A Review of FBI Security Programs

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process. One supervisor told an SI that Hanssen was in the “doghouse” with an Assistant Director about an issue related to a foreign intelligence service. The SI did not follow up on this comment or determine whether it referred to a counterintelligence issue. A co-worker described Hanssen as a “maverick,” who had his “own ideas on things” and did not always “toe the line” with management. The SI failed to probe these comments. Another reference described Hanssen as “intense” with a “mixed reputation,” and a supervisor stated that he was an “unusual” character. In neither case did the SI pursue these comments. Foreign travel and contacts were not addressed, although a reference commented that Hanssen was a friend of a Soviet defector. Hanssen’s Personal Security Interview conducted by an NSD Security Officer also lacked depth in its coverage of counterintelligence issues. The Personnel Security Interview did not refer to foreign contacts or financial matters. Hanssen’s background reinvestigation also failed to develop details about his finances, an area that Hanssen himself identified to Commission staff as critical. Two references commented that Hanssen’s children attended college on academic scholarships, and another asserted that Hanssen’s wife came from a wealthy family who assisted the Hanssens. A fourth reference stated that Hanssen had money troubles. BICS did not ask that these disparate comments be explored, and PSU made no effort to determine Hanssen’s true financial condition. RECOMMENDATIONS I. Security Investigations and Adjudications Should Be Consolidated In A New Office Of Security Security clearance decisions are governed by Executive Orders and Director of Central Intelligence Directives that are extensive and detailed. Background investigations must comply with these mandates and fully develop issues as to character and trustworthiness. The process by which the FBI currently conducts background investigations, adjudicates cases, and grants clearances is fragmented; responsibility for -60-
various elements is spread throughout Headquarters and the field, with no entity in control. For instance, scoping is currently performed by field security officers, Headquarters analysts, and BICS managers. This fragmentation results in duplicative efforts and wasted resources, missed leads, and unaddressed security issues. 20 Security adjudications should occur in the new Office of Security detailed later in this Report. II. The Personnel Security Process Should Be Automated The system for processing investigations, reinvestigations, and adjudications is paperdriven and barely automated. For the most part, forms, investigative reports, summaries, and adjudicative material are distributed in hard copy. Lack of automation creates inefficiencies that can add weeks to the investigation process. FBI investigation and adjudication processes should be automated. Personnel should be able to submit applications and investigation and reinvestigation material electronically. The BICS process should also be automated and integrated with the application, investigation, and reinvestigation programs, and a reliable system for tracking contractor clearance statuses should be developed. III. BICS Investigations Should Be Thorough Special Investigators (SIs) sometimes fail to investigate issues thoroughly, as is evident in Hanssen’s reinvestigation. This results in adjudicators having less than complete information or ignoring some issues altogether. BICS must improve the quality of its SIs. Inexperience in background investigations and, in some cases, inability lead to incomplete and inadequate investigations that do not cover adjudicative guidelines or comply with regulations. SIs frequently employ a checklist 20 Scoping is also hampered by the large, confusing lead-setting manual the FBI uses to establish coverage. We recommend that the manual be simplified. -61-
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U.S. Department of Justice A Review
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Commission for the Review of FBI Se
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Contents Executive Summary ........
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The Commission for the Review of FB
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in FBI security programs that will
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Unlike other Intelligence Community
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INTRODUCTION I could have been a de
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un by an officer in the Soviet mili
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establishment, U.S. penetration of
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operatives he had exposed as double
Page 21 and 22: Hanssen was indicted on twenty-one
Page 23 and 24: een transferred to FBI Headquarters
Page 25 and 26: Gardens. The rebellious colonies di
Page 27 and 28: Furthermore, in spite of Hanssen’
Page 29 and 30: others.” In calling for the estab
Page 31 and 32: have discovered in FBI security pro
Page 33 and 34: The following is a compressed compi
Page 35 and 36: I. Security Investigations And Adju
Page 37 and 38: DOCUMENT SECURITY I. Classified Na
Page 39 and 40: of Central Intelligence Directives
Page 41 and 42: II. The Office of Security Should D
Page 43 and 44: INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY (INFOS
Page 45 and 46: Robert Hanssen’s espionage demons
Page 47 and 48: een filled, the persons assigned of
Page 49 and 50: with the preliminary damage assessm
Page 51 and 52: FBI was investigating him. 13 While
Page 53 and 54: focus. 14 As a result of inadequate
Page 55 and 56: in unrestricted administrative case
Page 57 and 58: On October 3, 2001, an Electronic C
Page 59 and 60: senior FBI officials responsible fo
Page 61 and 62: percent of the amount sought. 16 Th
Page 63 and 64: information security policies that
Page 65 and 66: PERSONNEL SECURITY I think that [my
Page 67 and 68: The Commission conducted a detailed
Page 69 and 70: The PSU is also responsible for adm
Page 71: Unit for new applicants, the Person
Page 75 and 76: addressed. These interviews are ess
Page 77 and 78: identified, these individuals can b
Page 79 and 80: overextended and potentially at ris
Page 81 and 82: The FBI’s polygraph program was i
Page 83 and 84: awareness programs relating to poly
Page 85 and 86: DOCUMENT SECURITY Security was lax
Page 87 and 88: Much of Robert Hanssen’s espionag
Page 89 and 90: Room. In the same year, the FBI Mai
Page 91 and 92: Given the ubiquity of ACS, Headquar
Page 93 and 94: (SCI). Before being given access to
Page 95 and 96: eceived in the wake of recent terro
Page 97 and 98: under minimum security controls. Th
Page 99 and 100: carriers receive timely security cl
Page 101 and 102: with the true scope of improper act
Page 103 and 104: SECURITY STRUCTURE . . . [I]f I had
Page 105 and 106: In general, we found serious weakne
Page 107 and 108: executive will ensure constant focu
Page 109 and 110: technical security countermeasures.
Page 111 and 112: Eighty-five percent of those office
Page 113 and 114: months training in investigations,
Page 115 and 116: accounts cancelled. A six-hour secu
Page 117 and 118: Unfortunately, reporting to securit
Page 119 and 120: security violations should be subje
Page 121 and 122: and training. -106-
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Robert Hanssen’s treachery is hei
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Glossary of Acronyms Acronym ACS AD
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Acronym GSR HERU HIT HCS HQ HUMINT
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Acronym OPM OPR OPSEC ORCON OSI OST
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COMMISSION CHARTER
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time equivalent government personne
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WILLIAM H. WEBSTER, the Commission
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