Security Clearances
December 23, 2007
This information about security clearances has been prepared by Beacon Group to provide you with a GENERAL framework as you make a determination to pursue a position with Beacon Group which requires you to be able to secure and maintain a US Government security clearance.
If you do not currently possess a current US Government security clearance you will need to make a determination on your own if there is anything in your background that may delay or prevent receiving a clearance. Most of our clients, upon agreeing to a candidate for placement on the project, or hire, can not wait more than a few weeks for an interim clearance to be processed. Most candidates are eligible for granting a security clearance. However, there are circumstances which can significantly delay the granting of an interim clearance. If an interim clearance is not granted quickly, candidates will not be eligible for employment for the position with Beacon Group.
The first step in obtaining a security clearance is your securing/receiving an Interim security clearance. An interim security clearance is an initial eligibility determination that is based on a review and assessment of information contained in records or systems available to the Defense Security Service (DSS) or contained in the applicant’s responses on their e-QIP application or the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF86). Occasionally, there is information from one or more of these sources that prevents DSS from granting an interim eligibility.
The following are guidelines only. They are not the formal written policy of the United States Government. These guidelines are provided to help you determine whether you should apply for a position with Beacon Group which requires a security clearance.
1. Citizens of other countries are rarely granted security clearances.
2. Individuals with dual citizenships (US and other) are rarely granted security clearances.
3. A naturalized person is treated as a citizen. However, naturalized citizens may have their interim clearance denied regardless of the length of their naturalization. A denial of an interim clearance may not reflect the government adjudicator’s final decision; but the inability to receive the interim clearance would make a candidate ineligible for employment.
4. Citizens with foreign born parents whether naturalized or not may be eligible for a final clearance but most often will not be eligible for an interim clearance. As above, the inability to receive the interim clearance would make a candidate ineligible for employment.
5. The following are some of the more common reasons for denial of clearances:
- Falsification of the clearance application will always lead to a denial.
- Conviction of a felony will always lead to a denial of clearance.
- Issues such as financial trouble, including insufficient funds, bankruptcy, and bad check writing, illegal drug or heavy alcohol use, excessive foreign contact, or unexplained affluence. These would all need to be explained and investigated thoroughly. The length of time required for the investigation can be 18 months or more.
- If an individual is (currently) an unlawful user of, or is addicted to, a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 or the Controlled Substances Act (21U.S.C. 802), they will not be granted security clearance.
- If an individual is mentally incompetent, as determined by a mental health professional approved by the Agency, they will not be granted security clearance.
- If an individual has been discharged or dismissed from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions, they will not be granted security clearance.
6. If your security clearance eligibility is Denied or Revoked, you may submit a request for investigation only if the eligibility date is older than 12 months (one year) from the current date. A person whose eligibility is denied or revoked must wait at least one year before they are eligible to reapply.
Who needs a security clearance?
Any person who desires to work for Beacon Group that requires access to a client’s restricted information more than likely will need a security clearance.
In addition to the Defense Industry, jobs in the medical, telecommunications, education and financial fields (to name a few) have an increasing number of jobs where our client’s information needs to be guarded. Therefore, Beacon Group seeks out individuals with current security clearances.
A security clearance is a valuable commodity. This is because when Beacon Group does classified work for the Federal Government, Dept. of Defense (DoD), or a national security related contract, the company must bear the cost of security clearances for employees; and clearance investigations can cost several thousands of dollars. Because of this, Beacon Group may give hiring preference to personnel with current clearances.
What is a security clearance?
Certain Beacon Group employees are required to have security clearances because their job requires them to have access to classified documents, or various other work takes place in secured facilities. The occupant of any such job is said to hold a “sensitive” position, defined as “any position, by virtue of its nature, could bring about a material adverse effect on national security”. At any given time, there are about 3 million people with security clearances. In addition, there are about 1.5 million security clearances in the hands of private contracting or consulting firms. Beacon Group participates in what is called the industrial security program administered by the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) which is part of the Joint Information Systems Technology (JIST), a military agency.
One out of every thirty Americans has some sort of security clearance. It has been estimated that one out of every thousand of these can be expected to compromise the secrets they are entrusted with. Some need money, some can be blackmailed, some are disgruntled and want revenge and some are just sloppy. American industry is a prime target for espionage as well as domestic terrorism and white collar crime.
A security clearance is technically a license issued by the head of a department, division or agency of the federal government. The type of security clearance that one can be approved for also depends upon the department, division, or agency involved. For classification purposes, the types of security clearances are:
- Confidential
- Secret
- Top Secret
- Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (SCI)
- Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)
The Confidential security clearance is the easiest to obtain. Whereas other classifications will almost always involve a background check by the Defense Investigative Service (DIS), clearance programs for a confidential classification may be operated by the agencies themselves, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Energy (DoE), the Department of State, etc.
Secret (sometimes called “Ordinary Secret”) and Top Secret classifications almost always have some amount of military involvement in the clearance process. These types of licenses are typically found in agencies like the CIA or NSA. One of the differences between Secret and Top Secret is how “expansive” the background check is, i.e., how far and deep the investigation goes into your dependents, friends and relatives.
SCI classifications are only cleared for a few people and the background investigation process as well as the continual monitoring is extremely intensive.
The amount of time it takes to receive a security clearance is usually between six to eighteen months, if all goes well.
Types of security clearances:
The scope of investigative work needed to grant a security clearance depends on the level of clearance being requested. There are three basic levels of security classification:Â
CONFIDENTIAL:
This refers to material, which, if improperly disclosed, could be reasonably expected to cause some measurable damage to the national security. The vast majority of personnel are given this very basic level of clearance. This level needs to be reinvestigated every fifteen years.*
SECRET:
The unauthorized disclosure of secret information could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security. This level is reinvestigated every ten years.*
TOP SECRET:
Individuals with this clearance have access to information or material that could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security if it was released without authorization. This level needs to be reinvestigated every five years.*
*Reinvestigations are more important than the original investigation because those individuals who have held clearances longer are more likely to be working with increasingly critical information.
Who can get a security clearance?
Any person who is employed by Beacon Group that is sending, receiving, or developing information that the government has deemed as important to National security will need to obtain a security clearance.
Currently, there are more than 500,000 background investigations pending for security clearance approval. When an individual is going through the process for clearance, it may take up to eighteen months or more before a final determination is made. This makes a candidate who already has clearance even more appealing to Beacon Group.
How do you get a security clearance?
There are three main phases to receiving a security clearance:The first phase is the application process. This involves verification of U.S. citizenship, fingerprinting and completion of the e-QIP application, or the Personnel Security Questionnaire (SF-86). The second phase involves the actual investigation of your background. Most of the background check is conducted by the Defense Security Service (DSS).
The final phase is the adjudication phase. The results from the investigative phase are reviewed. The information that has been gathered is evaluated based on thirteen factors determined by the Agency. Some examples of areas they consider are; allegiance to the United States, criminal and personal conduct, and substance abuse or mental disorders. Clearance is granted or denied following this evaluation process.
How long are Security Clearances valid?
A Periodic Reinvestigation (PR) is required every 5 years for a TOP SECRET Clearance, 10 years for a SECRET Clearance or 15 years for a CONFIDENTIAL Clearance. However, civilian and military personnel can be randomly reinvestigated before they are due for a PR.