Page 50 - FCW, June/July 2021

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June/July 2021 FCW.COM
Ideas
Keeping up with the
exploding demand for
security clearances
The federal government must evolve its security clearance standards and improve reciprocity between agencies
BY GERALD E. CONNOLLY
C ostly security breaches, includ- ing the SolarWinds-based attack and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware scheme, are an increasing threat to national security. The federal govern- ment’s frontline defense is a combi- nation of public-sector civil ser- vants and private-sector contractors who, together, protect both the online and brick-and-mortar assets of our
country.
The sensitive nature of our security
demands that most members of this workforce undergo a robust security clearance process to ensure they are able and willing to safeguard the coun- try and its national security information and assets.
The United States, however, is at a critical inflection point. The number of individuals with a security clearance has plummeted by 17% since 2013, igniting fierce competition between government and private-sector partners for cleared talent. Moreover, ubiquitous over-shar- ing on social media, the crazy quilt of state and local drug laws, and structural racism built into the security clearance process can make it difficult to nearly impossible to recruit and expeditiously hire the next generation of our national security workforce.
The government’s security clearance standards must evolve to reflect certain
cultural realities. With millions of data points floating in the online ether on every individual, the federal government must reconsider how it makes a fair and complete assessment of security clearance applicants. And it must adapt in ways that prepare us to tackle novel security challenges that are increasing in volume. Failure to do so leaves a gap- ing hole in our nation’s security. The stakes are high.
Struggling to fill critical jobs quickly
The need for cleared security personnel is growing. According to the Greater Washington Partnership, roughly 9% of all job postings from Baltimore to Richmond require a security clearance.
Right now, a top website for jobs that require a security clearance has posted more than 25,000 open jobs in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Most of those positions are for systems engi- neers, software developers, program analysts and network engineers.
Globally, data from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows that in 2019, roughly 2.9 million indi- viduals — government employees and private-sector contractors — held a U.S. federal security clearance. Of those individuals, 1.7 million held confiden- tial or secret clearances, and just under 1.3 million held top-secret clearances.
According to ODNI, however, nearly 1.3 million additional individuals are deter- mined to be eligible for security clear- ances by virtue of their positions, yet they do not have clearances or access to sensitive information.
At a recent roundtable discussion hosted by my Government Operations Subcommittee, 13 public- and private- sector participants highlighted how difficult it can be to fill these critical jobs quickly. Moreover, these compa- nies struggle to move their cleared employees from one contract to anoth- er because agencies are often slow to decide whether to accept a clearance approved by another agency — a pro- cess called reciprocity.
For example, Booz Allen Hamilton officials said that at any given time, they are awaiting clearance approvals for 500 individuals. The company also seeks reciprocity for 4,400 clearances annu- ally among agencies. CACI said it has more than 15,000 individuals on staff who are cleared or awaiting clearance and more than 2,500 open jobs posted that require individuals who have clear- ance. Northrop Grumman has 69,000 employees who hold security clear- ances, with 4,300 awaiting clearance before they can start working.
By comparison, NT Concepts, a smaller company with 139 employees,