atw: Re: Security clearance closed shop
- From: "Reginald Hardman" <cleardoc@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "austechwriter list" <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:36:12 +0100
Perhaps what the job ads really mean to say is that you must be elligible
for a security clearance. There are some obvious things which could
exclude you from elligibility, such as non-Australian nationality,
criminal record, prior refusal or cancellation of a clearance due to
misconduct, and I don't know what else.
You cannot "apply for a security clearance" off the street, as it were.
You must have been provisionally selected for a job which requires the
clearance, and the department for which you will work applies to have you
cleared, to the level required for your proposed job. The clearance you
get is for that job only so, while you may be cleared to Secret level for
say a submarine project, your clearance does not apply for an aircraft
project. If you move to the aircraft project, the project admin must
re-apply to have you cleared for this information. It is up to the
project admin people to ensure you only have access to information for
which you are cleared, and they have fairly stringent procedures, which
are audited regularly, to ensure this. These procedures, and
interestingly your level of clearance, should be invisible to you. Of
course, if someone plonks a file marked Secret on your desk, you will
know you are cleared to that level at least, but you may also be cleared
to Top Secret, for submarine project info.
It is I think, a breach of the Defence Secrets Act or some regulation
derived from the Act, to reveal your clearance to anybody else. If
someone wants to know your clearance level, you must direct them to your
admin group, who will assess their authority to obtain that information.
Anyone who broadcasts the fact that they are cleared to X level, and
anyone who publicly solicits this information, will definitely attract
the attention of the spooks who look after this aspect. At the very least
you will find that your next clearance application is refused, if you
have done this. At best, you can say something like "I have worked on
projects for the Defence Department", it is then up to the potential
employer to initiate the security clearance procedures.
The initial clearance can take a very long time, but subsequent
clearances for other projects are quicker, provided you have not exceeded
your "use by" date. This date will be different for different levels, and
different projects, and should never be revealed to you. Moreover, the
criteria for clearance are not constant. You may be cleared in 1999 for
the ambient level of risk at that time, but may fail clearance in 2003
when there is an increased perceived level of risk. You may have been
cleared in 2000, then taken holiday or worked in a foreign country in
2002 with which relations have deteriorated, and so may not get the same
clearance in 2003. There are many variables, which is why clearance must
be obtained for each different job you do, and must also be renewed
periodically.
The point is, a security clearance is not something you own or can put in
your resum=E9, it is "owned" by the organisation who employs you. This
naturally makes it difficult for the head-hunters, who may have been
mislead by their commercial defence contractor clients who have an
imperfect grasp of the principles of defence security. The contractor
will probably be asked to attend a briefing session by defence to update
their knowledge of how the system works.
An interesting point, and perhaps a seed idea for your next novel: if you
were a foreign power wishing to get some classified technical
information, you might:
a. look for a minor second country who has bought that technology for
their defence force,
b. tell a head-hunter you need a tech writer who is cleared and has
relevant experience,
c. collect relevant resum=E9s, without the resum=E9 owners knowing, and
d. you write the rest...
Reg
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Deborah Cross [mailto:Deborah.Cross@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, 2 December 2003 1:51 PM
> To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: atw: Re: Security clearance closed shop
>=20
>=20
> Well I know that a security clearance at Defence can take months to =3D3D
> process, so if the position is short term someone without a clearance =3D
> =3D3D
> won't be able to start in time.
>=20
> Much easier/faster for them to employ someone who already has the =3D3D
> clearance.
> Also much cheaper because they don't have to pay for the clearance =3D3D
> process if someone already has one.
> Perhaps they should advertise well in advance to give them the =3D3D
> opportunity to wait for a clearance if need be?
>=20
> I guess you could always put your resume in and tell them you are =3D3D
> prepared to pay for the clearance if they are prepared to wait the time =
=3D
> =3D3D
> it will take?
>=20
> Deborah :)
--=20
R=E9ginald Hardman Reginald Hardman
R=E9dacteur Technique Technical Writer
Paris, France Paris, France
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