A Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility in United States military,
security and intelligence parlance, is an enclosed area within a building that
is used to process Sensitive Compartmented Information types of
classified information. SCI is usually only briefed, discussed,
and stored in an accredited SCIF. Access
Access to SCIFs is normally limited to those with clearance. Non-cleared
personnel in SCIF must be under constant oversight to prevent unauthorized access
to classified material; as part of this process, non-cleared personnel are
typically required to surrender recording and other electronic devices.
All of the activity and conversation inside is presumed restricted from
public disclosure. Construction
Some entire buildings are SCIFs where all but the front foyer is secure. A
SCIF can also be located in an air, ground or maritime vehicle, or can be
established on a temporary basis at a specific site. The physical
construction, access control, and alarming of the facility has been
defined by various directives, including Director of Central Intelligence
Directives 1/21 and 6/9, and most recently by Intelligence Community
Directive 705, signed by the Director of National Intelligence. ICD 705 is a
three page document that implements Intelligence Community Standard 705.1.
Computers operating within such a facility must conform to rules
established by ICD 503. Computers and telecommunication equipment within must
conform to TEMPEST emanations specification as directed by a Certified
TEMPEST Technical Authority. In popular culture
In Naval Criminal Investigative Service episode "Pyramid" it is revealed the
NCIS Director Vance can place his office into SCIF mode. He does it so he can
discuss the details of a classified operation with the Secretary of the
Navy. The Drop Dead Diva episode "Desperate
Housewife" shows a SCIF being used by the United States government to convey
information to a judge while preventing the defendants in a trial from hearing
the information. In the episode "The Bit Bucket" of The
Good Wife, a SCIF is used by the NSA to convey information to a judge while
preventing the defendants in a trial from hearing the information. Later in
the episode the defendants' lawyers use the SCIF to argue without the NSA's
lawyer present. In the Criminal Minds episodes Lauren
and Valhalla, a SCIF in Quantico is used to hold a briefing between the
Behavioral Analysis Unit and a private counterintelligence group.
In Homeland episode "There's Something Else Going On", a SCIF is seen at the
Islamabad United States Embassy. In the NCIS: New Orleans episode "The
Abyss," Coast Guard Special Agent Abigail Borin is seen accessing SCIF to
oversee an undersea recovery. In Burn Notice episode "Signals and
Codes" Michael Weston has to break into a SCIF room in order to download the
decryption key for various emails sent by a treasonous employee of a corporate
government contractor. In Person of Interest season 1 episode
22, titled "No Good Deed", is based on an operative who works at a SCIF.
In the movie Behind Enemy Lines the SCIF is used to track a downed Reconnaissance
Officer and F/A-18 Navigator - Lt. Chris Burnett, who was shot down with his
Pilot In Command "Stackhouse". Stackhouse was subsequently killed by
Serbian Forces after veering off mission and discovering a mass grave of local
civilians killed by a Local Serbian Military Commander Miraslov Lokar. SCIF
was used to hotwire a satellite to track via Infra-Red "Thermal Imaging" and then
again after Lt. Burnett Reactivated the Ejection Seat Locating Transmitter.
See also Security tent
References Trish Choate. "Air Force planning to
train hundreds yearly in cyber warfare skills".
Patrick Thibodeau. "Outsourcing helps spur data center land rush outside D.C."
External links "Physical Security Standards for
Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities", DCID 6/9 Text; effective 18
November 2002. Retrieved 2010-07-19. "Director of Central Intelligence
Directive 6/3 Protecting sensitive compartmented information within
information systems", MANUAL. n.d. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
Vaidyanathan, Rajini. "Barack Obama's top secret tent". BBC News.
[1] Text; Director Signature and Technical Specifications for
Construction and Management of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities.