Secrecy is the practice of sharing information among a group of people, which can be as small as one person, while hiding it from others. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controversial. Many people claim that, at least in some situations, it is better for everyone if everyone knows all the facts—there should be no secrets. The closely allied, perhaps even synonymous notions of confidentiality and privacy are often considered virtues. William Penn wrote, "It is wise not to seek a secret; and honest, not to reveal one."[1] The ASCII codes for the word Wikipedia represented in binary, the numeral system most commonly used for encoding computer information. ... Confidentiality has been defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access and is one of the cornerstones of Information security. ... Privacy has no definite boundaries and it has different meanings for different people. ... William Penn William Penn (October 14, 1644 – July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ...

Natural and sociological secrecy

Secrecy is built into biology. One reason for sexual reproduction and speciation may be to allow members of a species to share genetic improvements without those improvements becoming available to competitors^{[citation needed]}. Animals, including humans (in some cases), conceal the location of their den or nest from predators. Humans attempt to consciously conceal aspects of themselves from others due to shame, or from fear of rejection, loss of acceptance, or loss of employment. On a deeper level, humans attempt to conceal aspects of their own self which they are not capable of incorporating psychologically into their conscious being. Families sometimes maintain "family secrets", obliging family members never discuss disagreeable issues concerning the family, either with those outside the family and sometimes even within the family. Many "family secrets" are maintained by using a mutually agreed-upon construct (an official family story) when speaking with outside members. Agreement to maintain the secret is often coerced through "shaming" and reference to family honor. The information may even be something as trivial as a recipe. Sexual reproduction is a union that results in increasing genetic diversity of the offspring. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Look up den in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A basket style nest A nest is place of refuge built to hold an animals eggs and/or provide a place to raise their offspring. ... A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk eating a California Vole In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator species kills and eats other organisms, known as prey. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... It has been suggested that the section Shame campaign from the article Smear campaign be merged into this article or section. ... Fear is a powerful biological feeling of unpleasant risk or danger, either real or imagined. ... Acceptance, in spirituality, mindfulness, and human psychology, usually refers to the experience of a situation without an intention to change that situation. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... The self is a key construct in several schools of psychology. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... Honor (or honor) comprises the reputation, self-perception or moral identity of an individual or of a group. ... An example recipe, printed from the Wikibooks Cookbook. ...

Government secrecy

Governments often attempt to conceal information from other governments and the public. These state secrets can include weapon designs, military plans, diplomatic negotiation tactics, and secrets obtained illicitly from others ("intelligence"). Most nations have some form of Official Secrets Act (the Espionage Act in the U.S.) and classify material according to the level of protection needed (hence the term "classified information"). An individual needs a security clearance for access and other protection methods, such as keeping documents in a safe, are stipulated. The bayonet is used as both knife and spear. ... A military secret is secret information that is purposely not made available to the general public (and hence to any enemy) by the military in order to gain an advantage, not reveal a weakness, avoid embarrassment, or to help in propaganda efforts. ... Diplomat redirects here. ... Broadly speaking, Negotiation is an interaction of influences. ... Intelligence (abbreviated or ) is the process and the result of gathering information and analyzing it to answer questions or obtain advance warnings needed to plan for the future. ... Official Secrets Act warning sign, Foulness. ... The Espionage Act was passed by the 65th United States Congress on June 15, 1917, during World War I. This act made it a crime, punishable by a $10,000 fine and 20 years in jail, for a person to convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... A typical classified document. ... A security clearance is a status granted to individuals, typically members of the military and employees of governments and their contractors, allowing them access to classified information, i. ... A typical home safe. ...

Few people dispute the desirability of keeping Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information secret, but many believe government secrecy to be excessive and too often employed for political purposes. Secrecy is central to organized crime. Many countries have laws that attempt to limit government secrecy, such as the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and sunshine laws. Government officials sometimes leak information they are supposed to keep secret. (For a current (2005) example, see Plame affair.) Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information (CNWDI) is a U.S. Department of Defense category of TOP SECRET Restricted Data or SECRET Restricted Data that reveals the theory of operation or design of the components of a thermonuclear or fission bomb, warhead, demolition munition, or test device. ... Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with freedom of information legislation. ... A sunshine law requires that a government makes its information and procedures available for inspection by the public, metaphorically letting the sun shine on the activities of government. ... The Plame affair concerns allegations that U.S. government officials revealed classified employment information about Valerie E. Wilson (née Valerie Elise Plame; also known as Valerie Plame) indicating that she was a covert operative of the United States CIA investigating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ...

Corporate security

Organizations, ranging from multi-national for profit corporations to nonprofit charities, keep secrets for competitive advantage, to meet legal requirements, or, in some cases, to conceal nefarious behavior. New products under development, unique manufacturing techniques, or simply lists of customers are types of information protected by trade secret laws. The patent system encourages inventors to publish information in exchange for a limited time monopoly on its use, though patent applications are initially secret. Keeping one's strategy secret is important in many aspects of game theory. Secret societies use secrecy as a way to attract members by creating a sense of importance. Secrecy is central to organized crime. Corporate redirects here. ... // Legal definitions A charity is a trust, company or unincorporated association established for charitable purposes only. ... In marketing and strategic management, sustainable competitive advantage is an advantage that one firm has relative to competing firms. ... A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information used by a business to obtain an advantage over competitors within the same industry or profession. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee (the inventor or assignee) for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which... A monopoly (from the Greek language monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a product or service, in other words a firm that has no competitors in its industry. ... A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, most often winning. Strategy is differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand. ... Game theory is often described as a branch of applied mathematics and economics that studies situations where multiple players make decisions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... A secret society is an organization that conceals its activities from outsiders. ... Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ...

Other laws require organizations to keep certain information secret, such as medical records (HIPAA in the U.S.), or financial reports that are under preparation (to limit insider trading). Europe has particularly strict laws about database privacy. The U.S. even has a special law protecting records of video tape rentals and sales (18 USC 2710), apparently passed when members of Congress realized their video viewing habits could be politically embarrassing. A medical record folder being pulled from the records A medical record, health record, or medical chart is a systematic documentation of a patients medical history and care [1][2]. The term Medical record is used both for the physical folder for each individual patient and for the body... The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. ... Financial statements (or financial reports) are a record of a business financial flows and levels. ... Insider trading is the trading of a corporations stock or other securities (e. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... In computing , a database can be defined as a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer so that a program can consult it to answer queries. ...

Technology of secrecy

Preservation of secrets is one of the goals of information security. Techniques used include physical security and cryptography. The latter depends on the secrecy of cryptographic keys. Secrecy is central to organized crime. Many believe that security technology can be more effective if it itself is not kept secret. See Full disclosure, Kerckhoffs' principle, Security through obscurity. United States Air Force INFOSEC poster. ... Physical security describes measures that prevent or deter attackers from accessing a facility, resource, or information stored on physical media. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and the verb γράφω gráfo write) is the study of message secrecy. ... A key is a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm. ... Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ... Full Disclosure is an Thriller with the Megastar Fred Ward. ... In cryptography, Kerckhoffs principle (also called Kerckhoffs assumption, axiom or law) was stated by Auguste Kerckhoffs in the 19th century: a cryptosystem should be secure even if everything about the system, except the key, is public knowledge. ... In cryptography and computer security, security through obscurity (sometimes security by obscurity) is to some a controversial principle in security engineering, which attempts to use secrecy (of design, implementation, etc. ...

Information hiding is a design principle in much software engineering. It is considered easier to verify software reliability if one can be sure that different parts of the program only have access to certain information. In computer science, the principle of information hiding is the hiding of design decisions in a computer program that are most likely to change, thus protecting other parts of the program from change if the design decision is changed. ... e. ...

Hazards of secrecy

Excessive secrecy is often cited as a source of much human conflict. One may have to lie in order to hold a secret, which might lead to psychological repercussions. The alternative -- declining to answer when asked something -- may suggest the answer and may therefore not always be suitable for keeping a secret. Also, the other may insist that one answers the question. Nearly 2500 years ago, Sophocles wrote, "Do nothing secretly; for Time sees and hears all things, and discloses all." Look up lie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Psychology (from Greek: ψυχή, psukhē, spirit, soul; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is an academic/ applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. ... Sophocles (ancient Greek: ; 495 BC - 406 BC) was the second of three great ancient Greek tragedians. ...

See also

• Concealment device
• Confidentiality
• Conspiracy theory
• Deception
• Don't ask, don't tell
• Espionage
• Secret passage
• Secret sharing
• State Secrets Privilege
• Smuggling
• Surprise
• Media transparency
• Wikileaks

American dollar coin used for concealment Concealment devices, as the term suggests, are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy. ... Confidentiality has been defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access and is one of the cornerstones of Information security. ... A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... LGBT rights Around the world · By country History · Groups · Activists Declaration of Montreal Same-sex relationships Marriage · Adoption Opposition · Persecution Violence This box:      Dont ask, dont tell is the common term for the U.S. military policy which implements Pub. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... Secret passages are sometimes concealed using large items of furniture, such as this reconstruction of the bookcase that covered the entrance to Anne Franks secret room. ... Each secret share is a plane, and the secret is the point at which three shares intersect. ... The State Secrets Privilege is an evidentiary rule - i. ... A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853, by Vasily Hudiakov. ... Look up surprise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Media Transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means. ... Wikileaks is a website running on modified Mediawiki software which will allow whistleblowers to anonymously release government and corporate documents, allegedly without possible retribution. ...

References

• Sissela Bok, Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation (New York : Vintage Books, 1989).
• Bruce Schneier, Secrets and Lies (Schneier)
• On Secrecy, by Sir Henry Taylor in The Oxford Book of Essays, John J. Gross, Oxford University Press, 1991 ISBN 0-19-214185-6
• Alasdair Roberts, Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
• Secrecy legal news and research, JURIST

The Federal Information Manual. P. Stephen Gidiere III. American Bar Association (2006)[2]. Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Bruce Schneier. ... A jurist is a professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law. ...

• Article "How Secret is a Secret?" in the ISSA Journal, April 2006

External links

• Rules of political misdirection
• Secrecy News by Federation of American Scientists