FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
ODNI’s Report on Clearance Determinations. “The year 2015 ushered in a trifecta of security clearance reductions, according to the 2015 Annual Report on Security Clearance Determinations from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). In 2015 the population of cleared, in-access professionals; those cleared but without access; and new clearances approved all saw a drop.” See also, “Federal Agencies Continue to Shed Security Clearance Holders”
Consolidating homeland cybersecurity. “Should Homeland Security’s tasking to provide the nation with cybersecurity as well as to protect critical infrastructure from digital threats be combined? The Obama administration is proposing a reorganization that could do just that. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is leading the charge for the administration on Capitol Hill. . . . Johnson told the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing that the reorganization would ‘go a long way to addressing both cyber and the protection of critical infrastructure.’”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Security at State. “FBI Director Jim Comey announced that the FBI has concluded its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and is recommending that the Department of Justice not pursue any charges. . . . However, there is one additional element worth noting. Within the more politically consequential parts of his statement, Comey takes a notable swipe at the information security culture of the State Department . . . .” (Lawfare) See also, “FBI director says Clinton shouldn’t face charges over email scandal.”
Massive holes in Fed’s antivirus software. “On Tuesday, the Homeland Security Department warned of severe security holes in all Symantec and Norton antivirus programs, including those widely used throughout the government. . . . ‘These vulnerabilities are as bad as it gets. They don’t require any user interaction, they affect the default configuration, and the software runs at the highest privilege levels possible,’ Tavis Ormandy, of Google’s Project Zero team, wrote in a company blog post June 28. The DHS U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team recommends users and system administrators fix their Symantec programs immediately.” (Nextgov)
Data management and the DCGS-A2 fight. “In the latest battle of a years-long war over what intelligence data system the Army should use, Silicon Valley firm Palantir is suing the Pentagon for locking out them out of a potentially multi-billion-dollar upgrade. Palantir makes a commercially available data management platform called Gotham it has long argued the Army refuses to use. Members of the intelligence community use it (the company was started, in part, with money from In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s investment arm), as do the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Marine Corps, and members of the special operations forces community.” (Defense One)
CONTRACT WATCH
18F under fire. “Operating like a tech startup with tactics such as agile development and user-centered design has become a hallmark in the quest to modernize federal websites, apps and databases, but now government IT vendors worry 18F, the primary digital service enabling such practices, may jeopardize lucrative contracts. At a House subcommittee hearing on June 10, lobbyists . . . alleged that 18F is hindering profits by acting as both a procurement policymaker and as a tech competitor inside the General Services Administration (GSA). The two groups assert a conflict of interest, and in testimony, have submitted a list of grievances and recommendations intended to curtail 18F’s authority.” (GovTech)
Bulk buying security software. “Continuing its insertion of category management into federal purchasing, the White House Office of Management and Budget last week instructed department and agency heads—with few exceptions—to use the bulk buying approach to providing services in identity protection and data monitoring to ward off breaches. . . . The Obama administration for some two years has been pursuing the category management techniques used in the private sector to save money by reducing the number of agency contracts.” (Government Executive)
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
UK’s Chilcot Report out today. “The long-awaited official inquiry report into Britain’s bitterly contested invasion of Iraq will finally be published today amid calls for Tony Blair to be held to account for taking the country to war. Thirteen years after British troops crossed into Iraq and seven years after the inquiry began work, Sir John Chilcot will deliver his verdict on the UK’s most controversial military engagement of the post-war era.” (The Telegraph) See also, “Chilcot Aims to Inject Caution into U.K. Military Actions,” “Britain, and Blair, Await Long-Delayed Iraq War Inquiry,” “Chilcot report: Tony Blair in focus ahead of launch” and “Iraq war report could get Tony Blair impeached—9 years after he left office.”
Next evolution of ISIS. “Deadly attacks in four countries linked to Islamic State show the limitations of U.S.-led efforts to loosen the group’s grip in Syria and Iraq, and the challenge of stopping attacks that are not only globally dispersed but very different in their choice of targets . . . . In its new guise, some analysts said, Islamic State is coming to more closely resemble al Qaeda, which has primarily focused on large-scale attacks rather than try to hold territory.” (Reuters) See also, “Middle East Terrorist Attacks Highlight Need to Pressure ISIL.”
FBI’s tough fight with terrorism. “Repeatedly since the 9/11 attacks, calls for more surveillance have been too quickly answered by politicians eager to show they are doing something, without regard for whether it actually helps or harms our security efforts. The fact is: opening the intelligence collection spigot has left the FBI and other intelligence agencies drowning in irrelevant information.” (Time) See also, “Paris attacks findings: gross intel failure, police rivalry.”
After the NATO summit . . . “Compared with the drama of the UK referendum, the Warsaw NATO Summit may turn out to be a pretty dull affair. It seems that there is now a basic agreement on all major deliverables. That includes the forward-deployed NATO force in Poland and the three Baltic States, which is to be the most visible part of NATO’s updated deterrence posture. Russia will be discussed intensely and strongly criticized, but towards the end of the Summit the leaders will most likely agree on a variation of the good old two-track policy, with immediate emphasis on deterrence but also openness to some sort of dialogue with Moscow.” (European Leadership Network)
