United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-02-16 monographic deposited born digital 14 p. GA 1.13:T-NSIAD-00-65 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65 P0b002ee18037b20b f:ns00065t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65 T-NSIAD-00-65 Federal employees Internal controls Security clearances Contractor personnel Classified information Strategic planning Quality assurance National defense operations National Performance Review Testimony NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Defense Security Service's (DSS) personnel security investigations, focusing on the: (1) completeness and timeliness of the agency's investigations; and (2) factors that contributed to the deficiencies GAO found.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) safeguarding sensitive national security information is one of the most important responsibilities entrusted to public servants; (2) GAO's evaluation of DSS personnel security investigations revealed serious lapses in the thoroughness and timeliness of the investigations, raising questions about the risks such lapses pose to national security; (3) 530 personnel security investigations showed the vast majority did not comply with federal standards for conducting such investigations; (4) all of the individuals investigated were granted top secret security clearances even though DSS investigators had not always verified such basic information as residency, citizenship, or employment; (5) DSS investigations had not been completed in a timely manner and there is a backlog of over 600,000 cases for reinvestigation; (6) as a result, some of the Department of Defense's (DOD) 2.4 million personnel currently holding security clearances may be handling sensitive national security information without having been thoroughly screened; (7) in 1994, the Joint Security Commission reported that delays in obtaining security clearances cost DOD several billion dollars because workers were unable to perform their jobs while awaiting a clearance; (8) GAO identified a series of ineffective management reforms at DSS that occurred from 1996 through early 1999; (9) GAO found that DSS--in an effort to streamline operations and improve efficiency--relaxed its investigative guidance, eliminated key quality control mechanisms, inadequately trained its investigators, and ineffectively managed automation of its case processing system; (10) however, the underlying cause of DSS problems is insufficient oversight by the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence); and (11) GAO believes that these factors led to incomplete investigations and exacerbated the growing backlog of uninvestigated cases. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65/html/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65.pdf GAO/T-NSIAD-00-65 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-00-65 Testimony GAO/T-NSIAD-00-65; DOD Personnel: Inadequate Personnel Security; Federal employees Internal controls Security clearances Contractor personnel Classified information Strategic planning Quality assurance National defense operations National Performance Review