Security Executive Blog

  I’ve recently received many emails from people who are curious about   security clearances   and working for foreign owned companies. Though the volume of those questions have increased, I guess the topic is no longer surprising in content as it could have been many years ago.   Many years ago, we might automatically assume that working for a foreign owned company would be indicative of highly questionable practices, but maybe not any longer.  Things have changed. More foreign owned companies are opening doors in the U.S. Internet opportunities open doors to employment. Working for foreign companies provides new opportunities regardless of boarders such as: investment, teleworking, and creative content services that allow artists to bid on customer jobs have made this more of a possibility.  But the questions have been pretty vague and hard to answer.  Am I allowed to work for a foreign company if I have a security clear...

  Cleared Defense Contractors use classified information during performance of contracts. The Department of Defense makes the rules and governs how the classified contractors protect classified material. The Federal Government has published a policy appropriately titled: The National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual ( NISPOM ). This page turner is sponsored by the Presidential Executive Order (E0)12829 for the protection of information classified under E.O. 12958, As Amended. Having poured over both publications and the updates, I can confidently assure you that they take this business very seriously.     When specific work declares performance objectives on classified efforts, provisions of the applicable DD Form 254 and Security Classification Guide (SCG) shall govern. Both the DD 254 and SCG spell out what specific work a contractor can and cannot perform, what exactly is classified and how to protect it. Both of these document...

A buzz is sweeping the security community since the industry has been notified of the recent updates to DoD's CUI program based on the presidential memorandum with the subject,  Designation and sharing of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) . This memorandum implements a program designed to encourage the speedy sharing of information to those authorized and to better protect the information, privacy and legal rights of Americans. The CUI program is designed to promote proper safeguarding and dissemination of unclassified information.       Many readers may be familiar with the program CUI has replaced. Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) information had enjoyed protection to a certain level but was not conducive to the necessary information sharing. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) directives provide procedures for a more appropriate Information Sharing Environment.     CUI is a designation of unclassified informati...

In the course of performing on classified defense contracts, exchange of classified information is inevitable. While, the movement of classified information outside of a secure environment is to be kept to a minimum, there are times it must be moved in fulfillment of requirements.  When movement is necessary, the party responsible for movement should determine whether or not the classified information is necessary at the gaining organization, the organization is cleared to the appropriate level, and that there is a contractual need to know. Then they should provide the classified information in the appropriate format, using the approved methods. For example, a SECRET document can be hand carried, provided on a disc, emailed, or faxed.     Once the classified information is on-site, the receiving CDC takes over. There are many reasons for transporting classified material. These include conferences, classes, engineering, services or any other environment where it is needed....

Facility Security Officers (FSOs) the security managers for cleared defense contractors, implement and direct security programs to protect classified information . As an FSO or a supporting security professional in this role, have you ever wondered how the classified information you protect gets its designation? We can find the answer in Presidential Executive Order 13292. You may have heard and read reports of how over-classification results in unnecessary costs. You might also understand from similar reports of how under-classification can lead to compromise of sensitive information. To better prevent unauthorized disclosure and ensure that classification is assigned to only that information needing protection, the President has issued special guidelines. In cases where items may be assigned an original classification, four conditions must be met:      An original classification authority (OCA) is classifying the information; Specifically, only the President a...

A few times I've had a similar conversation with a few leaders in the security industry. They had been experiencing the same reaction from their enterprize leadership and were frustrated to the point of looking for another job. Their joint frustration revolved around a lack of support for their security vision. They could not seem to get past the barriers in perception that they did much more than request and manage security clearances and facilities. This may be a common issue facing many FSOs throughout the National Industrial Security Program cleared defense contractor base.  These issues could stem from from three possible challenges facing cleared defense contractor companies. The first is that the FSO has not developed a reputation of a corporate leader with effective strategies to ensure the organization is prepared to compete, win, and maintain classified contracts. The second is the cause of the first in that that the company has grown, and the original FSO may not posses...

Check out our podcast Some security training and briefings are very discouraging for the workforce. Many times, the training is the exact same video or presentation used year after year. This podcast and article discusses ways to improve training by making it applicable based on skill level. In other words, someone who has been working on classified contracts for five years or more already understands the three levels of classified information; so why not move on. So, if you go to my website www.redbikepublishing.com , you might find training and tests that do ask those types of questions. That’s because many of my books and training products are specifically for security managers and includes certification study guides. It’s appropriate for me to ask administrative types of questions. It’s unfair to provide that type of training to the workforce.  This topic is specifically about how to make your security training more effective for your work force. There are two types of training...

Cleared Defense Contractors , employees, and government workers review classified information, but may not understand how or why the markings are applied. Sure, it's obvious that the markings do warn of the classification level and how to protect it, but the markings also show so much more. Classification markings are applied by the Original Classification Authority and provided for many reasons to include, warning of classification level, determining what is classified, the length of the classification duration, and who made the classification decision. Marking classified material is a method of warning and informing of classification level, the exact information to be protected, of downgrading and declassification instructions, reasons for classification and sources of classification, and special access, control or safeguarding requirements.  In classified documents, the classification level is applied to the front and back covers, top and bottom of pages, paragraph...