Official secrets are purely confidential information, access to which has a limited number of people. People who need it in the process of professional activity, as well as those who exercise control over it, are allowed to it. Confidentiality is the prevention of disclosure or leakage of information, and this word is translated from English as “trust”. Subject to this condition, the safety of documentation and its secrecy are ensured, which helps to protect business or government agencies from the intervention of outsiders.
What is secret data? Confidential information is information protected by the laws of the Russian Federation. It can be an official, commercial or personal secret not only for a legal entity, but also for a private person. A person who has gained access to data of a similar nature is obliged, in accordance with the laws of the country, not to disclose or transfer them under any circumstances to third parties. Confidential information is not only official confidentiality, but also information that in no case can be used or transmitted if its owner has not given consent to disclosure. The exception is cases in which this information may be required by the judiciary. In such situations, as a rule, there is a clear justification dictated by the judicial and executive system of the state. All cases of the provision of confidential information are indicated in the law of the Russian Federation on civil rights.
What can constitute official secrets? In the USSR, such information was fairly well defended, and official secrets, as a rule, were reliably kept. The information had the following types of secrecy:
- state secret marked with the stamps "top secret" or "of special importance";
- official secret, which was marked with the stamp "secret";
- special information under the heading “for official use”.
Today, secret information at the workplace can be information that is a state secret, as well as derivatives of this information. Data contained and stored by local authorities and state authorities may also constitute information that is not subject to disclosure. Official secrets may include information on the subjects of civil law relations, if they are not classified as commercial secrets. In Art. 139 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, information that is an official secret may be information about adoption, about the medical diagnosis of patients, about personal contributions to banks. This may also include information on the activities of the organization, the dissemination of information about which is caused by official necessity.
Who should keep official secrets? First of all, it should be kept by those employees who work in legislative, executive and judicial authorities, employees of state authorities and enterprises subordinate to these organizations. Persons who have provided information about the confidentiality of the investigation, judicial or military secrets may be prosecuted.
What is a trade secret? It includes information on technological, industrial, scientific, technical, financial and economic activities, which is of value not only at the moment, but also in the future. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, official and commercial secrets are protected equally, although they have fundamental differences. Commercial secret for its owner is a value, the safety of which directly depends not only on profit, but also on the financial activity of the subject. Official and commercial secrets are a guarantee for the normal functioning of any constituent entities of the Federation.