A sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF /skɪf/), in United States military, national security/national defense and intelligence parlance, is an enclosed area within a building that is used to process sensitive compartmented information (SCI) types of classified information.
SCIFs can be either permanent or temporary and can be set up in official government buildings (such as the Situation Room in the White House), onboard ships, in private residences of officials, or in hotel rooms and other places of necessity for officials when traveling.[1] Portable SCIFs can also be quickly set up when needed during emergency situations.[2][3]
Because of the operational security (OPSEC) risk they pose, personal cell phones, smart watches, computer flash drives (aka, "thumb drives"), or any other sort of personal electronic device (PED), cameras (analog or digital) other than those that are U.S. Government property and which are used only under strict guidelines, and/or any other sort of recording or transmitting devices (analog or digital) are expressly prohibited in SCIFs.[4][5]
- ^ Rafferty, Andrew (April 7, 2017). "Here's the kind of security needed to discuss sensitive information". NBC News. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ Kelsey, Adam (January 6, 2017). "What Is a SCIF? Inside the Room Used for Intelligence Briefings". ABC News.
- ^ Choate, Trish (January 15, 2009). "Air Force planning to train hundreds yearly in cyber warfare skills". San Angelo Standard-Times.
- ^ McGrath, Jenny (October 23, 2019). "Why Can't You Bring Electronic Devices into a SCIF?". Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "ANNEX D: Part I - Portable Electronic Devices in Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities" (PDF).