FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Cleared Star Wars. Contributor David Brown reports, “Clearance Jobs can show you the jobs, and can give you solid pointers on how to build a resume and write a cover letter. We can help you transition from one career to another, and how to prepare for a job interview. But once you get that call from an employer, you go into the interview alone. What will you find there? As Yoda might say: Only what you take with you.”
Real I.D. required. Contributor Charles Simmins reports, “A driver’s license is the most common form of identification used by residents of the United States. That said, each state and territory issues its own version, with its own requirements for application and approval. The 9/11 Commission saw this as a security issue. In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act in response to the Commission’s concerns. In an Oct. 12 piece, Federal News Radio reported that the final deadlines and implementations of the Act are fast approaching.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Trouble in Tunisia. Carnegie contributor Georges Fahmi and Hamza Meddeb report, “While Tunisia is the only Arab country undergoing a successful democratic transition as of 2015, it has also been home to a growing Salafi-jihadi movement since the fall of former president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. Ben Ali’s monopolization of the religious sphere and neglect of socioeconomic issues opened the door to radicalization, and these factors, combined with the disillusionment of the youth and the mishandling of Salafists after the revolution, have resulted in escalating violence in Tunisia and the export of jihadists to Syria, Iraq, and Libya.”
Iran dealing. Reuters’ Louis Charbonneau reports, “The United States approved conditional sanctions waivers for Iran on Sunday, though it cautioned they would not take effect until Tehran has curbed its nuclear program as required under a historic nuclear deal reached in Vienna on July 14. . . . Sunday was ‘adoption day’ for the deal, which came 90 days after the U.N. Security Council endorsed the agreement reached by Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China under which most sanctions on Iran would be lifted in exchange for limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities.” See also, “How the Iran deal might change the Middle East.”
Office of Domestic Terror. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “The Justice Department said this week that it has created a new office which would on homegrown extremists. Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin announced the move on Wednesday in a talk at a terrorism seminar at George Washington University. He said the new office, the Domestic Terrorism Counsel, will be the main point of contact for federal prosecutors working on domestic terrorism cases.”
Drone, Turkey, shoot. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “Battlefield commanders in Ukraine are familiar with these surveillance drones — Moscow is widely believed to operate at least 16 types in theater — and how Russian-backed forces use them to call in artillery. Some Ukrainian fighters have said they can anticipate incoming fire within 10 minutes of spotting a Russian drone overhead.”
Sanafi al-Nasr dead. Defense Media Activity reports, “An Oct. 15 coalition airstrike in northwest Syria killed Abdul Mohsen Adballah Ibrahim al Charekh, also known as Sanafi al-Nasr, a Saudi national and the highest ranking leader of the network of veteran al-Qaida operatives sometimes called the ‘Khorasan Group,’ according to a Defense Department statement . . . .”
Shindand District under attack. Khaama Press reports, “Heavy clashes have been erupting between security forces and Taliban militants in Shindand District of western Herat province. A source who did not want to be identified said that Taliban have stormed the district center and trying to reach to the governor’s house and police HQ.”
CONTRACT WATCH
LCS minehunter: under review. Defense News’ Christopher P. Cavas reports, “Reacting to renewed concerns from Congress and a highly critical memo from the Pentagon’s top weapons tester, the US Navy has set up an independent review panel to look at the minehunting system in development for the littoral combat ship (LCS). The panel, according to the Navy, will concentrate on the system’s reliability issues and explore possible alternatives.”
Bridge contract overpays. Government Executive’s Charles S. Clark reports, “Temporary extensions of contracts without competitive bids, a common practice at many large agencies, may waste money and misallocate staff time if the government doesn’t come up with a precise definition for the process . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Drone war. The Intercept contributor Jeremy Scahill reports, “From his first days as commander in chief, the drone has been President Barack Obama’s weapon of choice, used by the military and the CIA to hunt down and kill the people his administration has deemed — through secretive processes, without indictment or trial — worthy of execution. There has been intense focus on the technology of remote killing, but that often serves as a surrogate for what should be a broader examination of the state’s power over life and death.” See also, “What The Intercept Found in ‘The Drone Papers’” and “Drone Strikes Never Kill ‘Humans.’”
Cybersecurity State. AP’s Ken Dilanian reports, “The State Department’s compliance with federal cybersecurity standards was below average when Clinton took over but grew worse in each year of her tenure, according to an annual report card compiled by the White House based on audits by agency watchdogs. Network security continued to slip after Kerry replaced Clinton in February 2013 . . . .”
Air gaps and OPM cybersecurity. Nextgov’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “A system separated from the Internet, like those that safeguard classified military data, is not practical for security clearance data, an Office of Personnel Management official said . . . . a federal human resources department mandated to share information inside and outside government cannot isolate databases from the Internet, says Jeff Wagner, director of security operations, at OPM, the agency responsible for the hacked records.”
Hacking Brennan. New York Post’s Philip Messing, Jamie Schram and Bruce Golding report, “CIA Director John Brennan’s private account held sensitive files — including his 47-page application for top-secret security clearance . . . . Other e-mails stored in Brennan’s non-government account contained the Social Security numbers and personal information of more than a dozen top American intelligence officials, as well as a government letter about the use of “harsh interrogation techniques” on terrorism suspects . . . .” See also, “High school student claims to have hacked CIA director’s private AOL email.”
The Dark Web primer. Nextgov’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “The online black market traffics in data, drugs and computer viruses, along with other illicit goods and services that contribute to an estimated more than $500 billion in cyber theft annually. But take some comfort in knowing there are ways to cut the chances of ID thieves, terrorists or spies hurting anyone with your personal data.”
NSA’s entrepreneurs. The Baltimore Sun’s Ian Duncan reports, “High-profile hacking incidents, such as the attacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment, the health insurer Anthem and Target have helped fuel the demand for people who can protect computer networks. Intelligence officials say the analysts, engineers and technologists hired after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, expect to move from employer to employer over the course of their careers, taking their skills to the highest — or most interesting — bidder.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
We mean it this time. “The Republican head of the congressional investigation into the Benghazi attack said on Sunday he is not targeting Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and such talk hurts the inquiry. . . . But the committee’s chairman, U.S. Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, said on Sunday he is focused on finding out what security failures led to the incident – not on Clinton.”
Party over? “The Tea Party is dead. Long live the Tea Party. After the 2014 midterm elections, conventional wisdom held that the grassroots conservative activist fervor that gripped the Republican Party during President Obama’s first term had dissipated. Republicans won control of the Senate after incumbents and many leadership-backed candidates defeated more conservative primary challengers. It was a victory for the dreaded party establishment.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“The three gravest threats facing our world.” Reuters contributor John Lloyd argues, “We have not had, for nearly three decades, an existential threat held insistently over our heads. Now, even as the luckier of us live in what most of our grandparents would have seen as luxury, we have several. To live beyond these threats rather than die en masse because of them will take much more focus than we have wished to muster.”
“Where new cooperation could lead.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editor Marshall Ingwerson argues, “One of the ironies of our time is that the people of Iran are among the most pro-American in the greater Middle East.”
“Why Containment Won’t Work Against Putin’s Russia.” Defense One contributor Brian Whitmore argues, “The thing about a crime syndicate is that it needs a legitimate economy to feed off of. And denying Putin & Co. this would go a long way toward containing them.”
“Problems with best practices.” Fast Company contributor Shane Snow argues, “By definition, breakthroughs happen not when you follow conventions but when you break them.”
