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Protecting sensitive information is everyone's responsibility
Posted 10/5/2012 Updated 10/5/2012
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by Scott Buono
100th Air Refueling Wing Information Protection
10/5/2012 - RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Many people at RAF Mildenhall may have heard of Army Spc. Bradley Manning. Manning is accused of providing classified airstrike videos and thousands of classified documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The website published the documents in 2010 and, to date, that was the largest amount of classified documents leaked to the public.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Fondren was the deputy director of the Washington liaison office for U.S. Pacific Command while working at the Pentagon. In 2009, he was convicted on espionage charges for conspiring to provide classified information regarding U.S.-Taiwanese military relations to a Chinese foreign agent.
In 2011, Navy Reservist Petty Officer 2nd Class Bran Minkyu Martin was convicted for accepting $3,500 from an undercover FBI agent, whom he thought was a Chinese intelligence officer, in exchange for dozens of classified documents.
These are only a few examples where classified or sensitive material was given or attempted to be given to U.S. adversaries. If the information was exchanged, it could have harmed national security, the well-being of military personnel downrange and the offending individual's career.
Protecting both classified and sensitive information is critical to mission accomplishment. The goal of the Information Security Program is to efficiently and effectively protect Air Force information in the following ways:
· Delegating authority to the lowest levels possible
· Encouraging and advocating the use of risk management principles
· Focusing on identifying and protecting only information which requires protection
· Integrating security procedures into business processes so they are transparent
· Ensuring all personnel understand their security roles and responsibilities
The strength of the program lies within the framework, which ensures effective communication of Air Force security policies and procedures to individuals performing the mission. With the support of commanders at all levels, this is accomplished primarily through the 100th Air Refueling Wing Information Protection office and security manager system. Both are vital in ensuring unit personnel know and understand their role in protecting classified information against unauthorized disclosure.
A security clearance is a privilege, not a right. When an individual accepts the privilege to access classified information, they accept the responsibilities that accompany it.
Team Mildenhall personnel are required to complete annual information security training, whether they have access to classified information or not. Team Mildenhall Airmen are personally and officially responsible for safeguarding classified information and protecting the national interests of the United States.
The unauthorized collecting, obtaining, recording or removing of sensitive or classified information is prohibited. Strict compliance with control procedures takes precedence over administrative convenience. These procedures ensure stringent enforcement of the rules and security safeguards are applied to the most critical and sensitive information.
Although information about deployments, base power grid layouts, communication capabilities, hypothetical exercise attack scenarios or counterterrorism measures are either unclassified or sensitive, people should be cautious when releasing this information. Although not classified, it still requires protection.
Sensitive but unclassified information, Privacy Act information, personal identifier information and official use only information all require a degree of protection and administrative control. These controls can include locking the information up at the end of the day and providing minimal access to the information.
Personnel who hold a security clearance are the first line of defense against espionage and loss of sensitive information.
For more guidance on security awareness, call the information protection office at DSN 238-3190 or visit the SharePoint page from a government computer, under the 100th ARW/IP SharePoint tab.
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