Don’t Look, Don’t Read: Government Warns Its Workers Away From WikiLeaks Documents
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: December 4, 2010
Related
The Lede Blog: Don’t Mention the Cables, Future Diplomats (December 4, 2010)
“Classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media, remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority,” said the notice sent on Friday afternoon by the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of the White House, to agency and department heads, urging them to distribute it to their staff.
The directive applies to both government computers and private devices that employees or contractors might have, as long as they are accessing the documents on nonclassified government networks. It does not advise agencies to block WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems, a White House official said Saturday. And it does not prohibit federal employees from reading news stories about the topic. But if they have “accidentially” already downloaded any of these documents, they are being told to notify their “information security offices.”
The Department of Defense, in its own directive to military personnel and contractors, says that simply viewing these documents, without proper authorization, will violate long-standing rules even though they are accessible to the public at large on Internet sites.
"Viewing or downloading still classified documents from unclassified government computers creates a security violation," a spokeswoman said in a statement on Saturday.
The effort, while understandable, seems entirely futile, said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington nonprofit group that has combated government efforts to keep certain government documents secret.
“It just may be a little too late for the government to push these documents down the memory hole,” Mr. Rotenberg said, adding that his center did not support the initial public release of the material. “This is Orwell thought police in the age of the Internet, as these are already so widely accessible on servers around the world.”The Library of Congress has joined in the push, blocked visitors to its reading rooms, or anyone else using its computer system, from accessing the WikiLeaks site, noting that “unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents’ classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.”
The moves have not apparently discouraged staff at WikiLeaks, as the organization continues to post Twitter feeds mocking the efforts to limit access to the documents, including one note on Saturday reading: “Digital McCarthyism: U.S. Military Tries to Intimidate Soldiers Into Not Reading Wikileaks”.
"To the contrary, classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority," the memo said.
The memo does allow for reading of articles about the cables on media sites.
OMB spokesperson Moira Mack said the memo "does not advise agencies to block WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems."
"This is principally about protecting government IT systems," Mack said.
She described the memo as a template for agencies to use as guidance, saying it "restates and reinforces existing restrictions on access to classified documents by unauthorized personnel or on computers that access the web via non-classified government systems."
Asked if employees could lose their jobs if they access the WikiLeaks website on personal or government computers or devices, Mack told CNN, "Any breaches of protocols governing access to classified material are subject to applicable sanctions under long-standing and existing law."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
U.S. agencies warn unauthorized employees not to look at WikiLeaks
GOVERNMENT
December 03, 2010|From David de Sola, CNN
The Department of Defense and Library of Congress have blocked access to
WikiLeaks from their computers.Unauthorized federal workers and contractors have
been warned not to attempt to read the classified documents on WikiLeaks on
either government or personal computers.
The White House Office of Management and Budget sent a memo Friday afternoon
forbidding unauthorized federal government employees and contractors from
accessing classified documents publicly available on WikiLeaks and other
websites using computers or devices like BlackBerrys and smart phones.
The memo, sent to general counsels at various government agencies and obtained
by CNN, explains that the publishing by WikiLeaks does "not alter the documents'
classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents."
"To the contrary, classified information, whether or not already posted on
public websites or disclosed to the media remains classified, and must be
treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified
by an appropriate U.S. Government authority," the memo said.
The memo does allow for reading of articles about the cables on media sites.
OMB spokesperson Moira Mack said the memo "does not advise agencies to block
WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems."
"This is principally about protecting government IT systems," Mack said.
She described the memo as a template for agencies to use as guidance, saying it
"restates and reinforces existing restrictions on access to classified documents
by unauthorized personnel or on computers that access the web via non-classified
government systems."
Asked if employees could lose their jobs if they access the WikiLeaks website on
personal or government computers or devices, Mack told CNN, "Any breaches of
protocols governing access to classified material are subject to applicable
sanctions under long-standing and existing law."
The State Department sent a warning to staff not to confirm the authenticity of
any published documents and to refer all inquiries to the public affairs office.
"The department is reviewing the material that has been made public. We take
reports of the deliberate and unauthorized disclosure of classified material
very seriously," according to a copy of the memo obtained by CNN. "The security
and safekeeping of classified material and the safety of State Department
personnel are our highest priorities."
The State Department memo also reminded the staff that even though they are
published, the normal standards for handling classified documents apply when
viewed at work or home.
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-03/us/wikileaks.access.warning_1_wikileaks-website-memo-documents?_s=PM:US
The directive applies to both government computers and private devices that employees or contractors might have, as long as they are accessing the documents on nonclassified government networks. It does not advise agencies to block WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems, a White House official said Saturday. And it does not prohibit federal employees from reading news stories about the topic. But if they have “accidentially” already downloaded any of these documents, they are being told to notify their “information security offices.”
The Department of Defense, in its own directive to military personnel and contractors, says that simply viewing these documents, without proper authorization, will violate long-standing rules even though they are accessible to the public at large on Internet sites.
"Viewing or downloading still classified documents from unclassified government computers creates a security violation," a spokeswoman said in a statement on Saturday.
The effort, while understandable, seems entirely futile, said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington nonprofit group that has combated government efforts to keep certain government documents secret.
“It just may be a little too late for the government to push these documents down the memory hole,” Mr. Rotenberg said, adding that his center did not support the initial public release of the material. “This is Orwell thought police in the age of the Internet, as these are already so widely accessible on servers around the world.”The Library of Congress has joined in the push, blocked visitors to its reading rooms, or anyone else using its computer system, from accessing the WikiLeaks site, noting that “unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents’ classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.”
The moves have not apparently discouraged staff at WikiLeaks, as the organization continues to post Twitter feeds mocking the efforts to limit access to the documents, including one note on Saturday reading: “Digital McCarthyism: U.S. Military Tries to Intimidate Soldiers Into Not Reading Wikileaks”.
"To the contrary, classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority," the memo said.
The memo does allow for reading of articles about the cables on media sites.
OMB spokesperson Moira Mack said the memo "does not advise agencies to block WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems."
"This is principally about protecting government IT systems," Mack said.
She described the memo as a template for agencies to use as guidance, saying it "restates and reinforces existing restrictions on access to classified documents by unauthorized personnel or on computers that access the web via non-classified government systems."
Asked if employees could lose their jobs if they access the WikiLeaks website on personal or government computers or devices, Mack told CNN, "Any breaches of protocols governing access to classified material are subject to applicable sanctions under long-standing and existing law."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
U.S. agencies warn unauthorized employees not to look at WikiLeaks
GOVERNMENT
December 03, 2010|From David de Sola, CNN
The Department of Defense and Library of Congress have blocked access to
WikiLeaks from their computers.Unauthorized federal workers and contractors have
been warned not to attempt to read the classified documents on WikiLeaks on
either government or personal computers.
The White House Office of Management and Budget sent a memo Friday afternoon
forbidding unauthorized federal government employees and contractors from
accessing classified documents publicly available on WikiLeaks and other
websites using computers or devices like BlackBerrys and smart phones.
The memo, sent to general counsels at various government agencies and obtained
by CNN, explains that the publishing by WikiLeaks does "not alter the documents'
classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents."
"To the contrary, classified information, whether or not already posted on
public websites or disclosed to the media remains classified, and must be
treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified
by an appropriate U.S. Government authority," the memo said.
The memo does allow for reading of articles about the cables on media sites.
OMB spokesperson Moira Mack said the memo "does not advise agencies to block
WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems."
"This is principally about protecting government IT systems," Mack said.
She described the memo as a template for agencies to use as guidance, saying it
"restates and reinforces existing restrictions on access to classified documents
by unauthorized personnel or on computers that access the web via non-classified
government systems."
Asked if employees could lose their jobs if they access the WikiLeaks website on
personal or government computers or devices, Mack told CNN, "Any breaches of
protocols governing access to classified material are subject to applicable
sanctions under long-standing and existing law."
The State Department sent a warning to staff not to confirm the authenticity of
any published documents and to refer all inquiries to the public affairs office.
"The department is reviewing the material that has been made public. We take
reports of the deliberate and unauthorized disclosure of classified material
very seriously," according to a copy of the memo obtained by CNN. "The security
and safekeeping of classified material and the safety of State Department
personnel are our highest priorities."
The State Department memo also reminded the staff that even though they are
published, the normal standards for handling classified documents apply when
viewed at work or home.
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-03/us/wikileaks.access.warning_1_wikileaks-website-memo-documents?_s=PM:US
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