Security Executive Blog

Having a Facility Clearance (FCL) makes a business attractive, but that desire does not provide the needed justification for obtaining a security clearance. The FCL is strictly contract based and demonstrates an enterprise’s trustworthiness. A company is eligible for a facility security clearance after the award of a classified contract. The FCL is a result of a lengthy investigation and the subsequent government’s determination that a company is eligible to have access to classified information. A company can bid on a classified contract without possessing a facility clearance, but is sponsored for a clearance after the contract is awarded. The interested company cannot simply request its own FCL, but must be sponsored by the Government Contracting Activity (GCA) or a prime contractor. Once the need to conduct classified work is determined, the next requirements are administrative. The company has to submit proof that they are structured and a legal entity under the laws of th...

The FSO designs a policy to maintain strict control over classified material. The NISPOM requires control of classified information at the TOP SECRET level. However, all material entering the facility, produced, reproduced or entering the facility in any fashion should be brought into possession for control, audit and inventory purposes. The NISPOM does address the cleared contractor responsibility of maintaining an information management system to protect and control classified information. This control and accountability facilitates visibility of the classified material and allows for preventative measures against unauthorized disclosure or identification of security violations. Once the material is received and the delivery inspected against the receipt, the FSO or security specialist can input the information into the information management system or in other words, a retrievable database. This database can be something as simple as logging the information into a notebook or...

Presidential Executive Orders established the National Industrial Security Program to provide cleared contractors guidance on protecting classified information. After all, the government has an obligation to protect what it owns, directs or controls. In this case, classified contracts and all associated classified information. The National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) was developed to instruct cleared employees on how to request and maintain clearances, process and protect classified information and much more. Though the Facility Security Officer (FSO) implements and directs a security program to protect classified information, many of the functions of NISPOM are not executed by the FSO. If the NISPOM applies to all, why not make it available to all? For example, it is the cleared employee who performs the classified work such as marking, wrapping, writing contracts, reading, assembling or deriving classified information or other functions of working wi...