TOP SECR!T t:fl:MOE w ·:meaRlfY lNF9fflA:'i'!QN 19 September 1952 

MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL CANINE 

SUBJECTt Measures for Increased Security of COMINT. 

Referencet My memo of 29 July 19.52, same subject. 

i.· ·As stated to you on several occasions, I have become convinced 

that lie have gone beyond the· point where we can any longer safely rely' 

entirely on mere security regulations, clearances, and indoctrinations 

such as are currentl.y being used to protect our Ca-tINT activities. Aside 

from the increased hazards which have resulted from the great e:xpansion 

of the C~INT organizations and consumer agencies, new dangers are now 

arising out of NA.TO cooperation for which additional safeguards must be 

found. Moreover, we have developed a tendency to think in terms of dit-

.t'erent.degrees of secrecy which results in procedures that sometimes 

confuse the end with· the means. We have been inclined to take the view 

that the more important a thing is, the more s•Jcret it is, and hence the 

more closely it must be held. 1his may be. thoroughly sound from the 

standpoint of security alone, but it may also be in direct conflict with 

the real operational needs for dissemination. 

2. ActuaJ.ly, our security problem is not one of dealing with different levels of secrecy but of providing different degrees of protection, 

or taking certain calculated risks, in accordance with estimated· hazards. 

ihe reason for this is that matters which are of concern to our government 

must either be denied to foreign governments or they need not be, i.e.,, they are either u.s. secrets or they are not. Ii' denial is necessary, 

protective measures must be taken,,, and the measures required ·depend upon 

the risks involved. These in turn depend essentially upon the damage 

that ma:y result from disclosure and the possibilities that such disclosure 

~ occur, either inadvertently or otherwise. Other things being equal,, 

these possibilities naturally vary with the number of offices and persons 

harxlling or having access to th~ matters. · 

3. When we say, as we now do in effect, that certain matters •Y' be 

given wider circulation than others because they are supposedly less 

secret or carry a lower security classification, we presuma;bl.y take some 

account of the damaging effect of compromis~.. However, without ignoring 

the fact tliat some matters are in fact less important than.' others,, we 

might' be on firmer ground if we took the position, as' a general :rule, 

that certain matters require wider circulation or dissemination, and, 

therefore, additional security measures should be taken according]Jr'. ibis 

would seem . to be a more logical point of view since the extent of circulation or dissemination required (i.e.,, the number of persons who 

.actuall.y need to know) may have no relation whatever to the level of 

secrecy under present security classifications. 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 04-09-2014 pursuant to E. 0. 1352B 

ARMED FORC:ts SECURITY AGENCY FORM 7S1-C10SC 18 JUL 51 

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4. With a view towm·d investigating the possibilities ¢' coping 

better with our security probl~m by issuing our product.s in a less 

sensitive form, our Russian Plain Text Group has carried out for me some 

e:xperiments in rewriting their reports ·to eliminate direct indications 

of the COMINT source, and particularly the precise source. 'Ihe results 

are attached hereto. These result.a, in my opinion, show sufficient possibilities to warrant further investieationo Obviously, the procedures 

employed and the reports as revised involve certain disadvantages. However, 

just as obvious is the fact that we must take every feasible precaution, 

and be prepared to pay a reasonable price, to insure protection of an 

investment that is costing ua a half billion dollars annually 'and has an 

incalculable potential. value. 

S. This initial experiment is, of courseJ by no means conclusive, 

ard further study is required. For this purpose, I believe that our 

objectives must be clearly set forth. With respect to COMINT, we have 

several things to safeguard. 'Ihese are the information derived, the 

source of the information, our means of deriving it,. and our abili tor to 

synthesize it. Our security will be effective only to the extent that we 

can safeguard each one of them. Any-gains we can make toward protecting 

any of these things are, therefore, worthwhile. 'lhe first s.tep should 

be to ascertain what elements of our reports are absolutely essential to 

our conswners. The supply of anything beyond the factual substance of 

our products, plus a reliability or credibility grading, in the free 

manner ·in which it is now disseminated must be ba.sed on an unquestionable 

need if we are to be justified in assuming the risks involved. We cannot 

hope to eliminate all COMINT indications or to disguise reports to the 

point where they are in every case unrecognizable as COMINT, but I believe 

we can and must publish as many products as possible (and· especially those 

that may require relatively wide circulation) in a form that will not 

gratuitously reveal the precise circuit, office, or individual from which 

or whom the information came, or the exact degree of our technical succ~sses. There are undoubtedly ways in whi·ch technical data and other 

associated details can be made available when really needed.11 .dtrio·..._t u.~.Lng 

the broadcast system now in effect. · 

Incl'- l 

.- ;?- ./ .Lt)=·-gc7 

(_, . ....-· · J. N. WENGER 1 Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy 

Deputy Director, Intelligence 

Lt.r dtd 20 Aug 52, subj: Rewriting 

of Russian Plain Language COMINT 

Reports, w/10 incls • 

. Copies furnished: ~~ 

CONS (w/o incl but with cy of ref.~ 

Dr. Shinn, OPNS (2UA) (w/o incl but with cy of ref.) OPNS (w/o incl) ·copy #_,;z __ _ 

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