Which of the following are components of the High Tier?

• A. High risk public trust; Critical-sensitive; Special-sensitive; Top Secret; SCI; 'Q' access.
• B. Top Secret; SCI; 'Q' access; Low risk.
• C. Moderate risk public trust; Noncritical-sensitive moderate risk; Secret / Confidential.
• D. Low risk public trust; Credentialling; HSPD-12.

Answer: (A)

High Tier covers the most sensitive and high-risk roles, demanding the strongest clearances and access controls. It includes high-risk public trust positions and information that is critically sensitive or specially sensitive, plus the top levels of clearance and compartmented access. Specifically, Top Secret clearance is the baseline for the highest information, SCI provides access to Sensitive Compartmented Information, and ‘Q’ access refers to the highest nuclear-related clearance. All of these together define the most stringent adjudication requirements because compromising them would have the greatest impact on national security and public safety.

Other options mix in lower risk categories or omit the highest clearances, which means they belong to lower tiers rather than High Tier.