CII – Critical Infrastructure Information
CII is a different kind of government record. It’s information that the private owners of our nation’s infrastructure voluntarily turn over to the Department of Homeland Security, presumably so they can work with the department to help prevent terrorist attacks.
The department reasons that the companies that own chemical and power plants, telecommunications networks, pipelines, and even sports stadiums won’t share private information about their security problems without some guarantees of confidentiality. So they created this new category, which allows information submitted to become confidential as soon as it arrives at DHS.
Records designated CII are exempt from the Federal Freedom of Information Act. The private owners also get a promise that the information won’t be used against them in any regulatory proceeding or civil action.
The DHS definition of CII is information that does not have to be submitted to another federal or state agency as part of a regulatory process and information that is not already in the public domain. But it let the judgment about whether specific information meets those criteria stay with the private companies. It said it would accept CII filings in good faith.
Critics objected that CII could be used to hide records unrelated to security issues or involving vulnerabilities that exist regardless of terrorist threat.
CII was implemented by regulation in February, 2004.
A Department of Justice analysis on March 2, 2004 said the CII designation applies only to documents in the possession of the Department of Homeland Security.
