Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Executive Order 13587 (EO 13587) titled, Structural Reforms to Improve the Security of Classified Networks and the Responsible Sharing and Safeguarding of Classified Information, combined with corollary policies and directives led to government-wide adoption of data analytic tools and approaches designed to detect, deter and prevent insider threats. President Barrack Obama’s signing of EO 13587 in 2011 was influenced by high profile cases like, former Army soldier, Chelsea Manning’s disclosure of classified information to WikiLeaks. Interestingly, the order was enacted before Eric Snowden’s high profile information sharing activities.

While acknowledging the significance of privacy rights, legality and ethical issues associated with monitoring people’s behaviors, this paper foregrounds the constructs “unintended” and “de facto” and their place in high stakes policy implementation using a case study from a U.S. Department of Defense entity. These constructs provide a framework for discussions about broader policy themes such as myopia in implementation and the reality of assessing compliance versus effectiveness. Finally, the paper highlights strategies to address policy challenges and proposes areas for further research.