If you work at or for the Homeland Security Department, you’re under strict rules to keep data under wraps. The department today issued three regulations that take effect immediately to prevent release of information it deems sensitive. The department issued the interim final rules without the normal comment period because, as the documents signed by secretary Tom Ridge said, typical notice and comment procedures were “impracticable, unnecessary and contrary to the public interest.” The first regulation, dealing with classified national security information, sets up the department’s rules for designating information as top secret, secret and confidential. It generally is similar to other agencies’ classification rules, according to a notice in The Federal Register. Full Story