APEX - NSA ISSUE PAPER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00788R000100150003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 24, 2003
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 2, 1980
• Content Type: MF

Approved For Release 2003/08/13 : CIA-RDP85T00788R00010015000
SECRET
ME 3RANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
THROUGH Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
FROM -
to the DUI or o artmentation
.SUBJECT : APEX - NSA Issue Paper
1. Attached is the LDX transmission from NSA in response to your
call for issue papers on 1 December. In sum, Ms. Caracristi acknowl-
edges that the NSA paper reiterates long-standing concerns they have
,expressed before. The paper states that NSA considers the APEX develop-
entyto be bad for the security of COMINT, that APEX is expensive without
commensurate benefits, that APEX does not provide equal protection for
electronically transmitted information, that APEX ignores COMINT's
2. .In effect, the NSA issue paper recommends the APEX effort be
started anew or abandoned. Initial comments follow and are keyed to
NSA's numbered paragraphs:
1. Information Security
The COMINT Product compartment is no more specific than the present
system, i.e., no change involved. The statement seems to assume that
the documents protected by APEX COMINT will be available to enemies.
The APEX manuals were approved in October 1979 in draft by NFIB and
again in the summer of.'80 before. release. The concept of APEX is to
protect with compartmentation only that which is most sensitive. APEX,
as such, is not believed to be in need of compartmented protection.
The comment about operating'two systems during extended conversion
is valid and has always been valid. Care must be exercised. during
conversion. The alternative, however, seems to be to go on as is forever.
2. Expense
The manpower costs, again, stem mostly from Executive Order 12065.
You have indicated that some computer costs may be funded and Phase IV
presumes maximum conversion in the process of other necessary work on
the involved systems. us 0 3 017
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3. Electronic Age
The comment on lack of added protection for electrically processed
information is accurate. No one, however, could afford the document
processing demanded by Executive Order 12065 for electricals which
exceed 1,000 per day and as machine systems develop, they will increas-
ingly be able to keep records. At any rate, APEX does no damage to
existing processes except to require eventual conformance to APEX. No
less accounting will occur.
4. Legal Implications
This paragraph continues the attempt to keep COMINT from DCI cog-
nizance under Executive Order 12065. I see no grounds for accepting it.
S. SIGINT and the APEX Model
NSA continues to be concerned that SIGINT product is more sensitive
than SIGINT collection programs per se and, therefore, continues to
object to'the APEX structure of OPERATIONAL and PRODUCT compartments.
Attachment
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 Approved For Release 2003/08/13 : CP.5T00788R000100150003-5
SUBJECT: APEX - NSA Issue Paper
SA/DCIb 4 1(2 December 1980)
Distri
uti n:
Original - Addressee
1 DDCI
1 - Executive Registry
1 - DCI APEX Security Officer
1 - OGC
1 - SA/DCI C File
IC
1 - SA/DCI/C Chrono
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