1. General vs. Specific Information

            While this is a course on “how” to communicate, it is also very important to look at what to communicate, what not to communicate, and what is illegal to communicate. It is also important to know whom to communicate to, and whom not to.

            We live in a world where it may seem, at times, that all information is easily available; often on the Internet—and for free—at the click on a mouse button.

            Information is a commodity, and has to be treated as such. Looking at information in this way, then, we see that communication, especially at the organizational level, can, in some cases, be just another form of transportation—like trucking.

            As we all know, some information, or knowledge, has a price tag; it is a product. This is the basis for all movies, television, music, books, magazines, and newspapers. This is why we have “media empires.” It follows logically, then, that some information is proprietary; someone owns it. Some is private; nobody else’s project/programme purpose. Some is available to certain people at certain times under certain conditions. Finally, some is available to anyone and all who might be interested, at any time, and for any reason.

            You have to be aware of the different types of information you have, why it’s been requested, what it could be used for, and what the impact on the organization could be if it were released.

            This section will not tell you what your organization’s policies are or should be. Each organization is separate and unique. Instead, it will take a general look at how and why such policies are created, and at some of the various weights and factors that have to be applied to the procedures used in developing those policies.

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2. Classes of Information

            The world’s governments deal with the release of information by classifying specific information according to a scale of how important, valuable, dangerous, or damaging it is. In many cases the categories are:

• Unclassified
• Confidential or Classified
• Secret
• Top Secret
• Top Secret (Need To Know, Sensitive Compartment Information, or Special Access Programs)
• For Your Eyes Only

            Let us look at one other category—For Official Use Only. Technically speaking, For Official Use Only is not really a government security classification at all. Instead, it is used to protect information covered under a country’s—or organization’s—privacy laws. This can and often does include medical information, racial or national origin, religious beliefs, sexual preference, payment history, financial holdings, performance evaluations, disciplinary actions, and so on.

            In effect, then, this classification covers matters of personal security. The people whose “secrets” are covered under these policies, however, usually have no say so in the matter. While a organization or government can choose what to classify, and what category to place it at, individuals have little if any say in how their own “secrets” are handled, or in who does—or does not—have access to them.

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3. Classifying Information

            The standards that governments use to classify information can often be easily applied to the organizational sector as well.

            Before looking at how, let’s first look at why information is sometimes classified. It is most often done to protect the information’s owner from damage or loss. In terms of government information, it is normally done to maintain national security; to keep the country and its citizens and institutions safe from potential enemies or aggressors. History has shown, however, that in a number of cases information is classified to protect governments, government agencies, civil servants, and politicians from embarrassment.

            The same concept applies to the organizational sector. organizations classify information to preserve organizational security and integrity; to keep themselves profitable, and their employees and themselves safe from damage.

            organizational damage can take many shapes and forms—including embarrassment. It could be seen as anything that makes it less effective or profitable, or hinders—perhaps even destroys—its ability to function.

            It can also be seen as anything that might give a competitor an unfair advantage, or explains or gives access to the way the organization does something, or that might damage the organization’s reputation.

            Later in this lesson we will look at copyrighted, trademarked, or patented information, operations, symbols, or designs. These issues belong in a separate category. Even though they may be “classified,” there is a legal backing and justification here that is not present in many other organizational classification and security issues.

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4. Classifying Information (Continued)

            Let us now take a more detailed look at the basic security levels of information classification, and at why they exist.

            This list is adapted from various government and government agency definitions. The major change has been to substitute the word organization for government. As you will see, the definitions and classifications actually to apply to the organizational world:

·        Unclassified:  This is general information available to anyone who wants it. The fact that it is freely available, however, does not mean that it is always available for free. Even governments charge for some unclassified information; for example, census bureau records, patent applications, bureau of motor vehicle registrations, lists of veterans and government pensioners, and so on. Information does have value, gathering it costs money, and organizations are in project/programme purpose to supply items or services of value at a profit.

·        Classified or Confidential: This information has value, and letting people outside of the organization know about it could cause some damage to the organization’s own ability to function and compete. That risk and potential damage is slight.

·        Secret: It would be reasonable to assume that the release of this information to unauthorized people could definitely cause serious damage to the organization. The risk of danger here is greater.

·        Top Secret: This information, in the wrong hands, could very likely cause exceptionally grave damage to the organization’s ability to function, operate, and make a profit.

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5. Classifying Information (Continued)

·        Top Secret (Need To Know, Sensitive Compartment Information, or Special Access Programs): Just because someone has a Top Secret clearance doesn’t mean that they are automatically privy to all Top Secret information. This system is used to make sure that only those people with both a “Top Secret” clearance and a “Need To Know” something actually learn about it. The terms “Sensitive Compartment Information” and “Special Access Programs” are just two other names for it.

·        For Your Eyes Only: This classification is just what it says it is. The person the message is addressed to, and no one else, has any project/programme purpose looking at it.

            Is all of this necessary? Do organizations really have to worry about security, secrets, and spies?

            Yes.

            organizations have been keeping—and stealing—secrets for as long as there have been organizations .

            According to a survey by American Society for Industrial Security and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Fortune 1000 organizations lost more than (U.S.) $45 billion from industrial espionage and trade theft in the year 1999. Some experts say the real figure is closer to (U.S.) $100 billion, and that number is climbing every year.

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6. Copyright

            Copyright laws protect creative works—books, music, films, software, advertisements, commercials, web pages, and such—and ensure that the work’s creator, or owner, has exclusive rights to it for a set number of years. Once copyright expires, the work becomes “public domain,” which means anyone can copy it, and even sell it.

            The idea of copyright goes back to 1710, when the British Parliament passed the first copyright law, the Statute of Anne, which forbade the unauthorized printing, reprinting, or importing of books for a certain number of years.

            In 1976, the United States defined copyrightable material as all “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”

            Nearly every nation in the world has some sort of copyright laws protecting authors and artists. There are also a number of international copyright conventions, such as the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), the Berne Convention, and the Buenos Aires Convention.

            Individual nations sometimes sign specific copyright agreements with other nations. In 1995, for example, the U.S. and China signed an agreement that would prevent Chinese organizations from making “pirated” copies of compact disks and computer software. Some experts estimated that the piracy was costing American organizations more than (U.S.) $1 billion a year in lost royalties and sales.

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7. Trademarks

            A trademark, sometimes referred to as a logo, is a symbol—sometimes a word, number, picture, or design—that a manufacturer or merchant uses to make their goods and products stand out from other similar goods.

            Some say that trademarks are as old as craftsmanship. They have been found on articles as diverse and as old as ancient Chinese pottery and medieval swords. Until the 20^th century and the growth of literacy it spawned, most trademarks were symbols, pictures, or numbers.

            The first international efforts to protect trademarks, and to prevent others from copying them, came in 1883 with the creation of an international treaty organization, the Paris Convention. It demanded that member countries respect and protect the trademarks of foreign producers.

            Trademarks can be among the most valuable assets that a organization owns. They can be sold or licensed.

            Even though trademark legislation is now more than 200 years old, trademark infringement is still a major problem costing organizations millions of dollars every year.

            The blue jeans sector of activity and other designer clothing manufacturers are major victims of trademark infringement; as are computer organizations , shoe makers, and anyone else whose trademark—or logo—is popular with consumers. It is not unusual to see street sellers in large cities selling knock off merchandise of such popular brands as Gucci and Rolex with fake trademarks on them.

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8. Copyright and Trademarks on the Internet

            Despite all the different national laws and international conventions guaranteeing copyright and trademark protection, and the rights of exclusive use and distribution, more and more people have come to believe that from a purely practical standpoint, once something is placed on the Internet, the copyright is gone.

            How many times have people e-mailed you something that they copied from a web page? How many times have you done it yourself? In the vast majority of cases, that information was copyrighted.

            Once a book, article, drawing, video or song is available online for free, how many people are going to go out and buy a copy? How many people will decide to copy a logo or trademark and use it in way that the organization does not sanction?

            Because they believe that they have the most to lose, the recording and movie industries have taken the lead in fighting copyright infringement on the Internet. Their lawsuit against Napster is the most obvious example of their fight. It is not yet a major issue with book publishers because of the time involved in getting a book online. Movies and songs are already in either a digital or easily digitizable format that is relatively easy to copy electronically. Putting a book on the Internet is more labor intensive and time consuming.

            In the organizational world, organizations have the copyright to any advertisements, booklets, speeches, or jingles they produce, and they own their own trademarks and logos.

            Although they “own” it, their ownership isn’t worth much if it can’t be enforced.
9. Copyright and Trademarks on the Internet (Continued)

            The Internet is part of the project/programme purpose world today. You have to be on it in order to be known and to compete. That means you have to put things on the Internet that could conceivable be stolen or misused.

            Even though you cannot completely avoid the risk, you can reduce it with some careful planning. Here are 10 questions to consider when deciding exactly what to put on the Internet:

1.      Is it your information to present? Do you have the copyright, or permission to use, all the information—including any music, video clips, and art—that you want to put up on your site?

2.      Is it current, accurate, and easy to understand? Is there any way it could be misinterpreted?

3.      Will it help build sales?

4.      Will it help build beneficiary support?

5.      Will it help develop and build organization and trademark recognition?

6.      Will it help build brand loyalty?

7.      Will it help the organization’s image?

8.      Will it get information to the public without the media’s—or anyone else’s—criticism, interpretation, or interference?

9.      Is there anyway the information can hurt the organization?

10.  Does the information reveal anything that might give a competitor any sort of advantage?

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10. Online Communication

            There are professional security consultants who can talk about the dangers of industrial espionage and how to avoid it, and how to protect your web site and computer system from hackers. Decisions about what information is classified—and what classification it should have—are normally made by top management. Your legal department knows what can and cannot be done in terms of copyright, patent, and trademark issues. There are also web designers who can make your site easy to navigate, and artists who will make it look good.

            We have also seen a list of questions to ask before putting any information on the web. One question remains, however: What should actually go there?

            More and more organizations are putting everything on the web; advertisements, press releases, organization history, executive profiles, in-house and consumer magazines, brochures, product descriptions and specifications, product reviews, instructions, price lists, service options, annual reports, as well as addresses, telephone numbers, and other contact information… anything and everything that they currently publish on paper.

            We are obsessed with speed; not just fast cars or fast food, but fast everything, including information. Once people were content to write letters asking for information, wait for the post office to deliver it, the organization to reply, and for the reply to reach them. Today, when people want information, they want it immediately, if not sooner.

            To stay effective in the Internet era you have to walk a fine line. You have to give the beneficiary what they want and need, but hold back anything that could damage your own operations. It’s not always easy, but it is always project/programme purpose.

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Assignments

Multiple-Choice

1.         You have to be aware of the different types of information you have, and

a.       Why it’s been requested

b.      What it could be used for

c.       What the impact on the organization could be if it were released

d.      All of the above

2.         Personal security is covered by the  ________ security category.

a.       Classified

b.      For Official Use Only

c.       Top Secret

d.      None of the above

3.         Information is most often classified

a.       To keep management in the loop

b.      To keep certain people excluded

c.       To protect the information’s owner from damage or loss

d.      All of the above

4.         organizations classify information to

a.       Preserve organizational security and integrity

b.      Keep themselves profitable

c.       Keep their employees and themselves safe from damage

d.      All of the above

Matching the Columns (2)

Answers:

1.)    C

2.)    A

3.)    F

4.)    B

5.)    E

6.)    D

Answers:

1.)    F

2.)    C

3.)    E

4.)    A

5.)    D

6.)    B

Summary

            We live in a world where it may seem, at times, that all information is easily available; often on the Internet—and for free—at the click on a mouse button.

            Information is a commodity, and has to be treated as such. Looking at information in this way, then, we see that communication, especially at the organizational level, can, in some cases, be just another form of transportation—like trucking.

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Test

1. ______        Information is a commodity.

2. ______        For Official Use Only covers matters of national security.

3. ______        The people whose “secrets” are covered under security policies have a say                             in the matter.

4. ______        The standards that governments use to classify information are very                             difficult to apply to the organizational sector.

5. ______        The fact that information is freely available does not mean that it is always                    available for free.

6. ______        The risk and damage potential of classified information getting out is very                                great.

7. ______        organizations don’t really have to worry about security, secrets, and spies.

8. ______        Once copyright expires, the work becomes “public domain,” which means                              anyone can copy it, or sell it.

9. ______        Trademarks are not very valuable to a organization.

10. ______      More and more people have come to believe that from a purely practical                                standpoint, once something is placed on the Internet, the copyright is                                 enforceable.

Answers:

1.                                          T

2.                                          F – personal security

3.                                          F – usually have no say in the matter

4.                                          F – easily applied

5.                                          T

6.                                          F – risk is slight

7.                                          F – They do have to worry

8.                                          T

9.                                          F – among the most valuable assets

10.                                      F – copyright is gone.

Bibliography

Carter, D. (ed.). (1993). Living logos: How organizations renew their image. New York: Art Direction Book.

Everyone’s guide to copyrights, trademarks and patents: The comprehensive handbook for protecting your writing inventions, and other creative work, with official, ready-to-use application forms. (1990). Philadelphia: Running Press.

Ploman, E., & Hamilton, L. (1980). Copyright: Intellectual property in the information age. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Glossary

Copyright laws – Protect creative works and ensure that the work’s creator, or owner, has exclusive rights to it for a set number of years.

Trademark – Sometimes referred to as a logo, is a symbol that a manufacturer or merchant uses to make their goods and products stand out from other similar goods.

For Official Use Only – Security classification that covers matters of personal security; the people whose “secrets” are covered under these policies usually have no say so in the matter.

Government Security – Normally done to maintain national security: to keep the country and its citizens and institutions safe from potential enemies or aggressors.

Learning Objectives

• It is very important to look at what to communicate, what not to communicate, and what is illegal to communicate. It is also important to know whom to communicate to, and whom not to.
• Information is a commodity, and has to be treated as such. Looking at information in this way, then, we see that communication, especially at the organizational level, can, in some cases, be just another form of transportation.

Q&A

1.  What are the basic security levels of information classification?

There are many different security levels of information classification.  Unclassified is general information available to anyone who wants it. Classified or confidential has value, and letting people outside of the organization know about it could cause some damage to the organization’s own ability to function and compete. With the Secret classification, it would be reasonable to assume that the release of this information to unauthorized people could definitely cause some serious damage to the organization. Top Secret could very likely cause exceptionally grave damage to the organization’s ability to function, operate, and make a profit. Top Secret, Need to Know, is used to make sure that only those people with both a “Top Secret” clearance and a “Need to Know” something actually learn about it. For Your Eyes Only means that the person the message is addressed to, and no one else, has any project/programme purpose looking at it. For Office Use Only is used to protect information covered under a organization’s privacy laws.

2.  What are ten question to consider when deciding exactly what to put on the Internet?

Ten questions to consider when deciding exactly what to put on the Internet are:

1.)         Is it your information to present?

2.)         Is it current, accurate, and easy to understand, or is there any way it could be misinterpreted?

3.)         Will it help build sales?

4.)         Will it help build beneficiary support?

5.)         Will it help develop and build organization and trademark recognition?

6.)         Will it help build brand loyalty?

7.)         Will it help the organization’s image?

8.)         Will it get information to the public without the media’s – or anyone else’s – criticism, interpretation, or interference?

9.)         Is there anyway the information can hurt the organization?

10.)     Does the information reveal anything that might give a competitor any sort of advantage?

3.  What should you consider when communicating information?

It is very important to look at what to communicate, what not to communicate, and what is illegal to communicate. It is also important to know whom to communicate to, and whom not to. You have to be aware of the different types of information you have, why it’s been requested, what it could be used for, and what the impact on the organization could be if it were released.

End of Module