Protecting Sensitive Information: The Virtue of Self-Restraint
Abstract
An abundance of information that could be useful to terrorists is available in the open literature. This information, unclassified but nonetheless sensitive, includes risk assessments that identify infrastructure vulnerabilities, analyses that hypothesize creative attacks, and otherwise dangerous knowledge that is released under the rubric of scientific openness or the public'۪s ''right to know". Attempts to manage this information more responsibly have been resisted in part due to the misconception that such efforts would require formal, draconian restrictions on speech. However, greater discipline in the dissemination of sensitive information can be introduced without compromising the nation'۪s values. In particularly sensitive areas, scientists, journalists, and members of the general public should embrace voluntary self-restraint as a civic duty. Further, both government entities and journalists should avoid calling attention to sensitive information in ways that compound rather than reduce the potential harm it represents.
Description
This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (May 2011), v.7
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
A CyberCIEGE scenario to illustrate classified information management in multilevel secure systems for military command and control
Ng, Chee Mun (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2005-12);Raising the awareness of information security has been the focus of DOD and other government agencies in recent years. There is a need for an effective means of educating and training personnel in the topic of Information ... -
The vulnerability of social networking media and the insider threat : new eyes for bad guys
Lenkart, John J. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2011-09);Social networking media introduces a new set of vulnerabilities to protecting an organization's sensitive information. Competitors and foreign adversaries are actively targeting U.S. industry to acquire trade secrets to ... -
Securing the Dissemination of Emergency Response Data with an Integrated Hardware-Software Architecture
shifflet (ACM/IEEE, Springer-Verlag, 2009-04-01);During many crises, access to sensitive emergency-support information is required to save lives and property. For example, for effective evacuations first responders need the names and addresses of non-ambulatory residents. ...