# Sensitive but unclassified

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sensitive_but_unclassified
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sensitive_but_unclassified.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_but_unclassified
> Source revision: 1355246720
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

American federal information sensitivity designation

This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions. (June 2020)

A menu for a party, marked FOUO

**Sensitive But Unclassified** (**SBU**) is a designation of information in the [United States federal government](/source/Federal_government_of_the_United_States) that, though unclassified, often requires [strict controls](/source/FIPS_140-2#Level_2) over its distribution. SBU is a broad category of information that includes material covered by such designations as [For Official Use Only](/source/For_Official_Use_Only) (FOUO), [Law Enforcement Sensitive](/source/Law_Enforcement_Sensitive) (LES), Sensitive [Homeland Security](/source/Homeland_Security) Information, [Sensitive Security Information](/source/Sensitive_Security_Information) (SSI), [Critical Infrastructure](/source/Critical_infrastructure) Information (CII), etc. It also includes [Internal Revenue Service](/source/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.

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)

The unclassified "Military Working Dogs" web document, marked Distribution Restricted circa 2011

**[Sensitive Security Information](/source/Sensitive_Security_Information)** (**SSI**) is a category of **sensitive but unclassified** information under the [United States](/source/United_States) government's information sharing and control rules, often used by [TSA](/source/Transportation_Security_Administration) and [CBP](/source/U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protection). 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 [Department of Defense](/source/United_States_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](/source/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)). It is treated as [confidential](/source/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.[1]

Information that may be protected with these labels range from personally identifying information such as [passport](/source/Passport) and [Social Security numbers](/source/Social_Security_number) to documents protected by the [attorney–client privilege](/source/Attorney%E2%80%93client_privilege).[2][3] Though SBU information may be exempt from complete disclosure under the [Freedom of Information Act](/source/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)), it should not be universally withheld.[4][5]

**PARD** (**Protect as restricted data**) is an unclassified but sensitive marking used in the [Department of Energy](/source/United_States_Department_of_Energy). It is the marking that was on Dr. [Wen Ho Lee](/source/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](/source/Espionage)" and charge him under [18 U.S.C.](/source/Title_18_of_the_United_States_Code) [§ 793](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793), (the [Espionage Act](/source/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.[6][7] He later won a lawsuit against the government and several newspapers over his treatment.

**Limited Distribution**, **Proprietary**, **[Originator Controlled](/source/Originator_controlled)**, **[Law Enforcement Sensitive](/source/Law_Enforcement_Sensitive)** were designations the [Pentagon](/source/The_Pentagon) attempted in 2011 to exempt from President Obama's [Executive Order 13556](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13556).[8]

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](/source/George_W._Bush) directed their consolidation into a new category: [Controlled Unclassified Information](/source/Controlled_Unclassified_Information) (CUI).[9][10]

## See also

- [Classified information in the United States](/source/Classified_information_in_the_United_States)

- [Thomas Andrews Drake](/source/Thomas_Andrews_Drake) (indicted under the [Espionage Act](/source/Espionage_Act) for having a document marked Unclassified/FOUO)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["So what exactly does "For Official Use Only" mean?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071010045620/http://www.ioss.gov/WhatDoesFOUOMean.html). ioss.gov. Archived from [the original](http://www.ioss.gov/WhatDoesFOUOMean.html) on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-09-17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-State_2-0)** [State Department policies](https://fam.state.gov/FAM/12FAM/12FAM0540.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NASA_3-0)** [NASA SBU parent page](https://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-3.php) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090327231204/http://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-3.php) March 27, 2009, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NASAFOIA_4-0)** [NASA on FOIA exemptions and SBU material](https://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-10.php) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090327231151/http://nasataxonomy.jpl.nasa.gov/2.0/access/nasa-access-10.php) March 27, 2009, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Congress_5-0)** ["Sensitive But Unclassified" Information and Other Controls: Policy and Options for Scientific and Technical Information](http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/aba-sbu.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160112205237/http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/aba-sbu.pdf) January 12, 2016, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) from the [Congressional Research Service](/source/Congressional_Research_Service)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** My Country Against Me, Dr. [Wen Ho Lee](/source/Wen_Ho_Lee) & Helen Zia. See his article for more information.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION MARKED "PROTECT AS RESTRICTED DATA"](http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/doe/m5639_6a-1/m5639_6a-1_a-9-1.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121025214826/http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/doe/m5639_6a-1/m5639_6a-1_a-9-1.htm) 2012-10-25 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), Federation of American Scientists

1. **[^](#cite_ref-fas117_8-0)** [Pentagon Tightens Grip on Unclassified Information](http://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2011/07/pentagon_tightens/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150105043253/http://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2011/07/pentagon_tightens/) 2015-01-05 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), FAS.org, July 11th, 2011 by Steven Aftergood

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Castelli, Elise (January 22, 2008). ["New policy expected soon for sensitive information"](http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3323622). *Federal Times*.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) CS1 maint: postscript ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_postscript))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Memorandum For The Heads Of Executive Departments And Agencies - Designation and Sharing of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)"](https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080509-6.html) (Press release). The Office of the White House. May 9, 2008. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171025051431/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080509-6.html) from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2008.

## External links

- [*Laws And Regulations Governing The Protection Of Sensitive But Unclassified Information*, Library of Congress Research Division, Sept 2004](https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/sbu.pdf)

- [DoD web page describing one view of FOUO issues.](http://www.ioss.gov/WhatDoesFOUOMean.html)

- [Definitions and Regulations Involved in the Classified-Sensitive Information-Unclassified Debate](https://www.msu.edu/~vprgs/expregs/exportregs.htm)

- [The Halfway House Between Science and Secrets](http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/03/the-halfway-house-between-science-and-secrets/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120420215009/http://scienceprogress.org/2008/03/the-halfway-house-between-science-and-secrets/) 2012-04-20 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) - Interview with [Bruce Schneier](/source/Bruce_Schneier) on the subject of potential misuse of SBU designations for scientific research.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sensitive but unclassified](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_but_unclassified) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_but_unclassified?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.