It is obvious the data on security clearance investigations is a target, but it should have been obvious before the breaches at OPM and USIS. Putting OPM in charge of E-Qip or anything that requires security is always a mistake, but this is way beyond anything we could have thought about. Security clearance info has employment history, social security, telephone numbers of you and all your employers, arrests, financial reports, and investigators notes.
I have never been happy about the security protection that anyone gave to this information, but Defense did a better job over the years than OPM has done in the short time they have had responsibility. We had to give our information to hackers for the average employee or cleared contractor to figure this out, but it is not going to get better until somebody else is put in charge of the security clearance process. OPM has screwed up the investigative process more than DoD ever did, and it is now almost impossible to get, and keep, a security clearance. I'm glad I don't have to rely on them anymore for my livelihood. They seem to be oblivious to the damage they do to the workforce of the Intel and Defense communities by their lack of responsiveness to adjudications and bring-up investigations. My Congressional office says "We are aware that they have had some difficulties with the process" which is not descriptive of how bad it is. If this doesn't get Congressional hearings started, I don't know what will. How much more of this can we take?
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