Police control of classified information

[James Firth]

David Hansen wrote:
> Fortunately in my time in the civil service, long ago, I only had to
> deal with a few files classified SECRET and I only had to take such
> papers out of the office once (as it happens to a meeting with a
> variety of people including a couple who were senior police officers).
> The departmental instructions, which were no doubt common with other
> organisations and presumably emanated from some organisation (perhaps
> the security service) or committee with responsibility for such things,
> were that such papers had to be locked in a suitable container at all
> times while out of the office. 

I had the misfortune to work on a radar data analysis project.  As part of
the final acceptance testing the system underwent a test scenario in which
real life historical data was processed.  Since declassification of data
sets is rare and costly the final scenario ran was classified as Secret.

As many will be aware, once classified data is processed on any computer
system, elements of the system on which it was processed become classified
themselves (disk/memory).

Due to a purchasing error and a few test re-runs after the final test we ran
out of hard disks yet had to deliver the system to a northern RAF base at a
prescribed date/time.

Finding it impossible to get a replacement disk of the exact make/model, and
impossible to change the Hardware Configuration Specification at such a late
stage, we asked permission to drive the hard disk up.

I can't remember the exact cost but we actually had to pay a vast some to an
approved MOD courier company to drive it up.

One rule for "them" and another for the rest