Stop phishing attacks through more effective training and positive company culture Phishing attacks, where someone sends a fraudulent email, call or text in order to trick the recipient into giving up information, accounted for more than $10 billion in losses in the U.S. during 2023, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. And these threats are on the rise: in the past six months, … [Read more...] about An Employee-Centric Approach to Phishing Prevention
An Overview of the Risk Management Framework Steps
Improve your cybersecurity with the seven Risk Management Framework steps Cybersecurity is the foundation of any successful security program. Because of this, the DoD has standardized the approach to securing information systems through the Risk Management Framework (RMF). The RMF isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution but rather a seven-step process tailored to help you identify the correct … [Read more...] about An Overview of the Risk Management Framework Steps
Interim Versus Final Personnel and Facility Clearances
What can you do with your interim PCL or FCL? When seeking a Personnel Clearance (PCL) or Facility Clearance (FCL), you may be granted an interim clearance before receiving your final clearance. While interim clearances can be a convenient way to get to work as quickly as possible, there’s no guarantee they will be granted, and the lack of an interim clearance doesn’t mean that a final … [Read more...] about Interim Versus Final Personnel and Facility Clearances
Best Practices to Maintain and Enact an Emergency Action Plan
Keep your company and facility ready to respond to any possible emergencies Whether it’s the earthquake drill often practiced in elementary schools or the blaring fire alarms alerting an office to head outside, Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) play a significant role in all areas of life and work. And while they might feel tedious or monotonous at times, that is for good reason. Some of the … [Read more...] about Best Practices to Maintain and Enact an Emergency Action Plan
Protecting Classified Information During Emergencies at Your Cleared Facility
What should you do with classified information during an emergency? For any company that holds a Facility Clearance (FCL) and is thus approved to access classified information, having a Facility Security Officer (FSO) who knows how to protect that material during emergencies is essential. Companies that hold or store classified information are known as possessing facilities. All are required to … [Read more...] about Protecting Classified Information During Emergencies at Your Cleared Facility
The Process of Upgrading Your Facility or Personnel Clearance Level
An overview of when FCLs and PCLs need to be upgraded, and how the process works For both Personnel Clearances (PCLs) and Facility Clearances (FCLs), there are times where a clearance needs to be upgraded to respond to changing needs of a contract or mission. When you need a clearance upgrade, you don’t want to risk extending that process any longer than it needs to be. Understanding the … [Read more...] about The Process of Upgrading Your Facility or Personnel Clearance Level
What is FOCI in security?
An overview of Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence and what it means for your cleared facility Because of the nature of national security, businesses seeking a clearance who have some level of Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) must report it to the government. In most circumstances, this will mean you are required to have some level of mitigation to ensure the data you’re … [Read more...] about What is FOCI in security?
An Overview of The DD 441 and SF 328
How these two forms relate to your FCL, plus common mistakes in filling them out Both the DD 441 and SF 328 are important forms for obtaining your Facility Clearance (FCL). On their face, they’re short and straightforward documents that you should be able to fill out with relative ease. However, that doesn’t mean they can be written off as something that you don’t need to pay attention to. … [Read more...] about An Overview of The DD 441 and SF 328
What We Know so Far About the DISS to NBIS Transition
Why the change is happening, what will be different, and how to get your NBIS login credentials The DCSA announced that the industry would be transitioning from the Defense Information System for Security (DISS) to the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system in early 2022, and at the time said this transition would begin on April 1 of that year. Currently, the NBIS rollout has … [Read more...] about What We Know so Far About the DISS to NBIS Transition
