SECURITY CLASSIFICATION LEVELS All information or material considered vital to the safety  of  the  United  States  is  given  a  security classification level. Each security classification level indicates  (tells)  the  amount  of  protection  the information and material requires to safeguard it against unauthorized disclosure. There are only three security classification  levels—Top  Secret,  Secret,  and Confidential. The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) or his/her designees  have  the  authority  to  originally  classify information as Top Secret, Secret, or Confidential. The SECNAV’s designees are listed in the Department of the Navy  Personnel  Security  Program, SECNAVINST 5510.30A  and    Department  of  the  Navy  (DON) Information  Security  Program  (ISP)  Regulation, SECNAVINST 5510.36. Top Secret Top  Secret  is  the  classification  level  applied  to information  whose  unauthorized  disclosure  could reasonably be expected to cause  exceptionally grave damage   to the national security. Some examples of information that could cause grave damage to national security include— Armed hostilities against the United States or its allies A disruption of foreign relations vitally affecting the national security The compromise of vital national defense plans The disclosure of complex cryptographic and communications intelligence systems The  disclosure  of  sensitive  intelligence operations The  disclosure  of  significant  scientific  or technological  developments  vital  to  national security Secret Secret  is  the  classification  level  applied  to information  whose  unauthorized  disclosure  could reasonably be expected to cause serious damage to the national security. Some examples of information that could cause serious damage to national security include information that could— Disrupt foreign relations significantly affecting the nation’s security Significantly impair a program or policy directly related to the national security D i s c l o s e   s i g n i fi c a n t   m i l i t a r y   p l a n s   o r intelligence operations C o m p r o m i s e    s i g n i fi c a n t    s c i e n t i fi c    o r technological developments relating to national security Confidential Confidential is the classification level applied to information  whose  unauthorized  disclosure  could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security.  Some  examples  of  information  that  could cause damage to national security include information that could— Indicate ground, air, and naval forces (such as force levels and force dispositions) Reveal  performance  characteristics,  such  as design,  test,  and  production  data  of  U.S. munitions and weapons systems Controlled Unclassified Information Controlled unclassified information is defined and governed  by  laws,  international  agreements,  and regulations  that  address  the  identification,  marking, protection, handling, transmission, transportation, and destruction  of  controlled  unclassified  information. Controlled unclassified information includes— For  Official  Use  Only  (FOUO)  information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Department  of  State  (DOS)  Sensitive  But Unclassified (SBU) information DOD and DOE Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information (UCNI) 22-2 Student Notes: