The Act of 5 August 2010 on the Protection of Classified Information (Dz.U. 2018 item 412, with subsequent amendments) , hereinafter referred to as "the Act" sets out the principles of protecting information, unauthorized disclosure of which would or could result in damage to the Republic of Poland or would be adverse to its interests, hereinafter reffered to as "classified information".

Classified information are appended with secrecy clause adequate to the loss which may be caused by its unauthorised disclosure. The secrecy clause may be appended by the person authorised to sign the document or if the classified information has other form) the person authorised to denote the material in question, whereby it is not allowed to arbitrarily increase or decrease the secrecy clause of the classified information.

Statutory requirements of protection related to classified information apply from the moment of commencement of such information development, throughout each stage of lifecycle of such information, irrespective of the form and manner of expression, whereby the overriding rule is the requirement of providing protection to classified information:

• adequate to the secrecy clause appended,
• with the use of appropriate security measures,
• until release or change of the secrecy clause.

Within the protection mentioned above, classified information with specific secrecy clause appended:

• must be processed in the conditions rendering its unauthorised disclosure impossible,
• may be disclosed only to persons authorised to access classified information at a specific level (in accordance with security clause appended to it), on a need-to-know basis,

whereby allowing for work or service or commissioning works related with access to classified information may occur upon completing a training in the protection of classified information, to be held as frequently as at least once in five years. Organisational units which process classified information implement appropriate measures of physical security. The scope of application of those measures depends on the level of hazards related to unauthorised access to classified information or loss of classified information. To ensure the proper level of protection for classified information classified as "secret" and "top secret", a secret chancellery is created. The director of the organisational unit informs the Military Counterintelligence Service (Służby Kontrwywiadu Wojskowego) (SKW) about creation or dissolution of a secret chancellery, indicating the secrecy clause appended to the information processed thereby. Classified information processing operations are all operations performed in relation to the classified information and thereon, in particular its creation, modification, copying, classification, gathering, storing, transferring or disclosing.

Pursuant to Article 10 (2) of the Act, as far as the protection of classified information is concerned, the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) performs tasks only in relation to:

• the Ministry of National Defence and organisational units subordinate to or supervised by the Minister of National Defence,
• defence attache’s offices in the facilities abroad,
• active service soldiers appointed to organisational units other than those specified in clauses 1 and 2

Other units, including entrepreneurs and persons governed by the Act, the tasks shall be performed by the Internal Security Agency. The above provisions do not apply to the procedures of certification of the products (means, devices and tools) intended for the protection of classified information.

Body competent for the supervision over the system of protection of classified information in the relationships of the Republic of Poland with other countries or international organisations, including the issuance of documents authorising the holder to access classified information of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the European Union or the European Space Agency is the national security authority whose role is played by the Head of the Internal Security Agency (ISA). In relation to the entities referred to in Article 10 (2) of the Act, the Head of ISA plays the role of the national security authority through the Head of SKW. In the event it is necessary to confirm to the foreign entities that Polish citizens are capable of protecting classified information of NATO, EU or ESA, the Head of ISA issues certificates in English (NATO/EU/ESA Personnel Security Clearance Certificate). Applications to issue NATO/EU/ESA PSCC for persons under statutory competences of SKW shall be submitted to the Head of ISA – through the Head of SKW – in accordance with the model form. Transfer of classified information abroad (to foreigners, foreign companies) is governed by international agreements, including bi- and multilateral agreements which cover the protection of classified information exchanged (list of agreements).

SKW organisational unit responsible for the performance of procedures in the areas of:

• personal security
• industrial security
• training referred to in Article 19 of the Act

certificate forms stating the completion of training in the scope of protection of classified information for:

• proxies for matters of protection of classified information and their deputies and persons intended for those positions,
• directors of organisational units