NDA

NDA is an acronym for Non Disclosure Agreement. This is a standard in some legal circles, and other industries. A NDA is a legally-binding contract between you and another party.

Different industries imposes different NDA TaC (Terms and Conditions). In all cases, once you've signed a NDA, you're not allowed to talk about it, nor can you deny or confirm the existence of the NDA.

For example, in the military, generally, you're not allowed to talk about the work you do, if what you're doing is hush-hush. If you're working in Area 51, for example, you cannot confirm or deny the existence of aliens, or working on them, or for them.

If you're working, for example, for the CPIB, you're not allowed to talk about which companies you might be investigating.

In the IT industry, if you're developing software for a vendor, you're not allowed to talk about it either.

In the educational industry, you're not allowed to talk about the examinations you may have developed or the examinations you may have taken.

Some TaCs include, “clause x.x.x.x survives the termination of this contract.” And clause x.x.x.x might just be the condition that says you're not allowed to talk about any part of the NDA or the work you do.

General consequences of violating the NDA, may include expulsion from further participation in the work that resulted in the NDA in the first place. For the educational industry, this may mean you're barred from taking the examination, for other industries, this may result in you from being employed in the same industry again.

NDAs are a necessary evil to prevent leakage of information. Boy, I just love NDAs.

Embarrassing situations

A friend: “What are you working on?”
Me: “Uh, something.” (Thought: I can't tell you because I signed a NDA)

Spouse 1: “What are you working on? Why do you come back so late?”
Spouse 2: “Uh, overtime work.” (Thought: Man, I got a NDA and I can't tell)
Spouse 1: “You're having an affair, aren't you?”
Spouse 2: “...”

Man, NDAs are fun!