Homeland Security Withdraws Nondisclosure Agreements

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The Federal Times reports that the Department of Homeland Security has revised its policy on the handling of sensitive but unclassified information to eliminate the use of nondisclosure agreements. Under a directive issued in May, the department had required all employees and contractors given access to sensitive information to sign the contracts, which subject them to both financial and criminal sanctions if they disclosed any information marked “For Official Use Only.” DHS revised the directive on Jan. 6, removing the NDA provisions, and in a January 11 memo said all contracts that had been signed were being withdrawn. (1/12/05)