b. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO) is a protective marking. It applies to unclassified material
meant only for official use. Thus, it should have no public disclosure. That includes open and public displays at
nongovernmental meetings or open houses. Requests for public release of FOUO items are referred to HQDA.
These include Freedom of Information Act requests. FOUO is usually used for unclassified COMSEC
information. FOUO should be used for several purposes.
(1) A list of COMSEC short or long titles.
(2) Narrative technical data on the characteristics of crypto equipment.
(3) Indications of new COMSEC developments.
(4) COMSEC planning and budgeting information.
(5) Handling instructions and doctrinal information related to COMSEC material.
(6) Manual cryptosystems produced exclusively for unclassified training purposes.
(7) Unclassified COMSEC material reports.
c. COMSEC material may be classified CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, or TOP SECRET. Personnel
must have a security clearance equal to or higher than the material they are using.
d. Unless stated otherwise COMSEC equipment and information are classified indefinitely. For
COMSEC-related documents prepared from multiple sources, the declassification date or event with the longest
classification period applies.
6.
References. The following references govern COMSEC procedures. They apply to military and civilian
members of the active and reserve components.
a. AR 380-5, Department of the Army Information Security Program.
This sets the policies and
procedures for classifying, downgrading, and declassifying sensitive information.
b. AR 380-19, Information Systems Security.
This covers COMSEC, computer security
(COMPUSEC), and electronic security (ELSEC). It also introduces information systems security (ISS) as a
discipline. ISS includes COMSEC, COMPUSEC, ELSEC, and the control of compromising emanations
(TEMPEST). It provides minimum security standards for sending classified and sensitive unclassified data.
c. AR 380-40, Policy for Safeguarding and Controlling COMSEC Material. This states Army policy for
protecting and controlling COMSEC material. It applies to non-Army elements that have Army COMSEC
accounts.
SS0137
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