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Scientific Communication and Security
Pages 473-482

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From page 473...
... The scientific and technical community recognizes that it has a responsibility to help protect the United States, as it has in the past, by harnessing This paper summarizes findings and recommendations from a variety of recently published reports and papers as input to the deliberations of the Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century. Statements in this paper should not be seen as the conclusions of the National Academies or the committee.
From page 474...
... Various organizations, including the National Academies, have offered recommendations to address these concerns: • Continue to support the principle set forth in National Security Decision Directive 189 that federally funded fundamental research, such as that conducted in universities and laboratories, should "to the maximum extent possible" be unrestricted. • Create a clearly defined regulatory "safe harbor" for fundamental research so that universities in particular can have confidence that activities within the safe harbor are in compliance, thus permitting a focus on whatever occurred outside the safe harbor.
From page 475...
... 2National Research Council. Scientific Communication and National Security.
From page 476...
... "No restrictions may be placed upon the conduct or reporting of federally-funded fundamental research that has not received national security classification, except as provided in applicable US statutes." The policy set out in NSDD-189 is still in force and has been reaffirmed by several senior George W Bush administration officials.4 Over the years, reports and statements from the National Academies and other organizations have strongly supported the principle set forth in NSDD-189 as essential to maintaining the vitality of fundamental research in the United States.5 Some have suggested that President Bush should reissue the directive as a signal of its continuing importance and his administration's commitment to scientific openness.
From page 477...
... While recognizing the legitimate concerns that others may take advantage of open access to information, technologies, and materials for malicious purposes, past examinations of the potential tradeoffs between openness and security have concluded that the United States is best served by focusing its efforts on protecting fewer, very-high-value areas of S&T.8 This is particularly true in fields where knowledge is advancing quickly and diffusing rapidly; otherwise, the United States may expend its efforts in attempts to control knowledge and technology that are readily available elsewhere. In addition, many of the existing and proposed lists of "sensitive" 6The CSIS Commission on Science and Security in the 21st Century identified at least 20 types of information that could be considered "sensitive" within the Department of Energy, most without consistent, departmentwide definitions or application.
From page 478...
... – Regularly review and update the lists maintained by federal agencies of information and technologies subject to controls with the goal of restricting their focus and removing controls on readily available technologies.
From page 479...
... Tie remaining categories to an explicit statutory or regulatory framework that includes procedures to request access to information and appeal decisions. "DEEMED EXPORTS": A SPECIAL CURRENT CASE The controls governed by the Export Administration Act and its implementing regulations extend to the transfer of "technology." Technology is considered "specific information necessary for the ‘development,' ‘production,' or ‘use' of a product," and providing such information to a foreign national within the United States may be considered a "deemed export" whose transfer requires an export license9 [italics added]
From page 480...
... Similar comments are expected in response to the DOD proposals. Among the recommendations that have been offered to date to address these concerns are the following: • Create a clearly defined regulatory "safe harbor" for fundamental research so that universities can have confidence that activities within the safe harbor are in compliance with security restrictions, thus permitting a focus on whatever occurred outside the safe harbor.13 • Do not change the current system of license requirements for use of export-controlled equipment in university basic research until the following steps have been implemented: – Greatly narrow the scope of controlled technologies requiring deemed-export licenses, and ensure that the list remains narrow going forward.
From page 481...
... In addition, attracting personnel requires the creation of a work environment that will enable R&D in particular to be "cutting-edge." For example, scientists working in a restricted or classified environment, especially at federal laboratories, still need to interact with the wider scientific community, including foreign visitors and collaborators, where much of the innovation most relevant to their work is taking place. In the wake of a series of scandals over alleged security lapses in the DOE nuclear-weapons complex in the late 1990s, the department imposed a number of new and 14These recommendations were made by Dan Mote, president of the University of Mary land, at a May 6, 2005, workshop at the National Academies and cited in the letter from the National Academies' presidents.
From page 482...
... • Build bridges among these communities, particularly in areas of S&T, such as the life sciences, where there is little history of working with the government on security issues.17 16National Research Council. Balancing Scientific Openness and National Security Controls at the Nuclear Weapons Laboratories.


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