All Defense Department clearance holders are now under “continuous vetting” as part of a reform to the personnel security process that determines who should have access to classified information and secure facilities, the director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency said Tuesday.
The automated system constantly checks criminal records, credit ratings and other pertinent information for those with security clearances to “ensure the trustworthiness of the national security workforce” and “identify and address factors that may lead to insider threat incidents,” DCSA director William Lietzau told reporters at the Pentagon.
Continuous vetting replaces the prior process of periodic reinvestigations for clearance holders every five to 10 years. The idea is that the new program will identify potential security threats as they occur in real time, allowing risks to surface sooner to enable earlier intervention.
“If you get [charged with driving under the influence], that’ll come in the next day,” Lietzau said, explaining how fast the new system works.
Once the automated system alerts of a risk factor, staff at the agency then initiate an investigation to analyze whether the issue should be further analyzed or considered an active threat, he said.
In addition to criminal conduct, the system also analyzes suspicious financial transactions, domestic and foreign travel records, terrorism and counterterrorism databases and other public records for indicators of insider threats, Lietzau said.
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