Security clearances
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Concerns over missed red flags in Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis's background have thrust the federal government's security clearance program into the spotlight. But the problem is likely bigger than one company. The Office of Personnel Management — and its contractors — which accounts for 90 percent of the federal government's background investigations, has faced persistent challenges with security clearances over the years, according to the Government Accountability Office.
September 24, 2013 -
Legislators want to strengthen OPM's ability to oversee the security clearance process to thwart under-qualified candidates from obtaining and keeping security clearances.
July 22, 2013 -
Patrick McFarland, the inspector general of the Office of Personnel Management, confirmed to a Senate subcommittee Thursday that his office has been investigating USIS, the government's largest contractor for background-investigation services, since late 2011. He said at least 18 security clearance investigators have been convicted of falsifying investigations since 2007. McFarland said there may be "considerably more" fraud that hasn't been uncovered due to "alarmingly insufficient oversight" of the security-clearance process.
June 20, 2013 -
Intelligence community contractors, similar to Booz Allen, likely are reevaluating employees who have access to classified information in order to identify any questionable personnel, according to Steve Ryan, leader of government strategies practice group at McDermott, Will and Emery law firm.
June 17, 2013 -
In the wake of the NSA security leak, questions are being raised about the security clearance process for which Edward Snowden was subjected. One security clearance expert tells Federal News Radio, that while the process for granting security clearances has become more efficient over the past few years, it has not become more effective.
June 13, 2013 -
James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, said the 17-agency community is trying not to repeat lessons of past cuts that hampered analytical capabilities. Clapper also issued a new IC-wide code of ethics and made a key change to the security clearance form.
April 10, 2013 -
Evan Lesser, founder and director for ClearanceJobs.com, will discuss the state of hiring in the clear community, and how its being impacted by sequestration. March 29, 2013
March 29, 2013 -
Evan Lesser, founder and director for ClearanceJobs.com, will discuss the state of hiring in the clear community, and how its being impacted by sequestration. March 15, 2013
March 15, 2013 -
Evan Lesser, founder and director of ClearanceJobs.com, will talk about the big issues affecting federal workers with security clearances. December 14, 2012
December 14, 2012 -
The longstanding delays and backlogs with personnel security clearances were effectively addressed by the Obama administration. Initial investigations now take an average of 44 days to complete compared to 189 days in 2005. Federal News Radio speaks with Evan Lesser, founder and managing director of ClearanceJobs.com as part of the special report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years.
September 19, 2012 -
Evan Lesser, founder and director of ClearanceJobs.com, talks about how the job market is changing for federal workers with high security clearances. August 31, 2012
August 31, 2012 -
On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.
July 26, 2012 -
The federal government has issued more than 4.8 million security clearances to federal civilians, military service members and contractors. But the process for determining what positions require clearances amounts to little more than a "hodge-podge" across agencies, an official with the Government Accountability Office told Federal News Radio.
July 16, 2012 -
An inspector general report found the Environmental Protection Agency's national security information infrastructure needed improvement in light of a 2009 executive order. The report called for more comprehensive information security guidelines and better regulation of employees' security clearances.
July 09, 2012 -
The Federal Drive talks to NASA's deputy administrator about the first commercial space launch and ClearanceJobs.com's Evan Lesser about speeding up the clearance process.
May 17, 2012