Volume 1, Issue 1
SE&M Solutions LLC publishes The In-Brief to help keep government and industry leaders aware of important issues in the personnel security, suitability, Trusted Workforce 2.0, background investigations, adjudications, counterintelligence, industrial security communities.
Articles of Interest
Array and Verato Score $330M DCSA Contract
According to an article by GovCon Wire, fintech financial services provider Array US and software company Verato were awarded spots on a $330 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency for credit reporting services. Both contractors will compete for delivery orders under the potential 10-year IDIQ to support DCSA’s personnel security mission. Credit reports are critical to evaluating an individual’s reliability, responsibility, and trustworthiness. See “Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 4 – National Security Adjudicative Guidelines, Guideline F: Financial Considerations” for more information.
Military Recruiters Skipped Screenings that Prevent Extremists
An article by Military Times reveals that the department’s Office of Inspector General investigated the military’s recruiting process to determine whether the service branches were applying policies ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in April 2021 to stamp out extremism in the ranks. A Pentagon watchdog found that recruiters were not being consistent in their screenings such as skipping interview portions, questionnaires, checking out tattoos, as well as fingerprint and background checks. This could mean that extremist or gang members may have been allowed to serve in active duty. Each service branch has agreed to conduct its own periodic reviews by early 2024. Although there has been a renewed focus on this topic based on recent events, uncovering violent extremism has been part of the background investigation process for many years. See “Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 4 – National Security Adjudicative Guidelines, Guideline A: Allegiance to the United States” for more information.
Department of Defense Needs a Clear Schedule and Cost Estimate for NBIS
On the heels of an important US Government Accountability Office report, media outlets are picking up the story on the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) problems. These problems aren’t new, and plenty of people have highlighted them privately and quietly for years. Originally started on a Defense Information Systems Agency Other Transaction Authority (OTA) award in 2016, the program transferred to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) on October 1, 2020. What isn’t mentioned is the government personnel, contractors and other stakeholders have remained pretty much the same since its inception with a few notable leadership changes. DCSA Director William Lietzau touted the NBIS development approach in a 2022 NBIS Industry Conference saying “The way we’re building it is different from other DOD acquisitions. You’ve heard of Agile software – this is more than Agile software development. This is Agile programmatics, development and onboarding.” It is clear this approach hasn’t worked and isn’t working today. DoD has plenty of successful Agile software development projects, but the experiment of Agile “programmatics” and “onboarding” with NBIS have failed and need to be immediately replaced. NBIS is THE essential information technology and business process component to Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiatives. Without NBIS, full TW2.0 implementation is impossible. The system problems can be fixed, and the urgently needed capabilities can be delivered, but doing so requires highly experienced, capable, accountable and committed leadership across all the government personnel and contractors involved. Pockets of excellence exist throughout the NBIS team, but without the right leaders, the program will continue to fumble.
DCSA Becomes More Efficient by Using Continuous Vetting
DCSA Director William Lietzau shared some important milestones in the agency’s personnel security reform efforts and discussed how DCSA is moving forward with more efficient and effective processes. According to GovCon Wire, the agency is using data to perform continuous vetting at not only a more rapid pace, but at a lower cost overall. Lietzau says, “We’re using continuous vetting now and we’re finding things at a much faster pace, able to take corrective action with people who maybe shouldn’t have a clearance at a much earlier juncture — probably somewhere between 5 to 7 years earlier than we were catching them using other methods”. NBIS Is a critical part of this process.
Generative AI Poses Threat with Disinformation
Inside Defense reports that the security firm Mandiant (a Google subsidiary) sees growing use of artificial intelligence tools by cyber threat actors in areas like disinformation and slower adoption in “intrusion campaigns,” but cautions that generative AI is poised to accelerate uses in both areas. Hyper-realistic AI-generated content may have a stronger persuasive effect on target audiences than content previously fabricated without the benefit of AI technology. Generative AI has the potential of creating erroneous information that could affect individuals’ security clearances. Fake news articles, seemingly official documents, social media posts and other items relevant to the background investigation and adjudication process have the potential of impacting our cleared workforce in ways we’re not prepared to address without significant planning and training.
Cherokee Insights Secures $100M DCSA Contract
Recently release by GovCon Wire, Cherokee Insights managed to secure a $100 million contract that has a potential five years. DCSA’s contracting and procurement office in Quantico, Virginia, awarded the IDIQ contract as an 8(a) direct award and will obligate funds upon award of individual task orders under the firm-fixed-price contract. Cherokee Insights offers operational, analytical, and training platforms and services to the U.S. intelligence and special operations communities.
Upcoming Events and Conferences
Global Security Exchange (GSX) Annual Conference
9/11/2023 – 9/13/2023
Brought to you by ASIS International—the world’s largest membership organization for security management professionals—involvement in GSX directly supports the funding of scholarship for security professionals and the administration of essential industry certifications, standards, and guidelines.
2023 Fall Joint AIA/NDIA Industrial Security Committee Meeting
10/16/2023 – 10/18/2023
Loews Ventana Canyon Resort | Tucson, AZ
This bi-annual conference brings together executive-level security leadership and policymakers across the federal agencies and U.S. industry to address major government security topics warranting your attendance. Closed to media.
NCMS 2023 Virtual Fall Conference Schedule
11/1/2023 – 11/2/2023
Virtual
https://ncms-seminar.org/index.php
National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) Meeting
11/15/2023
Virtual
National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) meetings serve as a forum to discuss policy issues in dispute and recommend changes to those policies as reflected in Executive Order 12829, as amended, its implementing directives, or the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM). The meetings are open to the public.
https://www.archives.gov/isoo/oversight-groups/nisppac/committee.html
About SE&M
SE&M Solutions LLC is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) headquartered in Harrisburg, PA. We are experts in personnel security, continuous vetting, Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW2.0) policies, processes, and information technology. We offer professional services and IT support including staff augmentation, consulting, planning and implementation for clients in the federal, state, local and commercial sectors. For more information, contact SE&M at info@semsolutionsllc.com.