{{Short description|American federal information sensitivity designation}} {{Cleanup rewrite|date=June 2020}} [[File:Jmtc-espn-veterans-day-menu.png|right|375px|thumb|A menu for a party, marked FOUO]]

'''Sensitive But Unclassified''' ('''SBU''') is a designation of information in the [[Federal government of the United States|United States federal government]] that, though unclassified, often requires [[FIPS 140-2#Level 2|strict controls]] over its distribution. SBU is a broad category of information that includes material covered by such designations as [[For Official Use Only]] (FOUO), [[Law Enforcement Sensitive]] (LES), Sensitive [[Homeland Security]] Information, [[Sensitive Security Information]] (SSI), [[Critical infrastructure|Critical Infrastructure]] Information (CII), etc. It also includes [[Internal Revenue Service]] materials like individual tax records, systems information, and enforcement procedures. Some categories of SBU information have authority in statute or regulation (e.g. SSI, CII) while others, including FOUO, do not.

[[File:Tmemo fouo.png|thumb|right|300px|An example of FOUO being mixed in with Top Secret info in the same document. (From the CIA Inspector General report about Torture in the War on Terror)]]

[[File:distribution restricted1.png|right|thumb|300px|The unclassified "Military Working Dogs" web document, marked Distribution Restricted circa 2011]]

'''[[Sensitive Security Information]]''' ('''SSI''') is a category of '''sensitive but unclassified''' information under the [[United States]] government's information sharing and control rules, often used by [[Transportation Security Administration|TSA]] and [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection|CBP]]. SSI is information obtained in the conduct of security activities whose public disclosure would, in the judgment of specified government agencies, harm transportation security, be an unwarranted invasion of privacy, or reveal trade secrets or privileged or confidential information.

'''UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO''' is primarily a [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] phrase/acronym, used for documents or products which contain material which may be exempt from release under the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]]. It is treated as [[confidential]], which means it cannot be discarded in the open trash, made available to the general public, or posted on an uncontrolled website. It can, however, be shared with individuals with a need to know the content, while still under the control of the individual possessing the document or product.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ioss.gov/WhatDoesFOUOMean.html|title=So what exactly does "For Official Use Only" mean?|publisher=ioss.gov|accessdate=2008-09-17|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010045620/http://www.ioss.gov/WhatDoesFOUOMean.html|archivedate=2007-10-10}}</ref>

Information that may be protected with these labels range from personally identifying information such as [[passport]] and [[Social Security number]]s to documents protected by the [[attorney–client privilege]].<ref name=State>[https://fam.state.gov/FAM/12FAM/12FAM0540.html State Department policies]</ref><ref name=NASA>[http://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-3.php NASA SBU parent page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327231204/http://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-3.php |date=March 27, 2009 }}</ref> Though SBU information may be exempt from complete disclosure under the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]], it should not be universally withheld.<ref name=NASAFOIA>[http://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-10.php NASA on FOIA exemptions and SBU material] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327231151/http://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-10.php |date=March 27, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=Congress>[http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/aba-sbu.pdf "Sensitive But Unclassified" Information and Other Controls: Policy and Options for Scientific and Technical Information] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112205237/http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/aba-sbu.pdf |date=January 12, 2016 }} from the [[Congressional Research Service]]</ref>

'''PARD''' ('''Protect as restricted data''') is an unclassified but sensitive marking used in the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]]. It is the marking that was on Dr. [[Wen Ho Lee]]'s program codes at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He (and many other scientists) backed up such data to tape. The government would later claim this was "[[espionage]]" and charge him under {{uscsub|18|793}}, (the [[Espionage Act]]) which makes it a felony to "withhold" information related to the "national defense". He eventually pleaded guilty to one of the 54 counts against him.<ref>My Country Against Me, Dr. [[Wen Ho Lee]] & Helen Zia. See his article for more information.</ref><ref>[http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/doe/m5639_6a-1/m5639_6a-1_a-9-1.htm PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION MARKED "PROTECT AS RESTRICTED DATA"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025214826/http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/doe/m5639_6a-1/m5639_6a-1_a-9-1.htm |date=2012-10-25 }}, Federation of American Scientists</ref> He later won a lawsuit against the government and several newspapers over his treatment.

'''Limited Distribution''', '''Proprietary''', '''[[originator controlled|Originator Controlled]]''', '''[[Law Enforcement Sensitive]]''' were designations the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] attempted in 2011 to exempt from President Obama's [[s:Executive Order 13556|Executive Order 13556]].<ref name=fas117>[http://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2011/07/pentagon_tightens/ Pentagon Tightens Grip on Unclassified Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105043253/http://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2011/07/pentagon_tightens/ |date=2015-01-05 }}, FAS.org, July 11th, 2011 by Steven Aftergood</ref>

The number of designations in use by various branches of the U.S. government for unclassified information eventually numbered more than 100. On May 9, 2008, President [[George W. Bush]] directed their consolidation into a new category: [[Controlled Unclassified Information]] (CUI).<ref>{{Cite news| last =Castelli| first =Elise| title =New policy expected soon for sensitive information| newspaper =Federal Times| date =January 22, 2008| url =http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3323622| postscript =.| url-status =dead| archiveurl =https://archive.today/20130102142248/http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3323622| archivedate =January 2, 2013}} </ref><ref>{{cite press release | title = Memorandum For The Heads Of Executive Departments And Agencies - Designation and Sharing of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) | publisher = The Office of the White House | date = May 9, 2008 | url = https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080509-6.html | accessdate = October 21, 2008 | archive-date = October 25, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171025051431/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080509-6.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

==See also== * [[Classified information in the United States]] * [[Thomas Andrews Drake]] (indicted under the [[Espionage Act]] for having a document marked Unclassified/FOUO)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/sbu.pdf ''Laws And Regulations Governing The Protection Of Sensitive But Unclassified Information'', Library of Congress Research Division, Sept 2004] * [http://www.ioss.gov/WhatDoesFOUOMean.html DoD web page describing one view of FOUO issues.] * [https://www.msu.edu/~vprgs/expregs/exportregs.htm Definitions and Regulations Involved in the Classified-Sensitive Information-Unclassified Debate] * [http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/03/the-halfway-house-between-science-and-secrets/ The Halfway House Between Science and Secrets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420215009/http://scienceprogress.org/2008/03/the-halfway-house-between-science-and-secrets/ |date=2012-04-20 }} - Interview with [[Bruce Schneier]] on the subject of potential misuse of SBU designations for scientific research.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sensitive But Unclassified}} [[Category:United States government secrecy]]