Re: USG to automate security clearance reviews

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Lauren Weinstein [lauren () vortex com]
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 8:28 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Re: [IP] USG to automate security clearance reviews

Dave,

How handy.  The next time a "bad apple" slips through the clearance
process and causes a whirlwind of negative publicity, there may not
even be a human to blame.  Just whip out the old tried-and-true
"software problems" excuse!  I guess that blaming individuals who
fail their responsibilities is one of those nasty "inefficiences"
that Johnson is talking about, eh?

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
   - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com

 - - -

> ________________________________________
> From: Richard Forno [rforno () infowarrior org]
> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 7:57 PM
> To: Infowarrior List
> Cc: David Farber
> Subject: USG to automate security clearance reviews
>
> This should be....interesting to watch develop.  -rf
>
>
> Government to automate security clearance reviews
> By STEPHEN LOSEY
> May 01, 2008
> http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3507324
>
> Bush administration officials want to have a plan in place to automate most
> aspects of the security clearance process by the time a new administration
> arrives.
>
> The plan, announced today, calls for a system that will accept online
> clearance applications, perform automated records checks, approve or deny
> some clearances using automated tools, and use automation to find red flags
> in applicants¹ background files and better target where field investigators
> focus their attention, Clay Johnson, deputy director for management at the
> Office of Management and Budget, said today.
>
> But details on how and when this new system will be in place ‹ and how much
> it will cost ‹ is still unknown. Johnson said he and other officials at the
> White House, the Office of Personnel Management, Defense Department and the
> Office of the Director of National Intelligence will release a series of
> reports this year with more information.
>
> Johnson said a big part of the plan is that computers will be regularly
> checking government and commercial databases to review relevant criminal,
> financial and other records of people who hold security clearances. Data on
> people holding top secret clearances will be reviewed every year and people
> holding secret clearances will be reviewed every five years. Top secret
> reinvestigations are now conducted every five years and secret
> reinvestigations are conducted about every 10 years.
>
> Johnson said he hopes the new system will enable field investigators to
> spend their time investigating only those leads that have not been resolved
> through automation. Investigators now investigate all aspects of an
> applicant¹s background, which Johnson said is inefficient.
>
> ³We¹ve been making determinations the same way for 50 years, and it¹s time
> to change the way we do it,² Johnson said.
>
>
>
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