Whitehall starts using simpler security classifications
3 Apr 2014 11:58 AM
The government will start using new and simpler
security classifications from 2 April 2014 to speed up work and save the
taxpayer money.
More than 700,000 civil servants and military personnel
are using the new markings, and the wider public sector will adopt them at a
later date. The new system is specifically designed for working in a digital
way and is more straightforward to understand.
The
new markings will also allow information to be classified in a more consistent
way and make it easier to share information between departments and with
partner organisations without undermining security.
Read detailed guidance
on the new classifications.
New
security classifications
There are now 3 levels of security:
Official
Most public sector information is classed as Official,
including routine government businesses, public service delivery and commercial
activity. Around 90% of government business will be marked as
Official.
Secret
This level is for very sensitive information that
justifies heightened protective measures - eg where compromising this could
seriously damage military capabilities, internal relations or the investigation
of serious organised crime.
Top
Secret
The
most sensitive information requiring the highest levels of protection from the
most serious threats should be marked as Top Secret – eg where
compromising could cause widespread loss of life or threaten the security or
wellbeing of the country, or friendly nations.
Previous security classifications
The
6 previous levels of protective marking were Unclassified, Protect, Restricted,
Confidential, Secret and Top Secret.
This system dated from a time when civil servants only
worked with paper. Using this system with government IT has led to unnecessary
controls, complexity, and misunderstandings. Reforming the system will help
save the taxpayer money, allowing government to buy standardised IT rather than
expensive bespoke solutions.
The
changes are part of the government’s civil service
reform programme, designed to strip away bureaucracy and give civil
servants greater responsibility for the work they do.
Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude
said:
We
have changed a security classification system that was designed decades ago and
introduced a new system fit for the digital age. It will make it easier to
share information and save money. There has been a tendency to over-mark
documents rather than to manage risk properly. The most important and sensitive
materials must continue to be protected as ‘Top Secret’ or
‘Secret’ but for other information the new ‘Official’
category, with its emphasis upon personal responsibility and accountability,
will be appropriate for most of what government does.