really give that some thought , the answer should be severely obvious <| sep |> It is in industry . I am under several different gag orders , some potentially permanent , related to various procurements . Perhaps one of the suppliers has insisted on this step before providing the information . Federal procurement officials have been occasionally required to sign such documents in the past , particularly when it comes to selecting a winning bid , Le Bouthillier said . It appears there is a difference of opinion on whether or not it ' s unprecedented . Statements that this is unnecessary , as there are already safeguards for classified information , are a bit misleading , as the NDA ' s in question cover commercially sensitive information . I would not accept the statements of former procurement officials at face value without investigating their current employment . I think I ' ll stop offering my first hand knowledge of how procurement works , though , as it appears to be very unpopular to offer such information .