You have assembled your team, and now want to go to work on your classified project. Ask yourself these four questions before you begin.
Is everyone I need cleared?
This is not a simple question. Depending on the level of access needed, you may have people who might be cleared, but not cleared high enough for access to this project of yours. There are no shortcuts. Delays come when you find you need interim Top Secret or code word clearance to get going, but have not yet submitted for those clearances. Some smaller companies working classified projects for the first time might know it takes a while for clearances to be granted, but not how long upgrades take. Just as initial clearance determinations can take years, so can clearance upgrades.
Where will this work take place?
Again, there are guidelines for where you can even work on classified materials. Some, in fact, cannot be in the general workforce area. It must be in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF. You’ve provided much information to the government in order to get this contract, only bear in mind the rules for cleared access, particularly to a SCIF, are absolutely necessary to follow. Espionage cases frequently highlight how easy it was to just wander up to classified areas, talk to the workers, and retrieve otherwise denied information. In various periods of history, they’ve wandered by desks and stolen a document, seen a secret document on a computer screen and pursued the secret from there, or just asked.
How will this project be completed?
Will you rely upon your own equipment, or government issued? All of this must be determined and coordinated for. This is, for example, to preclude machines which might not have been supply chain vetted from using classified information which could be compromised by previously installed spy or malware.
What is the timeline for completing milestones, and what is expected at each milestone?
Intelligence and security information must be considered as you survey the larger picture. Why? You will need to order a threat assessment. You’ll need to insure you contact your government representatives to insure your personnel clearances are made appropriate. All of this must be done early, and with appropriate information provided. Your personnel who’ve never worked in classified material before may themselves need to be briefed on what a background investigation is all about. Depending on the type of clearance your people need, this background investigation can be quite comprehensive, not to mention ‘intense’ and personal. They’ll need to know that. Some may have to be available for a polygraph if required. They must agree before being granted a clearance.
So these are some of the reasons you need to assemble the right cleared team. If you don’t know who you should contact for guidance on such things, begin with hiring a good security manager. Hiring a full time security manager is money well spent. The reason of course is that he will be able to anticipate many of these matters for you. He’ll be able to explain personnel requirements for a cleared contract. For example, if your contract requires a SCIF, he can explain why you need a Special Security Officer, or SSO. These men are trained to know what special requirements you’ll need to run a well organized SCIF. He can explain the responsibilities of owning a SCIF, and the security measures which must be met to keep it in compliance.
Much of this might overwhelm a smaller company coming into the secret world. Smart, early moves to hire the right people who understand the language and the coordination necessary will make it understandable, and be good for business.
