Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post
October 7, 2011
The White House will issue Friday an executive order on computer security to prevent breaches of the sort that occurred with the release last year of hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the Web site WikiLeaks.
The order, coinciding with National Cybersecurity Month, replaces an outdated policy predating the Obama administration and caps a seven-month review of procedures for handling classified information.
The order directs agencies to designate a senior official to oversee classified information sharing and safeguarding for the agency and enshrines a number of measures the Pentagon and other agencies have announced, including the Pentagon’s disabling the “write” capability on most computers in the military’s secret-level classified network to prevent downloading classified data onto removable drives.
“Our nation’s security requires classified information to be shared immediately with authorized users around the world, but also requires sophisticated and vigilant means to ensure it is shared securely,” Obama’s order said.
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