Publishing content online
It is important to work in the open when possible. Check what this means in Defence, including what you can and cannot publish online.
Do
- Publish only OFFICIAL information online
- Check there are no sensitive details, even in OFFICIAL information
- Ask someone in security or a senior stakeholder, if you are unsure
Don’t
- Do not publish sensitive, SECRET or TOP SECRET information online
- Do not publish anyone's personal details, including named email addresses
- Do not publish any details of software or tools that can help unauthorised users get access
Working in the open in Defence
To help deliver good digital services quickly, we need to share things that can be reused. This relies on you working in the open when there is a need or when you can.
Before publishing anything online, you must consider what is safe to share openly.
For example, we only include OFFICIAL information in this manual. It is published online so that everyone can use it, including Defence partners and other government departments.
Keep information secure and people safe
There are individuals and groups around the world looking to find and exploit information about Defence. If you publish the smallest piece of sensitive information online, you could put military personnel and citizens at risk.
Sometimes OFFICIAL information includes details that are too sensitive to publish. This kind of information is usually, but not always, labelled as OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE.
Find out more about labelling information.
Use a general email address
Do not publish anyone’s personal data, including their Defence or personal email addresses.
If you need to publish an email address for users to contact you, create a general email address like service-manual@digital.mod.uk.
You can check what personal data includes (opens in a new tab).
Published July 2023