How Much Does the Government Pay to Keep Its Secrets?

WHERE DOES THE BUDGET GO? THE COST OF COVERING UP PHYSICAL SECURITY INFORMATION SECURITY GOVERNMENT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION COST BREAKDOWN (FY 2011) 15.3% $1,739,406,583 54% $6,180,021,703 There are four subcategories for information security: Physical security equipment, protective forces, tamper-safe monitoring, and badging. Protection and Maintenance for Classified Information Systems How Much Does the U.S. Government Pay to Keep Its Secrets? Resources used to protect classified 49.7% information from unauthorized access or PERSONNEL SECURITY tampering. 12.3% $1,402,161,386 A series of program elements that determines a government or contractor employee's eligibility and suitability for access to classified information. Classification Management Every year, the Information Security Oversight Office AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE IN COSTS PER CATEGORY reports to the President the estimated costs of securing the (FY 2001 - FY 2011) Resources used to identify, transfer, retrieve, archive, declassify or destroy classified information. nation's classified information. Expenditures can include 3.1% anything from salaries and security .clearances personnel 6.3% SECURITY MANAGEMENT, OVERSIGHT, AND PLANNING accessing the sensitive documents to computer equipment and training programs for government employees. In 2011, that total- cost was nearly $11.4 billion-more than double the budget from just ten years ago. 70.2% 13.4% $1,527,716,637 50.2% → Declassification 18.4% Research, test, and evaluation; foreign ownership, control, or influence (FOCI). Some argue that in today's digital era, the leaking of Resources used to identify and process private documents is increasingly easy, so the program warrants .5% -5.2% information for declassification as authorized greater protection. Others believe the government is classifying too by Executive Order or Statute. much information-some of it unnecessarily shrouded. 11% Regardless, there's no denying that the cost of keeping PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND AWARENESS government secrets is ballooning, and taxpayers are footing the bill. Operational Security (OPSEC) and Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) 4.4% $502,507,085 MOUNTING SECRECY, MOUNTING COSTS 1.1% Personnel and operating expenses associated with OPSEC and TSCM. Education and training for personnel to handle Total estimated cost of U.S. government security classification programs classified information. (Billions) $11.4 12 TOTAL 100% $11,363,717,838 $10.2 UNIQUE ITEMS .1% $11,904,444 Pages declassified (Millions) 10 $8.8 $8.7 $8.7 $8.2 CONTINUING TO KEEP IT ON THE DOWN-LOW Department-specific activities that are not reported in any category but are nonetheless significant. 250 $7.7 $7.3 196 204 193 200 Over the last 16 years, the number of pages of records the U.S. government has declassified has decreased dramatically, leading many to question exactly what is still being kept classified. $6.5 150 127 100 75 100 $5.7 69 44 43 28. -29 5. 37.6 37.2 -31.4- 28.8 29:1 26.7 $4.7 O 50 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SOURCE: INFORMATION SECURITY OVERSIGHT OFFICE A COLLABOoRATION BETWEEN GOOD AND COLUMN FIVE