PROTECTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87B01034R000100020018-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 17, 2006
• Sequence Number: 18
• Content Type: REGULATION

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By virtue of the authority and discretion vested in me
under the Constitution to protect the national security and
conduct the foreign relations of the United States, it is
hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. This order governs certain
practices and procedures relating to the protec-
tion of national security information and estab-
lishes minimum security standards for granting
United States Government employees and contrac-
tors, and other appropriate persons, access to
such information. Additional security standards
governing access to national security information
may be established by individual agencies to the
extent deemed appropriate by such agencies.
.National security information is information
classified pursuant to Executive Order 12356, or
any prior or subsequent Orders. This order does -.....--
not govern federal employment suitability, and
the fact that a person is security disapproved
pursuant to this Order does not bar that person
from federal employment in a position for which
that person is otherwise qualified and for which
access to classified information is not required.
Section 2. To protect the security of
classified information, the prudent management
risk is essential. Risk management requires a
careful weighing and balancing by Executive.
Branch sed- rity officials of all factors which
suggest. that a person may not properly safeguard
classified information, and a person may be
security disapproved as a result of a security
judgment based upon one or a combination of these
factors. No person has an entitlement or right
of access to classified information and the
granting, denial, or withdrawal of such access is
committed to the sound discretion of Executive
Branch security officials. In view of the low
degree of risk to the national security which can
be accepted, a critical element in granting
access to classified information is whether there
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exists the requisite confidence in a person's
ability to protect this nation's secrets of
state. In all security evaluations, the
protection of the national interest shall be
paramount and any doubts concerning a person
having access to classified information shall be
resolved in favor of the national security and
against the person having such access.
Section 3. The factors to be considered in
assessing the risk of granting or continuing
access to classified information in any given
case relate to whether or not the person under
consideration may have vulnerabilities or may
engage in any exploitable personal conduct or
indiscrete behavior, now or in the future. At a
minimum, it shall be a prerequisite for any
person having access to classified information to
be trustworthy, reliable, stable, and to have
-excellent character, judgment, and discretion.
Another prerequisite is that a person should not
.have a background reflecting criminal activity,
-abuse of controlled substances and other drugs,
alcohol abuse, exploitable sexual conduct, finan-
cial irregularities, or significant patterns of
indebtedness. A further prerequisite is that a
person should be of unquestioned loyalty to the
United States and not susceptible to undue
influence, coercion, or duress. In this regard,
doubts concerning suitability for access to
classified information need not stem from evi-
dence of disloyalty itself; questions concerning
the security suitability of a person may arise
from any of the factors which indicate that a
person could pose a security risk to the protec-
tion of classified information- During the
course of any security investigation conducted to
determine whether or not a person should have
access to classified information, Executive
Branch security officials may take into account
the activities of any individuals with whom the
person is bound by ties of affection, or with
whom the person is in close and continuing
contact, and the activities of any individuals in
the person's immediate family. Also--to be taken
into account is whether or not any such indivi-
duals are foreign nationals or reside in a
foreign country. The nature and scope of any
foreign travel performed by the person being
considered for initial or continued access shall
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be another pertinent factor. Access to classi-
fied information can be denied or withdrawn by an
Executive Branch agency when it is determined
that a person does not meet the security
standards of that particular agency, taking into
account all of the factors discussed above, or
when it is determined that sufficient information
cannot be developed to evaluate the person under
that agency's, security standards. This determmin-
ation shall be final and unreviewable. 2
Section 4. 1.1-hen it is determined that a
person meets the security standards of an
Executive Branch agency, that person may be
granted a security clearance or a limited
security approval. A person shall not be hired
for or placed in a position,requiring a security
clearance or approval until such clearance or
approval has been granted. Classified informa-
tion may be disseminated by authorized Executive
Branch officials to persons without security
clearances or approvals if such persons are
Members of Congress, Federal judges, officials of
foreign governments who have appropriate levels
of clearance under their own classification
system, or with the permission of the Director of
Central Intelligence when necessary in the course
of intelligence or counterintelligence opera-
tions, or with the permission of the Director of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) when
necessary in the course of law enforcement
operations.
Section 5. In order to properly evaluate a
person under consideration for being granted
access to classified information, that person
.must undergo an appropriate background
investigation. Such background investigations
shall be conducted by the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) when access to CIA information is
involved, the Defense Investigative Service when
access to Department of Defense information is
involved, the Department of Energy wheyx access to
atomic energy information is involved; the FBI
when access to Department of Justice information
is involved and the office of Personnel Manage-
ment in all other cases. An agency which. would
otherwise be required by this order to conduct a
background investigation may accept as valid any
background investigation conducted by another
agency and any security clearance or approval
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granted by another agency regarding any part-:
cular person. When a person " undergoes . a
background investigation, the investigation shall
include a National Agency Security Check (NASC).
A INASC shall consist of a records check by
appropriate agencies of the Executive Branch to
ascertain whether they possess information which
they have reason to believe would disqualify a
person for access to classified information.
Disqualifying information disseminated in
response to 'a NP.SC shall not include information
regarding the suitability of a person for federal
employment unless that information is of security
significance.
Section 6. Any information of security
significance concerning any_person developed by
an agency during the course of a background
investigation, or otherwise, may be disseminated
only to the. security offices of other Executive
Branch-agencies, and to the FBI if a violation of
law may have occurred, under tight controls and
on a strict need-to-know basis. Such information
may be disseminated without a confrontation of
the source or sources of that information when
the confidentiality of the source or sources has
been assured by-the agency collecting the infor-
mation or when confrontation would disclose a
method of security processing or intelligence"
gathering. Any agency, other than the FBI, that
receives such information from another agency
shall only use that information as a basis for
conducting a de novo security investigation and
evaluation of any issues raised by that informa-
tion.
Section 7. Failure to meet an agency's
security standards or to comply with an agency's
security regulations, such as the mishandling of
classified information by unauthorized disclosure
or otherwise, is sufficient cause for withdrawing
a security clearance or approval, and for taking
other administrative action, including suspension
and termination of employment under 5 U.S.C.
? 7531, et seq., or any other provisions of law
deemed appropriate by the agency concerned.
Section 8. Each agency shall promulgate
appropriate regulations to implement this Order.
This Order supplements the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 and Public Law 88-290. Executive Order
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10865 shall be modified as necessary to be made
consistent with this Order. Executive Order
10450 is hereby rescinded.
Ronald Peagan
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