Declassification

The determination that particular classified information no longer requires protection against unauthorized disclosure in the interest of national security. Such determination shall be by specific action or automatically after the lapse of a requisite period of time or the occurrence of a specified event. If such determination is by specific action, the material shall be so marked with the new designation. The process of moving a resource into a lower classification level once its value no longer justifies the security protections provided by a higher level of classification.