View source for Secrecy

{{Short description|Practice of hiding information}}
{{other uses}}
{{hatnote|Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see [[Covert (disambiguation)]], [[Secret (disambiguation)]], and [[Secrets (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Redirect-distinguish-for|Clandestinity|Clandestinity (Catholic canon law)||Clandestine (disambiguation){{!}}Clandestine}}
[[File:If you talk too much, this man may die.jpg|thumb|U.S. soldier at camp during [[World War II]]]]
[[File:Loose lips might sink ships.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Loose lips might sink ships]], World War II slogan]]
'''Secrecy''' is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.

Secrecy is often controversial, depending on the content or nature of the secret, the group or people keeping the secret, and the motivation for secrecy.
[[File:Premier-secret-confie-a-Venus.jpg|thumb|upright|''First secret confidence to Venus'', [[François Jouffroy]]]]
Secrecy by government entities is often decried as excessive or in promotion of poor operation;{{by whom|date=March 2015}} excessive revelation of information on individuals can conflict with virtues of [[privacy]] and [[confidentiality]]. It is often contrasted with [[Transparency (social)|social transparency]].
[[File:Un_Secret_d'en_haut.jpg|thumb|upright|''A Secret from on High (Secret d'en haut)'', [[Hippolyte Moulin]] (Hypolite Moulin), 1879]]
[[File:Burnbag Obama Biden.jpg|thumb|A [[burn bag]] and [[classified information|security classification]] stickers on a [[laptop computer|laptop]], between [[President of the United States|U.S.President]] [[Barack Obama]] and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Joe Biden]], May 1, 2011]]

Secrecy can exist in a number of different ways: encoding or [[encryption]] (where mathematical and technical strategies are used to hide messages), true secrecy (where restrictions are put upon those who take part of the message, such as through [[Classified information|government security classification]]){{Citation needed|date=April 2018}} and [[obfuscation]], where secrets are hidden in plain sight behind complex idiosyncratic language ([[jargon]]) or [[steganography]].

Another classification proposed by [[Claude Shannon]] in 1948 reads that there are three systems of secrecy within communication:<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shannon|first=C.E.|date=1946–1948|title=Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems|url=http://www.ugr.es/~aquiran/cripto/museo/shannon1949.pdf|pages=1}}</ref>
# Concealment systems, including such methods as invisible ink, concealing a message in a harmless text in a fake covering cryptogram, or other methods in which the existence of the message is concealed from the enemy.
# Privacy systems, for example, [[voice inversion]], is a special equipment required to recover the message.
# "True" secrecy systems where the meaning of the message is concealed by the cypher, code, etc. Although, its existence is not hidden. The enemy is assumed to have any special equipment necessary to intercept and record the transmitted signal.

== Sociology ==
{{Main|Sociological aspects of secrecy}}
[[Animal]]s conceal the location of their [[Burrow|den]] or [[nest]] from [[predation|predators]]. Squirrels bury nuts, hiding them, and they try to remember their locations later.<ref>{{Cite web|last=November 2018|first=Emma Bryce-Live Science Contributor 17|title=How Do Squirrels Remember Where They Buried Their Nuts?|url=https://www.livescience.com/64104-how-do-squirrels-find-buried-nuts.html|access-date=2020-06-03|website=livescience.com|date=17 November 2018|language=en}}</ref>

[[Human]]s attempt to consciously conceal aspects of themselves from others due to [[shame]], or from [[fear]] of violence, rejection, harassment, loss of [[acceptance]], or loss of [[employment]]. Humans may also attempt to conceal aspects of their own [[Self (psychology)|self]] which they are not capable of incorporating psychologically into their [[Consciousness|conscious]] being.  [[Family|Families]] sometimes maintain "[[family secret]]s", obliging family members never to discuss disagreeable issues concerning the family with outsiders or sometimes even within the family. Many "family secrets" are maintained by using a mutually agreed-upon construct (an official family story) when speaking with outside members. Agreement to maintain the secret is often coerced through "shaming" and reference to family [[honor]].  The information may even be something as trivial as a [[recipe]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
[[File:Moritz_Stifter_Das_Geheimnis_1885.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Secret'' (Das Geheimnis) by [[Moritz Stifter]], 1885]]
Secrets are sometimes kept to provide the pleasure of surprise. This includes keeping secret about a [[party#Surprise party|surprise party]], not telling [[spoiler (media)|spoiler]]s of a story, and avoiding [[exposure (magic)|exposure]] of a magic trick.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

Keeping one's [[strategy]] ''secret''{{Nbsp}}– is important in many aspects of [[game theory]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

In [[anthropology]] secret sharing is one way for people to establish traditional relations with other people.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Manderson|first1=Lenore|last2=Davis|first2=Mark|last3=Colwell|first3=Chip|last4=Ahlin|first4=Tanja|date=December 2015|title=On Secrecy, Disclosure, the Public, and the Private in Anthropology: An Introduction to Supplement 12|journal=Current Anthropology|language=en|volume=56|issue=S12|pages=S183–S190|doi=10.1086/683302|s2cid=147148098|issn=0011-3204}}</ref> A commonly used{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} narrative that describes this kind of behavior is [[Joseph Conrad]]'s short story "[[The Secret Sharer]]".{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

== Government ==
[[Government]]s often attempt to conceal information from other governments and the public. These state secrets can include [[weapon]] designs, military plans, [[diplomacy|diplomatic]] [[negotiation]] tactics, and secrets obtained illicitly from others ("[[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]]"). Most nations have some form of [[Official Secrets Act]] (the [[Espionage Act]] in the U.S.) and classify material according to the level of protection needed (hence the term "[[classified information]]"). An individual needs a [http://mdod.maryland.gov/employment/Documents/job%20seeker%20documents/Security%20Clearance%2004.18.10.pdf security clearance] for access and other protection methods, such as keeping documents in a [[safe]], are stipulated.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Public Services and Procurement Canada|date=2017-12-12|title=Chapter 5: Handling and safeguarding of classified and protected information and assets – Industrial Security Manual – Security requirements for contracting with the Government of Canada – Canada.ca|url=https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/esc-src/msi-ism/chap5-eng.html|access-date=2020-06-03|website=www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca}}</ref>

Few people dispute the desirability of keeping [[Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information]] secret, but many believe government secrecy to be excessive and too often employed for political purposes.  Many countries have laws that attempt to limit government secrecy, such as the U.S. [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] and [[sunshine law]]s. Government officials sometimes [[political leak|leak]] information they are supposed to keep secret. (''For a recent (2005) example, see [[Plame affair]].'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=- THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT: ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112shrg73178/html/CHRG-112shrg73178.htm|access-date=2020-06-03|website=www.govinfo.gov}}</ref>

Secrecy in elections is a growing issue, particularly secrecy of vote counts on computerized vote counting machines.  While voting, citizens are acting in a unique sovereign or "owner" capacity (instead of being a subject of the laws, as is true outside of elections) in selecting their government servants.  It is argued that secrecy is impermissible as against the public in the area of elections where the government gets all of its power and taxing authority.  In any event, permissible secrecy varies significantly with the context involved.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

==Corporations==
Organizations, ranging from multi-national for profit [[corporation]]s to nonprofit [[charities]], keep secrets for [https://www.ijaiem.org/volume2issue12/IJAIEM-2013-12-04-004.pdf competitive advantage], to meet legal requirements, or, in some cases, to conceal nefarious behavior.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}} New products under development, unique manufacturing techniques, or simply lists of customers are types of information protected by [[trade secret]] laws.

Research on corporate secrecy has studied the factors supporting secret organizations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Baker|first1=Wayne E.|last2=Faulkner|first2=Robert R.|date=1993|title=The Social Organization of Conspiracy: Illegal Networks in the Heavy Electrical Equipment Industry|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=58|issue=6|pages=837–860|doi=10.2307/2095954|jstor=2095954|issn=0003-1224}}</ref> In particular, scholars in economics and management have paid attention to the way firms participating in cartels work together to maintain secrecy and conceal their activities from antitrust authorities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Faulkner|first1=Robert R.|last2=Cheney|first2=Eric R.|last3=Fisher|first3=Gene A.|last4=Baker|first4=Wayne E. |date=2003 |title=Crime by Committee: Conspirators and Company Men in the Illegal Electrical Industry Cartel, 1954–1959 |journal=Criminology |language=en |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=511–554 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb00996.x|issn=1745-9125}}</ref> The diversity of the participants (in terms of age and size of the firms) influences their ability to coordinate to avoid being detected.

The [[patent]] system encourages inventors to publish information in exchange for a limited time [[monopoly]] on its use, though patent applications are initially secret. [[Secret society|Secret societies]] use secrecy as a way to attract members by creating a sense of importance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Simmel |first=Georg |date=1906 |title=The Sociology of Secrecy and of Secret Societies |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/211418 |journal=American Journal of Sociology |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=441–498 |doi=10.1086/211418 |issn=0002-9602}}</ref>

[[Shell corporation|Shell companies]] may be used to launder money from criminal activity, to finance terrorism, or to evade taxes. Registers of [[beneficial ownership]] aim at fighting corporate secrecy in that sense.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Anonymous Shell Companies Finance Insurgents, Criminals, and Dictators|url=https://www.cfr.org/report/how-anonymous-shell-companies-finance-insurgents-criminals-and-dictators|access-date=2020-06-03|website=Council on Foreign Relations|language=en}}</ref>

Other laws ''require'' organizations to keep certain information secret, such as [[medical record]]s ([[Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act|HIPAA]] in the U.S.), or [[financial report]]s that are under preparation (to limit [[insider trading]]). Europe has particularly strict laws about [[database]] privacy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Data protection in the EU|url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-protection-eu_en|access-date=2020-06-03|website=European Commission - European Commission|language=en}}</ref>

== Computing ==
[[File:Das_Geheimnis_-_Le_secret.jpg|thumb|''Das Geheimnis'' (The Secret'') (Le secret)'', [[Felix Nussbaum]]]]
{{See also|Full disclosure (computer security)|Kerckhoffs' principle|security through obscurity}}
Preservation of secrets is one of the goals of [[information security]]. Techniques used include [[physical security]] and [[cryptography]]. The latter depends on the secrecy of [https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ssl/what-is-a-cryptographic-key/ cryptographic keys]. Many believe that security technology can be more effective if it itself is not kept secret.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/1581/chapter/4|title=Read "Computers at Risk: Safe Computing in the Information Age" at NAP.edu|year=1991|doi=10.17226/1581|isbn=978-0-309-04388-5|language=en}}</ref>

[https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~dberry/COURSES/software.engr/lectures.pdf/inf_hiding.pdf Information hiding] is a design principle in much [[software engineering]]. It is considered easier to verify software reliability if one can be sure that different parts of the program can only access (and therefore depend on) a known limited amount of information.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

== Military ==
[[File:Edmund_Blair_Leighton_-_A_Stolen_interview.jpg|thumb|upright|''A Stolen Interview'', [[Edmund Blair Leighton]]]]
{{See also|Military intelligence|Born secret}}
Military secrecy is the concealing of information about martial affairs that is purposely not made available to the general public and hence to any enemy, in order to gain an advantage or to not reveal a weakness, to avoid [[embarrassment]], or to help in [[propaganda]] efforts. Most military secrets are tactical in nature, such as the strengths and weaknesses of [[weapon system]]s, [[military tactics|tactics]], training methods, plans, and the number and location of specific weapons. Some secrets involve information in broader areas, such as secure communications, [[cryptography]], intelligence operations, and cooperation with third parties.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital Open Source Intelligence and International Security: A Primer|url=https://edam.org.tr/en/digital-open-source-intelligence-and-international-security-a-primer/|access-date=2020-06-03|website=edam.org.tr|date=17 July 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[Federal government of the United States|US Government]] rights in regard to military secrecy were uphold in the [[landmark case|landmark legal case]] of ''[[United States v. Reynolds]]'', decided by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in 1953.<ref>US Supreme Court, [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/345/1/ United States v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1 (1953)], decided 8 March 1953, accessed 5 April 2023</ref>

== Views ==
Excessive secrecy is often cited<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/53109/1/MPRA_paper_53109.pdf|title=Information asymmetry and power in a surveillance society|first1=Geoffrey|last1=Lightfoot|first2=Tomasz Piotr|last2=Wisniewski|journal=Information and Organization|volume=24|issue=4|pages=214–235|year=2014|doi=10.1016/j.infoandorg.2014.09.001 }}</ref> as a source of much human conflict. One may have to [[lie]] in order to hold a secret, which might lead to [[psychology|psychological]] repercussions.{{Original research inline|date=June 2010}} The alternative, declining to answer when asked something, may suggest the answer and may therefore not always be suitable for keeping a secret. Also, the other may insist that one answer the question.{{Synthesis inline|date=June 2010}}

Nearly 2500 years ago, [[Sophocles]] wrote: 'Do nothing secretly; for Time sees and hears all things, and discloses all.'.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} [[Gautama Siddhartha]] said: "Three things cannot long stay hidden: the [[sun]], the [[moon]] and the [[truth]].".

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Ambiguity]]
* [[Banking secrecy]]
* [[Black project]]
* [[Clandestine cell system]]
* [[Classified information]]
* [[Concealment device]]
* [[Confidentiality]]
* [[Conspiracy theory]]
* [[Covert operation]]
* [[Cover-up]]
* [[Deception]]
* [[Don't ask, don't tell]]
* [[Espionage]]
* [[Freedom of information legislation]]
* [[Media transparency]]
* [[Need to know]]
* [[Open secret]]
* [[Secrecy (sociology)]]
* [[Secret passage]]
* [[Secret sharing]]
* [[Self-concealment]]
* [[Somebody else's problem]]
* [[Smuggling]]
* [[State secrets privilege]]
* ''[[Sub rosa]]''
* [[WikiLeaks]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last=Arnold|first=Jason Ross|title=Secrecy in the Sunshine Era: The Promise and Failures of U.S. Open Government Laws|publisher=University Press of Kansas|year=2014|isbn=978-0700619924|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780700619924}}* 
* {{Cite journal | last = Birchall | first = Clare | title ="''There's been too much secrecy in this City''": The false choice between secrecy and transparency in US politics | journal = Cultural Politics | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = 133–156 | doi = 10.2752/175174311X12861940861905 | date = March 2011 }}
* {{Cite journal | last = Birchall | first = Clare | title =Introduction to '''secrecy and transparency''': the politics of opacity and openness | journal = [[Theory, Culture & Society]] | volume = 28 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 7–25 | doi = 10.1177/0263276411427744 | date = December 2011 | s2cid = 145098295 }}
* {{Cite journal | last = Birchall | first = Clare | title = Transparency interrupted: secrets of the left | journal = [[Theory, Culture & Society]] | volume = 28 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 60–84 | doi = 10.1177/0263276411423040 | date = December 2011 | s2cid = 144862855 }}
* {{cite book | last = Bok | first = Sissela | title = Secrets: on the ethics of concealment and revelation | publisher = Vintage Books | location = New York | year = 1989 | isbn = 9780679724735 }}
* {{cite news | last = Canal | first = Vicente Aceituno | title = How secret is a secret? | work = ISSA Journal | url = http://www.slideshare.net/vaceituno/aceituno-canal-how-secret-is-a-secret | date = April 2006 }}
* {{cite book | last = Gidiere III | first = P. Stephen | title = The federal information manual: how the government collects, manages, and discloses information under FOIA and other statutes | publisher = [[American Bar Association]] | location = Chicago | year = 2006 | isbn = 9781590315798 }}
* {{cite journal | editor-last = Maret| editor-first = Susan | title = Government secrecy, Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, vol. 19 | journal = Research in Social Problems and Public Policy | publisher = Emerald | location = Bingley, UK | year = 2014 | issn =  0196-1152 }}
* {{cite book | last = Plunkett | first = Geoff | title = Death by mustard gas: how military secrecy and lost weapons can kill | publisher = Big Sky Publishing | location = Newport, New South Wales | year = 2014 | isbn = 9781922132918 }}
* {{cite book | last = Roberts | first = Alasdair | author-link = Alasdair Roberts (academic) | title = Blacked out: government secrecy in the information age | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | location = Cambridge New York | year = 2006 | isbn = 9780521858700 }}
* {{cite book | last = Schneier | first = Bruce | author-link = Bruce Schneier | title = Secrets and lies: digital security in a networked world | publisher = Wiley | location = Indianapolis, Indiana | year = 2004 | isbn = 9780471453802 }}
* {{cite web | title = Secrecy Legal News and Research | date=10 December 2024 | url = http://jurist.org/jurist_search.php?q=Secrecy | publisher = [[JURIST]] }}
* {{citation | last = Taylor | first = Henry | author-link = Henry Taylor (dramatist) | contribution = Sir Henry Taylor (1800-86): On secrecy | editor-last = Gross | editor-first = John J. | title = The Oxford book of essays | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford England New York | year = 1991 | isbn = 9780192141859 | postscript = . | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordbookofessa00gros }}
::Also available as: {{citation | last = Taylor | first = Henry | author-link = Henry Taylor (dramatist) | contribution = On secrecy | editor-last = Taylor | editor-first = Henry | editor-link = Henry Taylor (dramatist) | title = The statesman | pages = 128–131 | publisher = Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman | location = London | year = 1836 | oclc = 4790233 | postscript = .}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=zmwBAAAAYAAJ Preview.]

{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |title=Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are |year=2018 |publisher= Dey Street Books |isbn=978-0062390868 |author=Seth Stephens-Davidowitz}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikiquote|Secrets}}

{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary|secret|covert}}
* [http://liquidbooks.pbworks.com/w/page/39188133/Transparency%20and%20Secrecy An Open Source Collection of Readings on Secrecy]
* [https://fas.org/blog/secrecy/ Secrecy News] from the [[Federation of American Scientists]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Secrecy| ]]
[[Category:Broad-concept articles]]
[[Category:Classified information]]