Researchers from non-profit think tank RAND Corporation have recommended that policymakers increase the use of technology in managing sensitive government information by mandating technological innovation in the field.
James Bruce, Sina Beaghley and W. George Jameson said in a report titled “Secrecy in U.S. National Security: Why a Paradigm Shift is Needed†that modern technologies can substantially enhance the secrecy framework employed by the U.S government.
Cutting-edge technology can be used “to support enhanced classification, secrecy protection and greater transparency,†the researchers stated in the recently-released study.
The authors noted, however, that funding and other incentives have been lacking, resulting in government technology falling behind and failing altogether, as in the cases of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning leaking sensitive government information to the internet.
Without the necessary advancements, technology can be “a source of harm if technological weaknesses enable foreign plundering of U.S. vaults of priceless information,†the researchers warned.