Volume 1, Issue 5
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
Security Clearance Cases are Taking Longer
Federal News Network reports an update on the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, which shows the fastest 90% of initial top-secret clearance investigations took an average of 115 days in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. That’s a marked increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, when the average was 84 days. The numbers represent investigations done by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, which conducts the vast majority of clearance investigations across government.
Trial for Former Soldier Selling Intelligence Secrets Pushed to 2025
An article by Stripes states that the trial of a former Army sergeant charged with trying to sell secrets to the Chinese won’t start until January 2025, a federal judge in Seattle has ruled. Joseph David Schmidt, 29, who had been a team leader in the human intelligence section of the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, was due to stand trial next year. An FBI report in support of the indictment alleged that after leaving the Army in 2020, Schmidt spent much of the next three years attempting to convince Chinese agents in Istanbul, Hong Kong, and Beijing that he could turn over significant materials on American forces and strategy in the region. He also sought employment or affiliation with the Chinese as a self-described expert on espionage and interrogation.
Mental Health Won’t Cost You Your Clearance
Military leaders have insisted for years that troops who need mental health care can receive care that they need without having negative consequences to their clearances. However, despite this, troops still fear what could happen if they were to seek care. Military Times reports that they obtained data from the United States Department of Defense which shows that troops lose or are denied a security clearance due to psychological issues at a low rate, and far less often than other disqualifying categories. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), the body in charge of assessing candidates and processing clearances throughout the DOD, has 13 guidelines that can lead to a service member having their clearance denied or revoked. Troops can lose or be denied a security clearance for either one of the 13 disqualifying guidelines, or for a combination of them. Of the nearly 5.4 million security clearances that DCSA has adjudicated since 2012, just 1.8% involved psychological conditions, according to the agency.
Play Your Aces: A Security Clearance Master Class to Boost Your Post-Military Career
This podcast by Military.com discusses the military transition from military to workforce. Whether your security clearance has lapsed, or you are job seeking and trying to leverage your experience to a higher salary, this podcast covers how veterans can shift to a new career.
New Bill Could Alert the Hill When Senior Officials Lose Clearances
House Republicans are moving to require the State Department to alert the Hill if senior officials lose their security clearance — a response to misleading statements by the agency about an investigation into a top diplomat. This comes as a response to Iran envoy Rob Malley’s security clearance had been suspended and that he was being investigated for his handling of classified material. For two months before the news broke in the press, State Department officials had told lawmakers Malley was stepping back from some of his duties for personal reasons. The bill — which was viewed by POLITICO ahead of its public announcement — would require State to notify House Foreign Affairs and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee within 15 days of a clearance’s suspension or revocation, and to brief the committees within 30 days.
Government Accountability Office Finds Lack of Information on Mergers and Acquisitions
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. ExecutiveGov reports that 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.
Why Declassifying Information About Space is “Easier Said Than Done”
Air & Space Forces Magazine reports that an ongoing push to lower the classification levels of military space programs is “easier said than done,” due to a tangle of overlapping policies and laws, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said at a virtual fireside chat with the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). For several years, lawmakers and top military leadership have said that overclassification makes it more difficult for the public to understand what the Space Force does, for Guardians to work with other services and partner militaries, and for the U.S. military overall to deter adversaries in space.
How One Sailor’s Suicide Has Sparked Change in Suicide Prevention
Pilot Online describes how a U.S. Navy sailor’s suicide is sparking change within the military community. Kody Decker is one of many sailor suicides, which have increased by 14.5% from 2021 to 2022. In May 2022, the Department of Defense established the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. The committee was comprised of 10 subject matter experts and military veterans, who explored how to prevent suicide among service members. Improving communication across generations is key for the Department of Defense to prevent suicide, the report says. It suggests Navy leaders move away from the “do as I say or else” style of leadership.
China and Russia Invited to Nuclear Weapons Test Site
Recently the Biden administration has quietly invited Russia and China to send observers to upcoming nuclear weapons-related tests at the U.S. Nevada Test Site. The Hill reports that while Russia and China hide their nuclear budgets, sites and activities from the world, the United States already provides far more transparency – albeit still with a tight grip on access to sensitive areas and information. Information about the Nevada test site, including a virtual tour of non-sensitive areas, is available online. Washington publishes information about its stockpile stewardship program and subcritical experiments, publicly forecasting two experiments for fiscal year 2024.
Data Privacy Concerns Rise Amid Talks on AI Legislation
In order to pass comprehensive guardrails for artificial intelligence, Congress must first approve a federal data privacy law – a goal that has been eluding lawmakers for many years. That was the bottom-line takeaway from a House Energy and Commerce Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill reports MeriTalk. Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said that “Without a data privacy and security standard that dictates the rules for how companies can collect, process, store, or transfer information, bad actors may have unfettered access to use and exploit our most sensitive information.” There are now 13 states in the last year who have adopted data privacy legislation, but our country as a whole is behind the curve.
Hypersonic Weapons Are a Main Priority for Department of Defense
Hypersonic weapons can travel at five to 25 times the speed of sound. Generally, the term refers to a specific class of missiles, which includes hypersonic glide vehicles, hypersonic cruise missiles and ballistic missiles says GovCon Wire. Under Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Heidi Shyu recently articulated the Department of Defense’s motivation to develop hypersonic weapons and keep pace with the country’s adversaries and preserve national security. “Hypersonic weapons are the next generation of game-changing weapons. They are fast, maneuverable, and can deliver devastating payloads. China and Russia have already invested heavily in hypersonic weapons, and we need to do the same to maintain our technological edge,” says Shyu.
How Open-Source Intelligence Works into Investigations
Modern investigations into today’s most sophisticated criminal activity involve a variety of tactics, including the analysis of both physical and digital evidence. With so much more organized crime being coordinated online, open-source intelligence (OSINT) has become a critical element of the investigative process. And with so much publicly available information online to work through, it’s important to help a broader range of professionals understand where OSINT fits into the investigative workflow. This article by ASIS International describes OSINT and how it fits into the investigative process.
Upcoming Events and Conferences
8th Annual Insider Threat 2024 Summit
03/27/2024 – 03/28/2024
Monterey Marriott, Monterey CA
The focus of ITS is to discuss personnel security issues including cyber security challenges and capabilities, continuous evaluation of privileged identities, and ethical physical security considerations. A heightened awareness of insider threats from numerous newsworthy attacks and unauthorized leaks has brought us together for one main purpose: To better understand security challenges in order to better defend against insider threats.
https://www.insiderthreatsummit.com
60th Annual NCMS Annual Training Seminar
06/11/2024 – 06/13/2024
The Gaylord Opry, Nashville, TN
NCMS is bringing together subject matter experts from across government and industrial security to provide dynamic updates and training on the security issues everyone is talking about. Industrial Security changes daily and this coming year will be no exception. New policies, requirements and databases have been and will continue to be released and it is our responsibility to ensure compliance. This training will provide a wide base of thought-provoking subjects to provide the knowledge needed to ensure compliance, sharpen security skills, and strengthen company’s overall security posture.
https://ncms-seminar.org/attendee_registration.php
Global Security Exchange (GSX)
09/23/2024 – 09/25/2024
ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER ORLANDO, FL
You’ve seen it firsthand. Security threats are evolving and becoming more complex. Elevate your knowledge and technical capabilities at GSX to rise up against this shifting landscape. Access expert-led education covering critical physical and cybersecurity topics. Discover state-of-the-art innovations, products, and trends transforming security. Find inspiration in keynotes from next-level thought leaders and world-class speakers. Go where the entire global security community converges to connect, collaborate, and meet tomorrow’s challenges head on.
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.