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Feith Systems & Software, Inc.
- (215) 646-8000
Declassification
Modular tools for transformational IT
The Feith Declassification Manager (FDM) streamlines an organization’s compliance with Executive Order 13526. The program automates and expedites the entire declassification procedure while ensuring that all records are adequately reviewed, thus saving time and money.
FDM ensures your agency’s compliance with declassification rules and presidential orders. The system provides a comprehensive end-to-end structure for your declassification procedure, complete with quality control measures to guarantee accuracy and completeness.
FDM lets you meet automatic declassification deadlines by tasking records declassification at 25, 50, and 75 years in accordance with your declassification guidebook, as well as allowing you to redact or downgrade records on an ad hoc basis.
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Feith Declassification Manager allows your agency to do the following
- Automatically designate declassification tasks based on the statutory timeline
- Track progress per record or collection through each stage of the process
- Generate reports to show status/progress of current open cases
- Refer decision making to partner agencies
It is my view that deficiencies in the current classification system undermine our national security, as well as critical democratic objectives, by impeding our ability to share information in a timely manner.
↳ Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines.
“Vast Troves of Classified Info Undermine National Security, Spy Chief Says”, Wall Street Journal
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Support automatic and manual declassification
The FDM modernizes and digitalizes the declassification workflow. The DoD 5015.02 Certified for Classified system includes support for electronic records, such as emails, chats, and documents from file shares or SharePoint, as well as legacy systems.
The FDM speeds up your declassification procedure by integrating with existing software and databases. The system can connect to your email server to automatically ingest emails for declassification and review. The FDM can also interface with your SharePoint environment to identify documents that need to be declassified.
Automatic
The Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information,” specifies that an automatic declassification review is necessary 25 years after classification, and 75 years if previously exempted. According to the security classification procedures, anything with a classification date prior to 25 years enters into the declassification queue.
Manual
For one-time declassification projects, users action officers create a case where stakeholders can collaborate and assign tasks to specific individuals. These workers then redact information, make notes, and exemptions in the same way as they would for an automatic declassification task.
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Key benefits of Feith Declassification Manager
Streamline Declassification
Automatically adding records to the declassification queue and assigning them to the Declassification Review Manager makes it simpler to keep track of what needs to be declassified and when.
Oversight
Provides a timeline of each record’s status through the declassification process, as well as reports on the progress of the declassification program.
Referrals & Consultations
In the case of external agency equities during the declassification review process, Feith offers the ability to refer portions of a classified document to outside entities for their concurrence prior to certifying the declassification review.
Quality Control
Ensure the safety of your material by implementing quality control measures throughout the declassification process.
Audit Trail
All system activities, including changes and updates in a document’s status or modify notifications, create audit table entries. Ensure your declassification process is defensible and accountable
Reason Codes
Reason codes are used to identify exempt information and construct an exemption index. The exemption index is built automatically by consulting reason codes for each exemption.
Redact from Browser
In the browser, redact pictures and text digitally, with a variety of functions for detecting and eradicating words or phrases automatically. Remove banner markings from declassified papers.
Automate Exemption
Automatically highlight terms that would exempt a record from Automatic Declassification based on your agency’ declassification guide.
How it works
Declassification Step 1
Declassification Step 2
Declassification Step 3
Declassification Step 4
Declassification Step 5
Declassification Step 6
Declassification Step 1
Step 1
Process Kickoff
The process starts when a Records Manager signs off on records for accession/transfers to NARA. Release package is generated after the document is authorized for accession. Declassification review of the package is now available.
Declassification Step 2
Step 2
Assigning Tasks
The Declassification Review manager is responsible for assigning declassification tasks in the application. They will assign multiple levels of review and QC as needed. In this example, 3.
Declassification Step 3
Step 3
Initial Review
The Level 1 reviewer can now view the document’s declassification requirements in their “Work to Do” list. They will read the document, make document notes with references to the declassification guide. If there is PII or CUI in the text, they will mark that, before deciding whether a Referral for external agency review is required. Finally, they’ll select to recommend Declassification of the document, or Exempt it by marking one or more reasons codes.
Declassification Step 4
Step 4
Level 2 Review
A Level 2 reviewer will read over the prior decision, reasons, and notes. They can corroborate the Level 1 decision, add or modify exemptions, or disagree with the original assessment.
Declassification Step 5
Step 5
Quality Control Review
The document is then automatically routed to a Quality Control (QC) reviewer. The QC reviewer has the ability to accept all work done by the Level 1 and 2 reviewers, or they can send it back for additional review with specific comments. After the QC Reviewer signs off, the document enters a “Ready for Certification” state, which means it is complete and can be certified by the Declassification Manager.
Declassification Step 6
Step 6
Final Review
The Declassification Manager will review all work completed on the document, and then certify that it is ready for release to NARA, suspend the package, or send it back for additional review.
The Management Dashboard provides an overview of the status of projects, including any conflicts between L1 and L2 reviewers, QC approval, completion rate, and who is working on what accession package.
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Using Feith’s DRS
Keep the right eyes on the right information
↳ Gain actionable insight via intuitive, real-time dashboards and analytics
↳ Standard & customizable audit reports, with detailed metric data
↳ Produce final PDFs suitable for publication or dissemination under subpoena
↳ Analyst review and approval workflows, with validation and verification
↳ Automatic Boolean and Bayesian document categorization
↳ Easily find typos and routinely misspelled words
↳ Search and highlight hits across all text, including in email attachments and images
↳ Batch and high-speed scanning, with automatic indexing, OCR, and de-duplication
↳ TIFF, PDF, DOC, DOCX, GIF, JPEG, EML, PPT, XLS, and more
↳ Sophisticated security access levels and permissions
↳ Universal digital content output mechanism for common format exporting
↳ Robust declassification dashboards and reporting
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NARA Accession
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is responsible for the preservation and dissemination of Federal records. NARA accepts Presidential, Legislative, and Judicial records that have permanent legal or historical value.
Package Requirements
To ensure the integrity of the classification system, NARA requires a transfer package for all accessioned or declassified records. The package must include a certification that the records have been reviewed and declassified in accordance with current executive order and procedures.
Package Deliverable
Feith’s classification system will generate a PDF or TIFF of the declassified document, with an XML metadata file, which can be exported and transferred to NARA. The system will generate a package including the certification letter, XML metadata file, PDFa or TIFF of the declassified document, and any associated exemption information. This package is now available for release by the Records Manager.