The $9 Billion Secret

In a new report (pdf), The Information Security Oversight Office estimates that the costs of classification reached an impressive $9.2 billion in 2005. The estimate includes computer security and personnel clearance -- both physical security requirements and the costs related to keeping people quiet. It does not include the secrecy costs of the CIA, which is too secret to relay the costs of its secrecy.

The estimates, tracked for the past 11 years, appear to trend upward sharply between -- suprise! -- 2001 and the present. Reason exposes the administration's secrecy fetish here, here, here, and here.

Via Secrecy News.

Comments

[David]

Completely unscientific estimate: 8 billion is wasted covering up things the public could and should know, but would show illegal or embarrassing behavior on the part of our government.

[Pro Libertate]

$1.2 billion for R&D on a special Infiltrator Fembot/Houri Brigade. Money well spent, if you ask me.

[John]

David,

Don't kid yourself. 99% of classifed information is just ordinary crap that no one would care about. Further, we waste billions doing security clearances for employees over and over again. I was once offered a job with the foreign service. They gave me the form SF 86 I beleive to fil out for a security clearance. I said, I don't need to fill that out I already have a TS through the Army. Oh no, Department of State does not recognize an Army security clearance. What do you want to bet that it is the same contractor who does both State and Army background investigations? Someone is getting rich on that deal. The whole system is broke. But, it is not some huge coverup of a sinsiter government plot. It is just ordinary incompetance.

[TrickyVic]

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with David's post in full, but I must point out that embarrassing behavior is usually under the umbrella of incompetance and illegal acts are not necessarily sinister.