The necessity for access to, knowledge of, or possession of specific information required to carry out official duties.
The necessity for access to, knowledge of, or possession of specific information required to carry out official duties.
Usage: The compound "need-to-know" is commonly used as either an adjective or a noun.
Tutorial: The need-to-know criterion is used in security procedures that require a custodian of sensitive information, prior to disclosing the information to someone else, to establish that the intended recipient has proper authorization to access the information.