JPAS to DISS, eQIP to eAPP, OPM to DoD – having trouble keeping up with the rapid pace of change surrounding personnel and industrial security? You’re not alone. Security clearance reform efforts in the past several years have led to waves of change surrounding security clearance policy and technology. How do you keep up?
One of the best ways to stay up-to-date with the personnel security process is to get updates and insights directly from the government representatives themselves. The upcoming National Security Institute IMPACT seminar gives security professionals one chance to do just that. Speakers include Dan Payne, Director of the Defense Security Service, Charles Phalen, Director of the National Background Investigations Bureau, and William Evanina, Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
Trusted Workforce 2.0 and Insider Threat Training
Over the past year, officials at OPM, ODNI and across the executive branch have been hard at work agreeing to a framework for Trusted Workforce 2.0, the government’s effort to overhaul the security clearance process from the ground up. Trusted Workforce 2.0 is focused on six areas:
- More nimble policy making.
- Vetting tied to mission needs.
- Aligned security, suitability and credentialing.
- Reduced number of investigative tiers.
- Expanded spectrum of investigative methods.
- Trusted information provider program.
In the next year, they’ll be working to create a new path forward for personnel security, including reframing the ‘whole-person’ concept and working more closely with industry to reduce lines of effort and make information available.
As the government works to update personnel security, economic espionage and nation-state threats are increasing. Monica Witt, a former defense contractor and Air Force vet, made headlines in February for proffering herself to Iranian intelligence. In January, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress, stating that Intelligence Community leaders have come to the consensus that the threats coming out of China are greater than at any other point in their career.
If you work on classified programs for the federal government, the question is not if there are nefarious actors looking to infiltrate your company and steal your information – it’s how.
3 Policy Updates You Can Expect at IMPACT
NSI’s IMPACT seminar gathers together the decision makers and leaders working to advance and improve personnel security. As the executive order to transfer the security clearance process to DoD remains in ‘any day’ mode, leaders from NBIB, the Defense Vetting Directorate, and DOHA will be on hand to provide critical updates about personnel security, insider threat training requirements, and the latest threats from nation state actors and spies.
1. OPM to DoD – What’s Next?
The most pressing question on the minds of government and industry security professionals today is – when will the executive order announcing the transfer of NBIB functions to DoD finally be released? Officials from the Vetting Risk Operations Center continue to assure security professionals that the transfer announcement is coming – and the transition will be seamless. But what will the new organization really look like, and how is DoD already taking steps toward consolidation?
2. Assessing – and Enhancing – Your Insider Threat Training Program.
Trusted Workforce 2.0 is all about adjusting personnel security to better address the insider threat. How can the government vet out the next Reality Winner or Edward Snowden? How can your personnel security program adapt to not just protecting assets from the threats on the outside, but to keeping your professionals with trusted access accountable? The people side of security is the most volatile side – but it’s the area where security professionals can have the biggest impact.
3. NISPOM, Compliance, and CUI.
A security program is more fluid today than ever before. If you’ve been using the same checklist to monitor your programs, now is the time for an update. The DSS Risk Management Framework goes beyond a template and requires agile processes to security threats. It’s not just a security issue – it’s a business development issue, particularly with proposals for security to become a fourth pillar of acquisition. Get the practical updates to policy changes from CUI to NBIS.
Perhaps more than ever before, personnel security is accelerating toward rapid change. If you don’t want your security procedures – and your company – to be left behind, it’s critically important to stay informed, up-to-date, and in the know.
It’s not too late; click here to register for the 2019 IMPACT seminar, taking place April 15-17 in Chantilly, VA.
