President Barack Obama issued an executive order Friday strengthening policies for handling classified information, following a review of policies and practices regarding the handling of classified information.
The order requires federal agencies to designate a senior official to oversee the agency’s classified information and safeguarding.
Agencies must also implement a program to detect and prevent insider threats and conduct self-assessments of policy and standard compliance.
The order establishes an interagency steering committee that will set goals for sharing classified information and safeguarding the information.
“The strategic imperative of our efforts has been to ensure that we provide adequate protections to our classified information while at the same time sharing the information with all who reasonably need it to do their jobs,” said a White House statement accompanying the order.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will head up a task force to develop a program for insider threat detection and prevention.
