Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) offer companies a very secure way to discuss top-secret information. The rooms are usually used by government agencies, but commercial companies can benefit from installing these rooms, too, in order to protect trade secrets. Companies might already have fairly secure facilities, but a SCIF raises the bar and lowers the chances of some of those trade secrets walking away.
Meeting the Mandated Minimum Requirements
SCIFs have to be built to a particular standard, namely the requirements in a document called the Intelligence Community Directive 705, IC Technical Specification. Version 1.4 was released in September 2017. This directive lays out the most recent versions and discoveries regarding SCIF security; if your company follows this version, the SCIF should be as secure as possible given the technology available today. (And of course, if a newer version is released, you should follow the specifications in that one.) Following older requirements, or not following the 705 directive at all, will result in a room that is not nearly as secure as it should be. These directives, as they are issued, take into account new information regarding how to keep secrets safe within that room.
Ease for Visual Security
SCIFs often look a little unfinished to the untrained eye. Panels seem to be everywhere, and it's not always the trimmest, most fashionable place to be seen. That's because the construction has to be done in a way that, if anyone tampers with the room, the damage is easy to spot. These rooms are specifically constructed so that anyone using them will not be at risk of a surveillance device. Yes, it's possible for someone to invent a new surveillance device that beats all the SCIFs out there, but that is something no one can really control other than to make it look as obvious as possible if anything is damaged or added in the room.
Soundwaves and Electrical Interference
Modern rooms with modern technology have all sorts of outlets and wires running through the walls and exiting those walls. That means that there are all sorts of little crevices and openings through which sound can travel. Outlets and electrical wiring can also bring in electrical interference. SCIFs are built to seal up those openings in a manner that's sufficient to keep all verbal data protected. Wiring is also shielded to eliminate interference.
Your company could likely benefit from having a SCIF if it has trade secrets that competitors badly want. You just have to be sure that the room you build for that purpose meets all of the requirements to actually call it a SCIF and use it as such. For more information, contact experts like Allegiance Management.
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