Security Executive Blog

According to the December 6, 2016 article by Scott Nicholas in Defense & National Security , t he Defense Security Service (DSS) has cleared development plans for insider-threat programs from 5,532 contractors. These have met National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) requirements, and will meet the DSS standards during the annual review. The roughly 5,500 contractor facilities translates to more than 7,700 Insider Threat Program Senior Officials (ITPSO) designated insider threat program. Additionally, these 5,532 contractors have provided Insider Threat Program (ITP) plans either in depth or as the bare minimum outlined in DSS’s sample template for an Insider Threat Program.  Below is a summary of the template with some explanation : The first part of the template demonstrates outlines the purpose, policies, and demonstrates the contractor understands the ITP requirements.  The organization identifies themselves by name and lists the respon...

Get your copy @ www.redbikepublishing.com If you are serious about advancing in your field, get ISP certified. Some are reluctant to take the test, but they just need the confidence earned through practice. Here's a way to get 440 practice questions. First, to meet minimum test requirements an applicant should have five years experience working in the NISPOM environment. If that’s you, then you are a technical expert and know the business of protecting classified information. Second, study the NISPOM and use sample questions to practice, practice, and practice. It can help you prepare for the test. Using practice tests to augment your ISP exam preparation can help. According to reader comments and emails to the author, many who have bought our book , NISPOM flashcards , and ISP Test Tips to augment their preparation have performed very well on the exam. Taking practice tests is the best way to prepare for an exam. Successful students in grade school and college study using...

In September 2016, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,  U.S. House of Representatives, 114th Congress finally released what we’ve all been waiting for, The OPM Data Breach: How the Government Jeopardized Our National Security for More than a Generation. Wow, about time. In a recent CSO Online article , The OPM breach report: A long Time Coming , Taylor Armerding summarizes congressional report and the national frustration with the entire fiasco. In fact, both report and article titles pretty much sum up how America feels about the Chinese exfiltration of personal data. If you want to know the details of the event, please read the article and report as both are fascinating.  They explain very well how this incident will impact security cleared US citizens for generations; literally. Readers in our career field (those of you reading this article) who are Facility Security Officers for cleared defense contractors, government employees, or other sec...