{"data":{"id":"us/32-cfr-236.2","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"32 CFR 236.2","heading":"Definitions.","body":"As used in this part:\nCleared defense contractor (CDC) means a private entity granted clearance by DoD to access, receive, or store classified information for the purpose of bidding for a contract or conducting activities in support of any program of DoD.\nCompromise means disclosure of information to unauthorized persons, or a violation of the security policy of a system, in which unauthorized intentional or unintentional disclosure, modification, destruction, or loss of an object, or the copying of information to unauthorized media may have occurred.\nContractor means an individual or organization outside the U.S. Government who has accepted any type of agreement or order to provide research, supplies, or services to DoD, including prime contractors and subcontractors.\nContractor attributional/proprietary information means information that identifies the contractor(s), whether directly or indirectly, by the grouping of information that can be traced back to the contractor(s) (e.g., program description, facility locations), personally identifiable information, as well as trade secrets, commercial or financial information, or other commercially sensitive information that is not customarily shared outside of the company.\nControlled Technical Information means technical information with military or space application that is subject to controls on the access, use, reproduction, modification, performance, display, release, disclosure, or dissemination. Controlled technical information would meet the criteria, if disseminated, for distribution statements B through F using the criteria set forth in DoD Instruction 5230.24, “Distribution Statements of Technical Documents,” available at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/523024p.pdf. The term does not include information that is lawfully publicly available without restrictions.\nCovered contractor information system means an unclassified information system that is owned or operated by or for a contractor and that processes, stores, or transmits covered defense information.\nCovered defense information means unclassified controlled technical information or other information (as described in the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Registry at http://www.archives.gov/cui/registry/category-list.html) that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls pursuant to and consistent with law, regulations, and Government wide policies, and is:\n(1) Marked or otherwise identified in an agreement and provided to the contractor by or on behalf of the DoD in support of the performance of the agreement; or\n(2) Collected, developed, received, transmitted, used, or stored by or on behalf of the contractor in support of the performance of the agreement.\nCyber incident means actions taken through the use of computer networks that result in a compromise or an actual or potentially adverse effect on an information system and/or the information residing therein.\nCyber incident damage assessment means a managed, coordinated process to determine the effect on defense programs, defense scientific and research projects, or defense warfighting capabilities resulting from compromise of a contractor's unclassified computer system or network.\nDefense Industrial Base (DIB) means the Department of Defense, Government, and private sector worldwide industrial complex with capabilities to perform research and development, design, produce, and maintain military weapon systems, subsystems, components, or parts to satisfy military requirements.\nDIB CS Program participant means a contractor that has met all of the eligibility requirements to participate in the voluntary DIB CS Program as set forth in this part (see § 236.7).\nForensic analysis means the practice of gathering, retaining, and analyzing computer-related data for investigative purposes in a manner that maintains the integrity of the data.\nGovernment furnished information (GFI) means information provided by the Government under the voluntary DIB CS Program including but not limited to cyber threat information and cybersecurity practices.\nInformation means any communication or representation of knowledge such as facts, data, or opinions in any medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative, or audiovisual.\nInformation system means a discrete set of information resources organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information.\nMalicious software means software or firmware intended to perform an unauthorized process that will have adverse impact on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system. This definition includes a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other code-based entity that infects a host, as well as spyware and some forms of adware.\nMedia means physical devices or writing surfaces, including but not limited to, magnetic tapes, optical disks, magnetic disks, large-scale integration memory chips, and printouts onto which covered defense information is recorded, stored, or printed within a covered contractor information system.\nOperationally critical support means supplies or services designated by the Government as critical for airlift, sealift, intermodal transportation services, or logistical support that is essential to the mobilization, deployment, or sustainment of the Armed Forces in a contingency operation.\nRapid(ly) report(ing) means within 72 hours of discovery of any cyber incident.\nTechnical Information means technical data or computer software, as those terms are defined in DFARS 252.227-7013, “Rights in Technical Data—Noncommercial Items” (48 CFR 252.227-7013). Examples of technical information include research and engineering data, engineering drawings and associated lists, specifications, standards, process sheets, manuals, technical reports, technical orders, catalog-item identifications, data sets, studies and analyses and related information, and computer software executable code and source code.\nThreat means any circumstance or event with the potential to adversely impact organization operations (including mission, functions, image, or reputation), organization assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation through an information system via unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, modification of information and/or denial of service.\nU.S. based means provisioned, maintained, or operated within the physical boundaries of the United States.\nU.S. citizen means a person born in the United States or naturalized.","path":["Title 32—National Defense","Subtitle A—Department of Defense","CHAPTER I—OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE","SUBCHAPTER M—MISCELLANEOUS","PART 236—DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DoD) DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE (DIB) CYBERSECURITY (CS) ACTIVITIES"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-32.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:25:30Z","sha256":"6be0669895470274b02c3fc829fe0e78d46271f4e73c200e5152ec6fe4892946","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/32-cfr-236.1","next":"us/32-cfr-236.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}