Secrecy News Items

“State Department Declassifies diplomatic cables using AI assistant,” By Justin Doubleday, Federal News Network, October 9, 2023.
“Pentagon Plan to Buy Thousands of Drones Faces Looming Snags,” By Doug Cameron, The Wall Street Journal, September 25 , 2023.
“How the US is using open-source intel to track Russia’s war in Ukraine,” By Lauren C. Williams, Defense One, July 28, 2023.
“78th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings: Revisiting the Record,” edited by William Burr, National Security Archive, August 7, 2023.
“The Presidential Nuclear ‘Football’ From Eisenhower to George W. Bush,” edited by William Burr, National Security Archive, July 18, 2023.
“Pentagon Warns of Overcorrection on Secrets After Alleged Teixeira Leaks,” By Dustin Volz, The Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2023.
“Nuclear Weapons and the Law of War,” By William Burr, National Security Archive, June 6, 2023.
“The U.S. Government’s Classification Epidemic,” By John Ratcliffe, RealClear Defense, May 27, 2023.
“Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Reform the Security Classification System,” Office of U.S. Senator Mark Warner, May 10, 2023.
“Intelligence Leak Fuels Senate Effort to Protect Government Secrets,” By Dustin Volz and Lindsay Wise, The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2023.
House, Permanent, Select, Committee Intelligence, March 1, 2023, Information Security Oversight Office Testimony Transcript
“Guest Commentary: Protect Secrets? Have Fewer,” By Henry Sokolski, The Quad Report, May 1, 2023.
“Why Can’t They Declassify the Space Force? Sorry. That’s Classified.,” By Greg Hadley, Air & Space Forces, April 27, 2023.
“To Keep Top Secrets Secret, We Need Fewer of Them,” By Henry Sokolski, The National Interest, April 25, 2023.
“The Bunker: What the Leak Really Reveals,” By Mark Thompson, Project on Government Oversight’s (POGO) The Bunker, April 19, 2023.
“Sen. Mark Warner on Leaked Classified Documents Closed Briefing,” C-SPAN, April 19, 2023.
“Leaks Show the Perils of Over-Classification: Opinion,” Podcast By Rachel Rosenthal, Bloomberg, April 19, 2023.
“Space Force sees increase in foreign military sales requests,” By Courtney Albon, C4ISRNET, April 18, 2023.
“Leaked secret documents detail up to four additional Chinese spy balloons,” By Evan Hill, Cate Cadell, Ellen Nakashima, and Christian Shepherd, The Washington Post, April 14, 2023.
“This Agency’s Declassification Work Could Be a Model for Others,” By Courtney Bublé, Government Executive, April 13, 2023.
“Pentagon Muzzles GAO’s Doubts About Nuclear-Armed Submarine’s Schedule,” By Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg, April 12, 2023.
“Pentagon cuts number of people receiving classified materials following leak,” CBS News, April 12, 2023.
“NPEC Paper Offers Ideas to Reduce Over-classification; Touts Greater Role for the PIDB,” By the Public Interest Declassification Board, April 10, 2023.
“Innovative AI Solutions | A Success Story,” By Dr. Nancy Potok, March 2023.
“How Open-Source Intelligence Is Changing Warfare,” By Midshipman First Class Owen Vandersmith, U.S. Navy, U.S. Naval Institute, Vol. 149/3/1,441, March 2023.
“Guest Commentary: Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?,” The Quad Report, March 31, 2023.
“US handling of state secrets ‘causing great harm’ to national security, report finds,” By Timothy Nerozzi, Fox News found on Yahoo News, March 30, 2023.
“Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds an On-Camera Press Briefing,” Transcript Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon Press Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense, March 30, 2023.
“Classifying information for no good reason is hurting military effectiveness, report warns,” By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes, March 29, 2023.
“Find It, Vet It, Share It: The US Government’s Open-Source Intelligence Problem and How to Fix It,” By Brian Cheng, Scott Fisher and Jason C. Morgan, Modern War Institute at West Point, March 24, 2023.
“Avoiding the Secrecy Trap in Open Source Intelligence,” By Chris Rasmussen, The Cipher Brief, March 21, 2023.
“Key Agencies Missing from Central Freedom of Information Act Portal,” By Lauren Harper and Wendy Valdes, National Security Archive, March 9, 2023.
“Senate Intel weighs next steps over classified document stonewalling,” By Sarah Westwood, Washington Examiner, March 3, 2023.
“How the U.S. Adopted a New Intelligence Playbook to Expose Russia’s War Plans,” By Julian E. Barnes and Adam Entous, The New York Times, February 23, 2023.
“Pentagon working with Congress on unclassified space strategy,” By Sandra Erwin, Space News, February 15, 2023.
“‘Out of control’: DoD reviews use of super-secret SAP classification, for space programs and beyond,” By Theresa Hitchens, Breaking Defense, February 14, 2023.
“Secrecy hinders info-sharing with allies, says Space Command deputy,” By Courtney Albon, C4ISRNET, January 25, 2023.
“Gen. Mark Milley’s Wrongful Jan. 6 Overclassification,” By Stewart Baker, Lawfare, January 23, 2023.
“Pentagon Ordered to Review Its New Practice of Concealing Documents from the Public,” By Travis Tritten, Military.com, January 4, 2023.
“Congress Orders Pentagon to Review ‘Controlled Unclassified’ Label,” By Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg, January 3, 2023.
“Don’t dismiss Trump’s assertion of presidential power to declassify information,” By Gary Schmitt and Henry Sokolski, The Hill, December 23, 2022.
“How overclassification is undermining our security in space,” John Batchelor of CBS Eye on the World interviews NPEC’s Executive Director, Henry Sokolski, December 16, 2022.
“Rise of Open-Source Intelligence Tests U.S. Spies,” By Warren P. Strobel, The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2022.
“EXCLUSIVE: US Strategic Space Review signed out, but no unclassified version is coming,” by Theresa Hitchens, Breaking Defense, November 1, 2022.
“How Should the U.S. Military Share Secrets?,” by Andrew Radin, Lawfare, October 30, 2022.
“The Family That Mined the Pentagon’s Data for Profit,” by Mark Harris, Wired, August 18, 2022.
“When should U.S. research be stamped ‘top secret’? NSF asks for a new look at the issue,” by Jeffrey Mervis, Science, June 30, 2022.
“Biden Administration Weighs Changes to Classification of National Security Secrets,” by Dustin Volz, The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2022.
“Iran announces production of new military drone in Tajikistan,” by AP and Toi Staff, The Times of Israel, May 17, 2022.
“Drones seized at UK nuclear bases after a ‘swarm’ and reports of ‘red lights’,” by Josh Layton, Metro UK, May 15, 2022.
“Keeping Secrets,” by Henry Sokolski, American Purpose, May 2, 2022.
“How the U.S. is using intelligence to fight information war with Russia,” by Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Dan De Luce, NBC News, April 6, 2022.
“US spy chief says over-classification harms national security,” by Paul Handley, Yahoo News, January 27, 2022.
“Vast Troves of Classified Info Undermine National Security, Spy Chief Says,” by Dustin Volz, The Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2022.
“Lawmakers: Declassification would help boost public support for U.S. space programs,” by Sandra Erwin, Space News, January 20, 2022.
“An epidemic of constitutional illiteracy threatens our nation,” by Bruce Fein, The Hill, January 20, 2022.
“Senators’ personal office staffers to get top security clearance: report,” by Lexi Lonas, The Hill, November 17, 2021.
“Cyber Concerns, Classification Disagreements Lead Space Survey Results,” by Aaron Mehta, Breaking Defense, October 27, 2021.
“How a former Trump aide is pressing Biden to loosen national security secrets,” by Bryan Bender, POLITICO, September 29, 2021.
“EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon loosens access rules to secret programs, raising security leak fears,” by Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, September 27, 2021.
U.S. Government Accountability Office High Risk List
“Space Discussions Still Hampered By Secrecy,” by Shaun Waterman, Air Force Magazine, September 22, 2021.
“Chorus Grows To Declassify Space Threat Info From Services, Congress,” by Colin Clark, Breaking Defense, August 27, 2021.
“The New WikiLeaks,” by Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, August 18, 2021.
“Updating Space Doctrine: How to Avoid World War III,” by Rep. Jim Cooper, War on the Rocks, July 23, 2021.
“Editorial: Declassify the Space Force,” By Tobias Naegele, Air Force Magazine, July 22, 2021.
“Spy agencies to release secrets in countering China, Russia info threats,” by Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, June 17, 2021.
“Challenges and Opportunities in National Security Space, AIA Recommendations for DOD Space Acquisition Reform,” by Aerospace Industries Association, June 2021.
“US military considered using nuclear weapons against China in 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis, leaked documents show,” by Ben Westcott, CNN, May 24, 2021.
“The British Bomb and the United States – Part One,” by William Burr, National Security Archive, The George Washington University, May 13, 2021.
“The Tension Between Secrecy and Innovation,” by Paul Bracken, The Foreign Policy Research Institute, National Security Program, May 10, 2021.
“And One More Thing: Further Thoughts on How the IC Can do Better,” by Carmen Medina, The Cipher Brief, March 17, 2021.

“Competing in Time: How DoD Is Losing The Innovation Race To China,” by Bill Greenwalt, Breaking Defense, March 9, 2021.
“Space Operations Chief Decries Over-classification and its Effect on Operations,” By Robert Fahs, U.S. National Archives, Public Interest Declassification Board, March 8, 2021.
Proposal for Declassification Regarding Information Classified Under the Atomic Energy Act, testimony by Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists, March 3, 2021.
“High-Risk Series: Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk Areas,” (GAO-21-119SP) by U.S. Government Accountability Office, March 2, 2021.
Secrecy News – Federation of American Scientists (Read at fas.org)
“Transforming Security Clearance Policy,” By Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists, February 8, 2021.
“Donald Trump Wants To ‘Declassify Everything,’ Commentator Says,” by Tyler MacDonald, Inquisitr, January 6, 2021.
“Selective Disclosure: A Strategic Approach to Long-Term Competition,” by Thomas G. Mahnken, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), November 2, 2020.
“Stovepipes in space: How the US can overcome bureaucracy to improve capabilities” by Dennis Blair and Robert Work, Defense News, July 13, 2020.
“A Primer on Congressional Staff Clearances,” by Mandy Smithberger & Daniel Schuman, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), February 7, 2020.

“Leveraging the National Technology Industrial Base to Address Great-Power Competition: The Imperative to Integrate Industrial Capabilities of Close Allies,” April 2019, by William Greenwalt. Atlantic Council. (Download Report)
Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, Protective Security Policy Framework Security Classification Reforms Fact Sheet (Download Fact Sheet)

A Vision for the Digital Age: Modernization of the U.S. National Security Classification and Declassification System (Download Report)

“Competing in Time: How DoD Is Losing The Innovation Race To China,” by Bill Greenwalt, Breaking Defense, March 9, 2021.

“Space Operations Chief Decries Over-classification and its Effect on Operations,” By Robert Fahs, U.S. National Archives, Public Interest Declassification Board, March 8, 2021.

Proposal for Declassification Regarding Information Classified Under the Atomic Energy Act, testimony by Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists, March 3, 2021.

“High-Risk Series: Dedicated Leadership Needed to Address Limited Progress in Most High-Risk Areas,” (GAO-21-119SP) by U.S. Government Accountability Office, March 2, 2021.

Secrecy News – Federation of American Scientists (Read at fas.org)

“Transforming Security Clearance Policy,” By Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists, February 8, 2021.

“Donald Trump Wants To ‘Declassify Everything,’ Commentator Says,” by Tyler MacDonald, Inquisitr, January 6, 2021.

“Selective Disclosure: A Strategic Approach to Long-Term Competition,” by Thomas G. Mahnken, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), November 2, 2020.

“Stovepipes in space: How the US can overcome bureaucracy to improve capabilities” by Dennis Blair and Robert Work, Defense News, July 13, 2020.

“A Primer on Congressional Staff Clearances,” by Mandy Smithberger & Daniel Schuman, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), February 7, 2020.

“Leveraging the National Technology Industrial Base to Address Great-Power Competition: The Imperative to Integrate Industrial Capabilities of Close Allies,” April 2019, by William Greenwalt. Atlantic Council. (Download Report)

Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, Protective Security Policy Framework Security Classification Reforms Fact Sheet (Download Fact Sheet)

A Vision for the Digital Age: Modernization of the U.S. National Security Classification and Declassification System (Download Report)