Protection of Classified Information

The Romanian Intelligence Service through its General Directorate for Internal Security ensures a broad coordination of activities and the control of protection measures for classified information that is handled by public authorities and institutions, by economic operators with full or partial state capital, and by other legal persons under public or private law, for whom our service is the Designated Security Authority.

Our main tasks derive from Law no. 182/2002 regarding the protection of classified information and its subsequent acts that deal with the following components: “security checks”, “control”, “the evaluation of the Program Meant to Prevent the Leakage of Classified Information/ PPSIC”, “industrial security”, and “specialized assistance”.

No individual has the right to access classified information without prior authorization to do so, according to the law. Access to state secret data is given after SRI has accomplished certain security checks meant to identify those who through their actions or inactions may endanger the security of state secret information, with a view to prevent their access to such information.

Our responsibility in this field includes both monitoring and control. Therefore, those officers that are acting as investigating officers verify the way in which the entities that are handling classified information obey the legal provisions. The investigating officers evaluate the efficiency of the actual protection measures, and they identify potential vulnerabilities in the protective system.

Each entity that holds classified information shall take all the necessary measures to protect it, while the PPSIC Program represents the protective measures guide of each entity that is handling such information. We are the ones who assess the adequacy of those measures included in the Program with a view to issue the expert opinion.

Moreover, the positive expert opinions issued by SRI allowing for further classified contractual relations in fields of interest that are critical to the Romanian state, are essentially guarantees of reliability issued responsibly in the wake of thorough analyses.

In line with our specific tasks, we offer specialized assistance on classified information protection. We all need guiding, and in such a sensitive field as that of secrets, no one is infallible, least of all those who handle classified information. Via our specialized structure we stand by them. It is their duty to set the classification level and to make sure the secret is kept … but it is our responsibility to advise them in making the best decisions and in correctly and most adequately implementing all protective measures. Where vulnerabilities have not been promptly remedied, we are the ones who support them in investigating the security incidents and in implementing measures meant to mitigate their negative impact.

Special Mail

With respect to the coordination of classified information protection, in accordance with HG no. 1349/2002, SRI, via its public service promoted as the Special Mail service, organizes and carries out the transport of official classified and non-classified correspondence throughout Romania’s territory.

The specific tasks include: the collection, transport, distribution and protection of all correspondence containing state secret and confidential information among public authorities and public entities, economic agents with full or partial state capital, and other persons governed by the public or private law.

Starting with 2021, this service has been ensured also via the digital transfer system MES@GER (at its implementing stage). In the future, the Special Mail shall transport only that correspondence which cannot be digitalized, while the rest of the correspondence shall be transferred via MES@GER.