Security Clearance Careers Podcast

Critics are saying there are too many people with access to classified information - but is that really the case? And when it comes to leaks, is creating fewer individuals who are close to classified information - but not vetted to see it - really the solution? ClearanceJobs sat down with Charles Phalen, former acting director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), and current principal of CS Phalen & Associates. They discuss why personnel vetting is scrutinized following every major leak, why cutting the number of security clearances seems like a plausible solution (but isn’t), and eApp and possible changes to the security clearance application process.

ClearanceJobs offers security clearance holders the annual Security Clearance Compensation report where we survey 50,000+ clearance holders in a variety of jobs, locations, agencies, and fields, to inform you on what the market is offering for your next salary negotiation. Interested in learning what the top paying jobs are on ClearanceJobs.com are today? Tune in to learn what companies are offering salaries of $200,000+ a year.

Security clearances are in the news - and not in a good way. Whether you know national security or don't know what eligibility to access classified information is, the Jake Teixeira leak created a new wave of questions and issues around the security clearance process. Some critics questioned why a 21-year-old had a security clearance. Others are wondering if it's time to start monitoring social media for security clearance holders. Lindy Kyzer with ClearanceJobs and Sean Bigley, security clearance legal correspondent discuss the latest leak case and all of the blowback.

Heather Mongilio is a reporter with United States Naval Institute (USNI) news. She has covered local courts, crime, health, military affairs, and the Naval Academy, and recently published an article on the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigating a former Navy non-commissioned officer for her role in social media accounts that posted a series of leaked Pentagon documents. Sarah Bils is a former aviation electronics technician 2nd Class who was last stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA, and is allegedly behind a pro-Russian series of social media accounts under the banner of “Donbass Devushka,” The Wallstreet Journal first reported. USNI News continued to cover the story and the individuals behind the Donbass Devushka network.  Donbass Devushka is comprised of 15 people, and Bils noted that another administrator on the account posted at least four of the classified documents that were recently leaked by Massachusetts Air Guardsman Jack Teixeira. 

Kortney Calano joins the Security Clearance Careers Podcast to discuss her journey through the Defense Industrial Base. She is a US Army veteran, turned contractor, turned govvie. Currently, she is a small business owner that is a provider of IT Consulting services to government clients, and prior to that she was the Acting Director and Branch Chief for the Program Management Division of USDA. Today we discuss how she was able to move up the ranks in the federal space, her contribution in implementing Zero Trust Security and Architecture, her experience as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR), and how CMMC is affecting small businesses within the defense industrial base.

Lynn Burns, president of NCMS and Sarah Turner, member of the board of directors, NCMS, discuss the upcoming NCMS 2023 Annual Seminar on this episode of Security Clearance Insecurity. NCMS is a professional security organization that has existed for more than 50 years, helping to train, certify, and advance the security profession. Burns and Turner discussed what can be expected at this year's training seminar, along with why mentorship is important to the security field today.

He notes that we spend billions through the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to combat the sale of sometimes legal substances. We have the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to again, stop the sale of legal items. The 13th amendment deems 100% of human trafficking illegal. Where is the organization to fight this?Nic McKinley, is the founder of nonprofit DeliverFund, an organization he started to combat human trafficking. He used his experience as a United States Air Force Pararesumen and an officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to inform their intelligence collection efforts to support their law enforcement partners.DeliverFund provides actionable intelligence to their law enforcement partners, and many of their employees have spent their entire backgrounds dismantling illicit networks overseas against violent extremists in high threat environments. Moving into the private nonprofit sector, the organization implements these same strategies against human traffickers.On this episode of ClearedCast, we talk about his journey through the military, working intelligence for three letter agencies, and how listeners can pivot careers by reinventing themselves every five years.

The transformative effort to improve the security clearance process has been underway for the past several years, with significant new benchmarks announced just this month at the recent U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill. Jason Miller, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and chair of the Performance Accountability Council Program Management Office discussed the recently announced metrics and reforms within the security clearance process, and how PAC-PMO is providing accountability and a management framework for the government to achieve its aggressive timeline goals. The government is looking to move away from 90% reporting and will include 100% of the cleared population in its reporting benchmarks, along with creating more aggressive timelines around reform.

LTG (R) Vince Stewart sat down to discuss his life of service this February, as he prepared to accept the 2023 William Oliver Baker Award, an annual award given by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. Stewart, who served as the Deputy Director of Cyber Command and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was a trailblazer, innovator, and amazing human being. In this interview, he discusses his life of service, current cyber threats, and what being honored with the Baker Award meant to him.