Volume 1, Issue 4
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
Former Navy Chief Sentenced in Identity Theft Scam
According to Navy Times, former Navy chief Marquis A. Hooper, 32, created an online account in August 2018 with an unidentified company that runs a database containing personally identifiable information for millions of people, according to federal officials. Although the database is limited to businesses and government agencies who have shown a need to access the personal information, Hooper falsely claimed that his job with the Navy required him to conduct background checks. After opening the database account, Hooper added his wife and co-defendant, Natasha Chalk, to the account. They then stole over 9,000 people’s personally identifiable information and sold it to other individuals on the dark web for $160,000 in bitcoin.
Declining Submarine Industrial Base Continues to Plummet
War on the Rocks notes that damage to the production capacity and workforce of the submarine industrial base need repaired. The submarine industrial base continues to struggle with a lack of skilled personnel and rising costs of materials. While it is less exposed than surface-combatant manufacturers to inconsistent signals from the Navy on fleet size and acquisition priorities, there is still a divergence on planned SSN fleet numbers that needs to be addressed. Reversing the decline in the submarine industry over the long run requires a commitment to consistency and long-term planning. This will allow the private shipyards and their suppliers to make their own plans and invest in both their workforce and their facilities, avoiding the abrupt about-face that so damaged the industry in the 1990s.
Federal and Industry Personnel Security Enterprise Transitions to New NBIS eApp Investigation Process
Cleared industry and federal agencies have transitioned into the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) eApplication (eApp) for the initiation and submission of standard investigative forms, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) announced Oct. 23. Dvid announces that this transition – encompassing more than 100 Federal agencies and 11,000 companies with classified contracts – uses the new system to initiate their applicants and employees and to submit background investigative requests to DCSA. Classified contracts permit private sector companies with the possession or access to classified and controlled unclassified information to produce and provide critical technology and services for the United States Department of Defense and other federal agencies. The NBIS eApp is the replacement for the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (eQIP) functionality.
GAO Recommends DOD Assess M&A National Security Risks
Executive Gov reports that the US Government Accountability Office has found that the Department of Defense has limited insights into potential national security risks from mergers and acquisitions in the defense industrial base. In a report published Tuesday, GAO revealed that DOD’s Industrial Base Policy office assessed an average of 40 defense M&As per year in fiscal years 2018 through 2022, which represents only a small portion of the total company takeovers during the period. The agency recommended that DOD provide additional direction on assessing the full range of risks and benefits identified in its M&A policy; ensure that the Industrial Base Policy’s M&A office is adequately resourced; provide clear direction on which M&A needs to be prioritized for assessment; and require monitoring of identified risks.
Former NSA Worker Pleads Guilty for Trying to Sell US Secrets to Russia
A former National Security Agency employee from Colorado has recently pleaded guilty for to trying to sell classified information to Russia. Federal Times reports that Dalke, a 31-year-old Army veteran from Colorado Springs, had faced a possible life sentence for giving the information to an undercover FBI agent who prosecutors say Dalke believed was a Russian agent. Federal prosecutors agreed to not ask for more than about 22 years in prison for Jareh Sebastian Dalke when he is sentenced in April, but the judge will ultimately decide the punishment. According to the indictment, the information Dalke sought to give Russia included a threat assessment of the military offensive capabilities of a third, unnamed country. It also includes a description of sensitive U.S. defense capabilities, some of which relates to that same foreign country. He allegedly told the undercover agent that he had $237,000 in debts and that he decided to work with Russia because his heritage “ties back to your country.”
Department of Defense Creates First Ever National Defense Industrial Strategy
The Defense Department’s first ever national defense industrial strategy, slated for release in December, will create a roadmap for the department on how it plans to prioritize and modernize its industrial base as it learns from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The strategy — the first of its kind for DoD — was directed by the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense earlier this year to create a roadmap for how the department will modernize its industrial base. Breaking Defense states that there are four key areas the strategy focuses on: having resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisitions and a focus on economic deterrence and economic security.
Including Women in Security Missions Prevents Violence, Boosts Intel, Report Finds
Women serving in tactical peacekeeping and security operations often work better with the civilian populations they’re charged with protecting because of cultural norms, according to a report released this month. The report pointed to several areas where having women involved in decision-making and mission execution yielded better results, according to the authors. Those included preventing violence. The full article can be listened to on Military.com.
Upcoming Events and Conferences
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.