DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

The postmortem study undertaken at the conclusion of any legal proceedings in espionage cases, intended to measure the impact of a particular spy, enabling the appropriate damage limitation measures to be taken. Damage assessments are usually highly classified, so as not to give further assistance to an adversary, and are completed after any appeal so no motions for discovery can be filed by the defense. In most environments such studies are unpublished, although in Great Britain some reports have been made by the Security Commission and the unclassified portions have been released. Similarly, in the United States responsibility for compiling damage assessments rests with the National Counterintelligence Executive and redacted versions are declassified for public scrutiny.