Which statement best describes the relationship between compartmentalization and need-to-know?

• A. Compartmentalization creates separate SCI compartments; need-to-know determines if a person has access within a compartment.
• B. They are the same concept.
• C. Need-to-know determines access across all compartments.
• D. Compartmentalization eliminates need-to-know.

Answer: (A)

Compartmentalization and need-to-know control access to SCI information. Compartmentalization divides information into separate SCI compartments, each acting as its own discrete container. Within a given compartment, access is governed by need-to-know: a person must have a valid need-to-know for the specific information in that compartment, in addition to any required clearance. This means you can hold the proper clearance but still be denied access if you don’t have need-to-know for that material. So the best description is that compartments create separate areas, and need-to-know decides whether someone can access information inside a specific compartment. It isn’t the same concept, and need-to-know isn’t applied across all compartments automatically, nor does compartmentalization eliminate the need-to-know.