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- (this is a lengthy article about my plan to have fun with paranoid
- people in the US government)
-
- I've often wondered if various entities of the US government monitor the
- public messages in groups such as this or monitor unencrypted electronic
- mail. I've worked in the communications industry since 1987 and I know
- how easy it is to monitor digital communications -- in fact, it is often
- necessary to monitor data communications to find problems in the hardware
- or software.
-
- There have been rumors that NSA can scan international links for keywords
- like "MX missile" or "Stealth bomber". It's very easy to set up this
- kind of filter program -- for instance, if you mention Kibo in a Usenet
- public message, he will respond. With that in mind, I'd like to propose
- an experiment (maybe prank is a better description...). The following is
- a list of phrases that are put at the beginning of classified files by
- the US government. They are taken from Department of Defense manual
- DOD 5220.22-M and Title 32, Section 2001 Code of Federal Regulations.
- Note: comments are placed between square brackets, i.e. [this is a comment].
- My experiment is to see what happens if you start putting some of these
- at the beginning of your Internet messages...
-
- [primary markings]
-
- TOP SECRET
-
- (TS)
- [markings shown in parentheses are accepted abbreviations. For example,
- you could just put (TS) on a document, instead of TOP SECRET]
-
- SECRET
-
- (S)
-
- CONFIDENTIAL
-
- (C)
-
-
- [additional markings]
-
- SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION
- [very secret intelligence information]
-
- (SCI)
-
- DISSEMINATION AND EXTRACTION OF INFORMATION CONTROLLED BY ORIGINATOR
- [this marking, also written as ORCON, is used on information that
- clearly identifies a US intelligence source or method]
-
- (ORCON)
-
- WARNING NOTICE - INTELLIGENCE SOURCES OR METHODS INVOLVED
- [this marking is used on information that could identify an intelligence
- source or method]
-
- (WNINTEL)
-
- SINGLE INTEGRATED OPERATIONAL PLAN - EXTREMELY SENSITIVE INFORMATION
- [US nuclear war fighting plans]
-
- (SIOP-ESI)
-
- CRITICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON DESIGN INFORMATION
-
- (CNWDI)
-
- RESTRICTED DATA - This material contains RESTRICTED DATA as defined in the
- Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Unauthorized disclosure subject to administrative
- and criminal sanctions.
- [used for nuclear secrets that are below CNWDI]
-
- FORMERLY RESTRICTED DATA - Unauthorized disclosure subject to administrative
- and criminal sanctions. Handle as RESTRICTED DATA in foreign dissemination.
- Section 144b, AEC 1954.
- [this label applies to nuclear secrets that have been transferred to a
- military agency from the Department of Energy or its predecessor, the
- Atomic Energy Commission]
-
- LIMITED DISSEMINATION
- [used on information in Special Access Programs]
-
- (LIMDIS)
-
- FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
- [classified material that originated with a US ally]
-
- (FGI)
-
- COSMIC TOP SECRET
- [NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) document that is
- classified TOP SECRET]
-
- NATO SECRET
-
- NATO CONFIDENTIAL
-
- NATO RESTRICTED
-
- ATOMAL
- [NATO nuclear secrets]
-
- NOT RELEASABLE TO CONTRACTORS/CONSULTANTS
- [this might be used if the powers-that-be are discussing cancelling a
- contract with an aerospace company...]
-
- (NOCONTRACT)
-
- CAUTION - PROPRIETARY INFORMATION INVOLVED
- [this marking is used on documents that would prove harmful to a company.
- For example, it could be marked on TRW documents that weren't supposed to
- go to Martin Marietta Co.]
-
- (PROPIN)
-
- REPRODUCTION REQUIRES APPROVAL OF ORIGINATOR OR HIGHER GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.
-
- CLASSIFIED BY MULTIPLE SOURCES
-
- NOT RELEASABLE TO FOREIGN NATIONALS
- [under no circumstances can this data be released, not even to a US ally]
-
- (NOFORN)
- [this is the dreaded NOFORN marking that Cliff Stoll jokingly said meant
- 'No Fornication' in his book "The Cuckoo's Egg"...]
-
- Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com
-