TABLE OF CONTENTS A security clearance is a privilege, not a right. When you accept the privilege of access to classified information, you are also accepting the responsibilities that accompany this privilege.
This guide informs you of your responsibilities and provides information to help you fulfill them. Briefly, you are expected to do the following:
Comply with security regulations and procedures to protect classified information. The nondisclosure agreement you signed when accepting your clearance is a legally binding agreement between you and the U.S. government in which you agreed to comply with procedures for safeguarding classified information and acknowledged that there are legal sanctions for violating this agreement. Some of your responsibilities for protecting classified information are discussed in the following topics: need-to-know, classification guidelines and distribution controls, handling classified information, marking classified information, mailing and carrying classified materials, appropriate use of computer systems, and using the Secure Telephone Unit III (STU-III).
Comply with standards of conduct required of persons holding positions of trust. This includes recognizing and avoiding behavior that might cause you to become ineligible for continued access to classified information.
Report to your security office changes in your personal life that are of security interest, including planned marriage or cohabitation, certain outside activities, foreign contacts, and other changes as described in "Self-Reporting on Your Personal Activities."
Report to your security office or a counterintelligence office any information that comes to your attention regarding known or suspected foreign intelligence activity directed against yourself, a fellow coworker, your...
