INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY GUIDELINES FOR DECLASSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS CONTAINING INFORMATION CONCERNING INTELLIGENCE SOURCES AND METHODS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77-00389R000100090068-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 7, 2002
• Sequence Number: 68
• Content Type: REGULATION

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SUBJ.I CT: INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY GUIDELINES FOR
DECLASSIFICATION OF L C; NTS CONTAINING
INFO INFORMATION GONC.ER \TiN LNTELLIGEi1 CE
SOURCES AND METI-IODS
General
Under EO 11652 only the head of an Agency or Department
can extend classification protection beyond a thirty year period.
These guidelines, therefore, are set forth to enable Agency or De-
partmental personnel assigned to assist the U. S. Archivist to segre-
gate documents for a classification decision by the Agency head.
The primary purpose of any declassification review is to
make available to the general public the maximum amount of data
consistent with an obligation to safeguard national security interests.
These interests include the protection of sensitive intelligence sources
and methods. Such intelligence is identified as that classified intelli-
Bence, the unauthorized disclosure of which could lead to counteraction
(1) jeopardizing the continued productivity of intelligence sources or
methods that provide intelligence vital to the national security or
(Z) offsetting the value of intelligence vital to the national security.
At the risk of over simplification, "sources" can be identified as the
origins of information and "methods" as the ways by which intelligence
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data ancd/or? intelligence sources are developed. In many cases sources
and methods are inseparable, I
Classified materials or information which were received by
the United States from foreign governments or. international bodies
with the express uzicierstaiiding that he information would be protected
cannot be declassified without the permission of the donor government
or organization.
If it is determined that a document must remain classified but
much of the information therein could be released provided certain
limited portions (those that identify sources and methods) were excised,
this fact should be noted. This will enable archivist personnel to pro-
vide sanitized versions of otherwise classified documents to researchers
for publication or to the public, However, care should be taken to ensure
that the sanitization of a document does not change its meaning.
Detailed Guidance: Names or Identifiable Individuals:
1, Human intelligence sources may be divided into two main
categories: conventional and confidential. A conventional source is
a) An individual or official with whom normal, unconcealed,
overt contact or liaison is maintained, and
b) Who provides all types of intelligence information with the
permission of his government, and
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c) Undo normal c,lrcu_mns'.a-ncOs his Identity, relationship
and connection with intelligence is known.
A confidential source is one whose identity cannot be disclosed
because
a) He revealed information which is protected. or not authorized
for release by his country, or the organization to which he is attached,
or
b) Revelation of his association with or the nature of his asso-
ciation with US intelligence agencies must be protected because his
government requires it, or
c) The information he has provided could be used as grounds
for criminal or civil charges against him, or
His known association with any representative of a US
intelligence service would be prejudicial to him.
As a general rule, conventional sources do not require continued
protection, while documents containing information which might reveal
the identities of confidential sources should remain classified to pro-
tect the fiduciary relationship between a source and US intelligence.
However, the information in the document containing the names of
confidential sources may be declassified provided the identity of the
sources can be protected.
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Information on confidential sources cannot be prematurely
disclosed in cases where:
a) Disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause a degree
of harm to national security by adversely affecting the motivation of
current and future potential human intelligence sources to provide
intelligence information to United States intelligence.
b) Disclosure would place a person in immediate jeopardy.
2. Documents revealing the identities of liaison officers
from cooperating foreign intelligence or counterintelligence services.
who are confidential sources cannot be declassified without the
permission of the foreign government concerned.
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by statute, including the Freedom of information Act. Such documents
will retain their classification bases: 01-my on other content.
5. Any report containing information the disclosure of
which would place an identifiable person in immediate jeopardy
cannot be declassified.
Detailed Guidance: Intelligence Methods
1. Sensitive intelligence methods which must be afforded
protection beyond the 30-year mandatory review period include infor-
mation concerning or revealing techniques of agent recruitment,
nonofficial and other unconventional cover arrangements, deception
techniques, methods and equipment employed for covert communications,
technical .surveillance devices and strategies, microphotographic
methods and equipment, escape and evasion techniques, provided
that such methods are not essentially identical to those universally em-
ployed by intelligence services and therefore widely known, or that
advances in technology have not rendered such methods and supporting
equipment entirely obsolete. Documents containing information which
would reveal the true names of cover organizations which are still
in existence require continued protection.
2. Methods related to logistical and other support activities as opposed to intelligence collection and covert action techniques --
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,adapted to the particular operations and circumstances, do not in
themselves qualify as sensitive methods rcauiring continued pro-
tection.
3. Information with respect to the internal organization of
US intelligence units, the chain of command, component functional
missions and personnel ceilings, and intercomponent working relation-
ships has lost much of its sensitivity with the passage of time. More-
over, a considerable amount of this sort of information has already
appeared in open literature.. Unless otherwise protected by statute,
such information can be declassified in accordance with the provisions
of EO 11632.
Detailed Guidance. Communications Intelligence and Cryptography
1. Communications intelligence cryptography, and related
activities must be provided with protection from premature disclosure.
Included are any data concernnig or revealing the processes,- tech-
niques, technical material and equipment, particular operations and
overall. scope of communications intelligence, and cryptographic
security. The date for declassification of such information, being
dependent upon the factor of obsolescence, is therefore impossible
to- predeterm il:le.
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2. Declassification of US Cornimilunications.
Unencrypted messages transmitted electrically will be declassified
under provisions of EO 11652. Declassification of encrypted mes-
sages will be accomplished in accordance with the following policy:
a) Messages Encrypted Prior to February 1, 1946
Declassification of messages in this category has been and will
continue to be based solely on the informational content of the
messages.
b) Messages Encrypted During the Period February 1., 1946
through May 31, 1960
The requirement that messages in this category (so-called category
"B" messages) be paraphrased and the date-time group physically
removed prior to declassification is cancelled. Effective immediately,
declassification of such messages will be based solely on the infor-
mationa.l content of the messages.
c) Messages Encrypted Subsequent to May 31, 1960
Communications Centers have received instructions to perform
necessary cryptographic editing on these messages prior to release
from the Communications Center. Declassification of messages
in this category by holders outside Communications Centers is based
7
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Further
solely on the informational content Of the ITIess~.Lgc.s.
cryptographic editing is not required.
Detailed Guidance: Subject Matter Content
1. Intell.igence documents and other record media, regard-
less of the subject, which contain information which would reveal
intelligence sources or methods, the origin of which can be clearly
traced to other US Government Agencies should not be declassified
unilaterally by the holding Agency. Such information or material
can only be declassified after consultation with any other Department
having an interest in the subject matter.
2. US intelligence documents containing classified informa-
tion which would reveal intelligence sources and methods and which
was passed to US intelligence by foreign governments or inter-
national organizations should not be declassified without the con--
currencc of the foreign government or international organization
concerned.
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