In matters concerning intelligence, whether public or private sector, compartmentalization is the limiting of access to information to persons who have a need to know it in order to perform certain tasks.
The basis for compartmentalization is the idea that, if fewer people know the details of a mission or task, the risk or likelihood that such information could be compromised or fall into the hands of the opposition is decreased. Hence, varying levels of clearance within organizations exist. Yet, even if someone has the highest clearance, certain "eyes only" information may still be restricted to certain operators, even of lower rank. In intelligence administration, officials believe that it is useful to keep a close watch on "sources and methods" information[1] to prevent disclosure of the activities and people whose lives they believe to be at risk if such information were to be publicly disclosed or fall into the hands of the opposition.
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