Classified Information: Costs of Protection Are Integrated With Other
Security Costs (Letter Report, 10/20/93, GAO/NSIAD-94-55).

GAO identified more than $350 million in governmentwide costs connected
with national security information in 1992. This included upwards of
$239 million for security clearances; $58 million for safes, secure
telephones, and encryption devices; $49 million for courier services;
and $6 million for declassification work. The government spends billions
more each year to safeguard information, personnel, and property. The
portion of these costs attributable to national security requirements is
unclear. GAO believes that federal agencies need to compile better
information with which to evaluate needs and cut costs. GAO supports the
Pentagon's efforts to develop a standardized system to track security
costs among its various components. Cost alone, however, is not
necessarily a determining factor in whether classification and
subsequent protection are justified. The basic question is whether
classification requirements and processes can be adjusted as world
conditions change. A recent presidential directive to reevaluate how
national security information is protected should result in a new
executive order on this subject. If some requirements end up being
reduced, then the attendant costs will likely also be reduced.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-94-55
     TITLE:  Classified Information: Costs of Protection Are Integrated 
             With Other Security Costs
      DATE:  10/20/93
   SUBJECT:  Security clearances
             Classified records
             Records disposition
             Document reclassification
             Information disclosure
             Records management
             Official secrets
             Top secret records
             Computer equipment management
             Computer security
IDENTIFIER:  TEMPEST
             
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