or installation as to
minimize the possibility of surreptitious entry, physical theft,
damage by fire, or tanpering. The head of a department or agency may
approve other storage facilities for this material which offer
comparable or better protection, such as an alarmed area, a vault,
a "enure vault-type room, or an area under close surveillance of an
armed guard.
(b) Secret and Confidential Materials These categories of
defense material may be stored in a manner authorized for Top Secret
material, or in metal file cabinets equipped with steel lookbar and
an -3proved three combination dial-type padlock from which the
manufacturer's identification numbers have been obliterated, or in
comparably secure facilities approved by the head of the department
or agency.
(c) Other Classified Materials Heads of departments and
agencies shall prescribe such protective facilities as may be
necgssary in their departments or agencies for material originating
under statutory provisions requiring protection of certain information.
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(d) Changes of Lock Combinations Combinations on locks of
safekeeping equipment ssal e changed, only by persons having
appropriate security clearance, whenever such equipment is placed
in use after procurement from the manufacturer or other sources,
whenever a person knowing the combination is transferred from the
office to which the equipment is assigned, or whenever the
combination has been subjected to compromise, and at least once
every year. Knowledge of combinations shall be limited to the
minimum number of persons necessary for operating purposes.
Records of combinations shall be classified no lower than the
highest category of classified defense material authorized for
storage in the safekeeping equipment concerned.
(e) Custodian's Responsibilitiess Custodians of classified
defense matern=al shall be responsible for providing the best
possible protection and accountability for such material at all
times and particularly for securely locking classified material
in approved safekeeping equipment whenever it is'not in use or
under direct supervision of authorized employees. Custodians
shall follow procedures which insure that unauthorized persons
do-not gain access to classified defense information or material
by sight or sound, and classified information shall not be
discussed with or in the presence of unauthorized persons.
(f) Telephone Conversations Defense information classified
in the three categories under tF`e provisions of this order shall
not be revealed in telephone conversations, except as may be
authorized under section 8 hereof with respect to the transmission
of Secret and Confidential material over certain military
communications circuits.
(g) Loss or Subjection to Copromiseg Any person in the
executive =rancE o has owledge a the loss or possible
subjection to compromise of classified defense information shall
promptly report the circumstances to a designated official of his
agency, and the latter shall take appropriate action forthwith,
including advice to the originating department or agency.
Section 7. Accountability and Disseminations Knowledge or
possession of class e defense information sn be permitted only
to persons whose official duties require such'access in the interest
of promoting national defense and only if they have been determined
to be trustworthy. Proper control of dissemination of classified
defense information shall be maintained at all times, including good
accountability records of classified defense information documents,
and severe limitation on the number of such documents, origirfated as
0
well as the number of copies thereof reproduced. The number of copies
of classified defense information documents shall be kept to a
minimum to decrease the risk of compromise of the information contained
in such documents and the financial burden on the Government in
protecting such documents. The following special rules shall be
observed in connection with accountability for and dissemination of
defense information or materials
(a) Accountability Proceduresg Heads of departments and
agencies shall. prescribe such accountability procedures as are
necessary to control effectively the dissemination of classified
defense information, with particularly severe control on
material classified Top Secret under this order. Top Secret
Control Officers shall be designated, as required, to receive,
maintain accountability registers of, and dispatch Top Secret
material.
(b) Dissemination Outside the Executive Branchg Classified
defense information shall not be disseminated outside the executive
branch except under conditions and through channels authorized by
the head of the disseminating department or agency, even though
the person or agency to which dissemination of such information
is proposed to be made may have been solely or partly responsible
for its production.
(c) Information Ori inatin in Another Department or Agencys
Except as 6 erwise pprovi e by section 102 of the National
Security Act of July 26, 1947, c. 343, 61 Stat. 498, as amended
50 U.S.C. sec. 403, classified defense information originating in
another department or agency shall not be disseminated outside the
receiving department or agency without the consent of the
originating department or agency. Documents and material containing
defense information which are classified Top Secret or Secret shall
not be reproduced without the consent of the originating department
or agency.
Section 8.. Transmissions For transmission outside a department
or agency, classified defense material of the three categories originated
under the provisions of this order shall be prepared and transmitted as
follows
(a) Preparation for Transmissions Such material shall be
enclosed in opaque inner and outer covers. The inner cover shall
be a sealed wrapper or envelope plainly marked with the assigned
classification and address. The outer cover shall be sealed and
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addressed with no indication of the classification of its contents.
A receipt form shall be attached to or enclosed in the inner cover,
except that Confidential material shall require a receipt only if
the sender deems it necessary. The receipt form shall identify
the addressor, addressee, and the document, but shall contain no
classified. information. It shall be signed by the proper recipient
and returned to the sender.
(b) Transmitting Top Secret Material: The transmission of
Top Secret , maferiasFia 1I`-be ?~ecteTpr?erably by direct contact
of officials concerned, or,, alternatively, by specifically designated
personnel, by State Department diplomatic pouch, by a messenger-
courier system especially created for that purpose, or by electric
means in encrypted form; or in the case of information transmitted
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, such means of transmission
may be used as are currently approved by the Director, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, unless express reservation to the contrary
is made in exceptional cases by the originating agency.
(c) Transmitting Secret Materials Secret material shall be
transmitte within the continen a United States by one of the
means established for Top Secret material, by an authorized courier,
by United. States registered mail, or by protected commercial express,
air or surface. Secret material may be transmitted outside the
continental limits of the United States by one of the mean s
established for Top Secret material, by commanders or masters of
vessels of United States registry, or by United States Post office
registered mail through Army, Navy, or Air Force postal facilities,
provided that the material does not at any time pass out of United
States Government control and does not pass through a foreign
postal system. Secret material may, however, be transmitted
between United States Government and/or Canadian Government
installations in continental United States, Canada and Alaska by
United States and Canadian registered mail with registered mail
receipt. In an emergency, Secret material may also be transmitted
over military communications circuits in accordance with-regulations
promulgated for such purpose by the Secretary of Defense.
(d) Transmitting Confidential Materials Confidential defense
material s be transmit nthie kited States by one of the
means established for higher classifications, by registered mail, or
by express or freight under such specific-conditions as may be
prescribed by the head of the-department or agency concerned. Outside
the continental United States, Confidential defense material shall be
transmitted in the sane manner as authorized for higher classifications.
i
(e) Within an Agencyg Preparation of classified defense material
for transmission, and transmission of it, within a department or
agency shall be governed by regulations, issued by the head of the
department or agency, insuring a degree of security equivalent to that
outlined above for transmission outside a department or agency.
Section 9. Disposal and Destructions Documentary record material
made or received by a depar Brien or agency in connection with transaction
of public. business and preserved as evidence of the organization, functions,
policies, operations, decisions, procedures or other activities of aiy
department or agency of the Government, or because of the informational
value of the data contained therein. may be destroyed only in accordance
with the act of July 7, 1943, c. .192, 57 Stat. 380, as amended, 44 U.S.C.
366380. Non-record classified material, consisting of extra copies and
duplicates including shorthand notes, preliminary drafts, used carbon paper,
and other material of similar temporary nature, may be destroyed, under
procedures established by the head of the department or agency which meet
the following requirements, as soon as it has served its purpose
(a) Methods of Destruction, Classified defense material shall
be destroyedy bunng in the presence of an appropriate official or
by other methods authorized by the head of any agency provided the
resulting destruction is equally complete.
(b) Records of Destructions Appropriate accountability records
maintained in the depar ent or agency shall reflect the destruction
of classified defense material.
Section 10. Orientation and Inspection, To promote the basic
purposes of this or, er 'heads o those departments and agencies originating
or handling classified defense information shall designate experienced
persons to coordinate and supervise the activities applicable to their
departments or agencies under this order. Persons so designated shall
maintain active training and orientation programs for employees concerned
with classified defense information to impress each such employee with
his individual responsibility for exercising vigilance and care in complying
with the provisions of this order. Such persons shall be authorized on
behalf of the heads of the departments and agencies to establish adequate
and active inspection programs to the end that the provisions of this order
are administered effectively.
Section 11. Interpretation of Re ations .by the Attorne Generals
The Attorney General, upon -request o t e hea of"a-&par ent or agency
or his duly designated representative, shall personally or through
authorized representatives of the Department of Justice render an
interpretation of these regulations in connection with any problems arising
out of their administration.
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Section 12. Statutory Requirements: Nothing in this order shall be
construed to authorize the dissemination, handling or transmission of
classified information contrary to the provisions of any statute.
Section 13. "Restricted Data" as Defined in the Atomic Energy Acts
Nothing in this order shall supersede any requirements made by or un er
the Atomic Energy Act of August 1, 1946, as amended. "Restricted Data" as
defined by the said act shall be handled, protected, classified, downgraded,
and declassified in conformity with the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act
of 1946, as amended, and the regulations of the Atomic Energy Commission.
Section 14. Combat Operations The provisions of this order with
regard to dissemination, transmission, or safekeeping of classified
defense information or material may be so modified in connection with
combat or combat-related operations as the Secretary of Defense may by
regulations prescribe.
Section 15. Exceptional Casess When, in an exceptional case, a
person or agency not authorizeeto-classify defense information
originates information which is believed to require classification,
such person or agency shall protect that information in the manner
prescribed by this order for that category of'classified defense
information into which it is believed to fall,'and shall transmit the
information forwith, under appropriate safeguards, to the department,
agency, or person having both the authority to classify information and
a direct official interest in the information (preferably, that department,
agency, or person to which the information would be transmitted in the
ordinary course of business), with a request that such department, agency,
or person classify the information.
Section 16. Review to Insure That Information is Not Improperly
Withheld Hereundera The President s'fiall designate a memner o s staff
who shall receive, consider, and tales action upon, suggestions or
complaints from non-Governmental sources relating to the operation of this
order.
Section s 7. Review to Insure Safeguarding of Classified Defense
Informations .she atioTiarSecurity Council shall con ucta conntinuing
w he implementation of this order to insure that classified
reviof
defense information is properly safeguarded, in conformity herewith.
Section 18. Review Within Departments and Aenci~ess The head
of each department and agency shall designate a memberor members of his
staff who shall conduct a continuing review of the implementation of this
order within the department or agency concerned to insure that no
information is withheld hereunder which the people of the United States
have a right to know, and to insure that, clndsified defense information
is properly safeguarded in conformity herewith.
Section 19. Revocation of Executive Order No. 102901 Executive
Order No. 1.0290 of September 'ZED 1951 is-revoked as TT-+.I-.e effective date
of this order.
Section 20. Effective Date: This order shall become effective
on December 15, 19 --
November 5, 1953.