Quickly on the heels of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) announcement that all security clearance holders are now under continuous vetting (CV), many individuals are asking what that CV enrollment means for transferring between jobs or leaving government service altogether.
One question includes what happens to CV enrollment when one leaves their security clearance job – will the government keep them in the same databases or will they remain enrolled? The short answer is no – CV enrollment ends when one leaves government service. Just as clearance eligibility is indicated in the Defense Information System for Security (DISS), when one leaves government service their status in CV will also be noted.
There has been discussion from some individuals asking if they can opt into remaining in CV – creating something like a national security or intelligence community ready reserve, with civilians eager to swap back into a cleared role when the position is right. That is just one option that may be enabled by the technological advancements being made by DCSA. The agency is well underway with their effort to transition from legacy systems to the National Background Investigation System (NBIS).
The other common question is whether or not social media is included in the current CV program. While pilots of social media monitoring have occurred and the policy allows for it, it remains to be seen if social media is truly an effective tool in finding adverse information related to the adjudicative guidelines. Current CV primarily consists of criminal and financial checks through three key databases. When Trusted Workforce 1.25 graduates into 1.5, 7 databases will be a part of the program. Social media would likely be layered on sometime later – and would still only likely include publicly available information.
The Government Isn’t Watching You
If you’re worried about the government keeping you in a major database after you leave government service, you don’t need to be. The CV program shouldn’t hold any surprises – and all of the information that would come up are things that a security clearance holder should already be self-reporting.
