The federal government announced changes to the way it conducts background security clearances on Friday, including the creation of a new agency, in response to a massive hack of government files that breached millions of Americans’ personal information last year.
In an attempt to strengthen the way the government handles the personal data of its employees and federal contractors, the administration announced the creation of the National Background Investigations Bureau, or NBIB, which will replace the Office of Personnel Management’s existing Federal Investigative Services.
The NBIB will still fall under OPM’s management, but the Pentagon will control the design, development, security and operation of its background investigations information technology system, the White House said in a release.
“This approach will leverage [the Department of Defense’s] national security, information technology and cybersecurity expertise, incorporating security into the fundamental design of the systems, strengthening the security of the data environment and providing robust privacy protections,” the White House said.
The president’s 2017 budget request also will include $95 million in additional resources to help develop the new background system with “emerging technology tools and capabilities to adequately secure mission functions, systems and information,” the release said.
The announcement comes after a 90-day review of the existing security clearance system President Obama ordered after months of negative press revealed the extent of the hacked personal data.
The review was conducted by the Performance Accountability Council, an interagency board consisting of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, acting OPM Director Beth Cobert, as well as the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, State, Justice, Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and others. The council also consulted outside IT and security experts.
Cobert took over the top job at OPM after the previous director, Katherine Archuleta, resigned in the face of pressure related to the data breach.
“We are proud of the collaborative effort of the interagency team that helped identify these critical reforms,” Clapper said in a statement. “And we are committed to protecting the security of not only our systems and data, but also the personally identifiable information of the people we entrust with protecting our national security.”
Obama’s creation of the new agency earned a swift rebuke by a key GOP lawmaker who has investigated last year’s hack and the antiquated government security technology and process that made it possible.
“Simply creating a new government entity doesn’t solve the problem,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel. “The administration needs to undertake meaningful reforms to protect citizens’ most sensitive personal information. Protecting this information should be a core competency of OPM, the government’s human resources agency.”
He accused the White House of only aiming to solve a “perception problem” rather than “tackling the reforms needed to fix a broken security clearance process.”
The administration plans to establish a transition team that will develop a plan to help establish the new agency and migrate the existing background check process over to it while ensuring that the investigative services continue throughout the process.
