Federal Investigative Services Division

Last updated

Federal Investigative Services (FIS) was a U.S. Government agency within the United States Office of Personnel Management responsible for performing security clearance investigations. [1] [2] In January 2016 the Obama administration announced that the agency would be replaced with the new National Background Investigations Bureau following a series of intelligence failures [3] and investigations conducted into USIS (company) for contract fraud.

United States Office of Personnel Management United States federal government agency

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that manages the government's civilian workforce. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight and support, and tends to healthcare, insurance and retirement benefits and services for federal government employees.

A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal process to vet employees for access to sensitive information. A clearance by itself is normally not sufficient to gain access; the organization must also determine that the cleared individual needs to know specific information. No one is supposed to be granted automatic access to classified information solely because of rank, position, or a security clearance.

National Background Investigations Bureau

The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) is a semi-autonomous U.S. Government agency housed within the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that is responsible for conducting security clearance investigations into individuals who need to hold security clearances for employment purposes. Creation of the agency was announced in January 2016. NBIB is the primary service provider of background investigations for the U.S. Government and conducts approximately 95 percent of government-wide background investigations for more than 100 federal agencies. The agency's background investigation information technology (IT) systems will be designed, built, secured, and operated by the United States Department of Defense.

See also

USIS was a US corporation that provided security-based information and service solutions to both government and corporate customers, in the United States and abroad. Its corporate headquarters were in Falls Church, in Greater Washington, D.C. Training took place in Boyers, PA. USIS was a part of Altegrity Inc., a company headquartered in the Falls Church area that was owned by Providence Equity Partners.

The Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) organization, is responsible for determining who within the Department of the Navy is eligible to hold a security clearance, to have access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), or to be assigned to sensitive duties. The aggregate body of DoN personnel consists of Active Duty and Reserve components of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, as well as civilians and contractors. In addition, DoN CAF makes SCI eligibility determinations for select contractor personnel. Collateral clearance determinations for contractor personnel are established by DISCO.

Edward Snowden American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor

Edward Joseph Snowden is an American fugitive, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013. His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments.

Related Research Articles

Federal Bureau of Investigation governmental agency belonging to the United States Department of Justice

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States, and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence. A leading U.S. counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes.

Executive Office of the President of the United States U.S. government executive agency

The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) is a group of agencies at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP supports the work of the President. It consists of several offices and agencies, such as the White House Office, National Security Council or Office of Management and Budget.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement American federal law enforcement agency

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a law enforcement agency of the federal government of the United States tasked to enforce the immigration laws of the United States and to investigate criminal and terrorist activity of transnational organizations. ICE has two primary components: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

A Special Agent, in the United States, is usually a criminal investigator or detective for a federal or state government, that primarily serves in investigatory positions. Additionally, many federal and state "Special Agents" operate in "criminal intelligence" based roles as well. Within the US federal law enforcement system, dozens of federal agencies employ federal law enforcement officers, each with different criteria pertaining to the use of the titles Special Agent and Agent.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service Law enforcement agency of the U.S. Navy

The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate criminal activities involving the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, though its broad mandate includes national security, counterintelligence, counter-terrorism, cyber warfare, and the protection of U.S. naval assets worldwide. NCIS is the successor organization to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS), which was established by the Office of Naval Intelligence after the Second World War.

Yankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check given in the United States of America for Department of Defense personnel and contractor employees working with the President and Vice President. Obtaining such clearance requires, in part, a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) which is conducted under the manuals of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Defense Security Service

The Defense Security Service (DSS) is a federal security agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). Within areas of DoD responsibility, DSS is tasked with facilitating personnel security investigations, supervising industrial security, and performing security education and awareness training. DSS is an authorized Federal Security Agency. Industrial Security Representatives and Information System Security Professionals are credentialed government agents. Originally known as the Defense Investigative Service (DIS), DIS was established in 1972. DSS changed its name from DIS in 1999.

Senior Executive Service (United States) position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government

The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government, equivalent to general officer or flag officer ranks in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 went into effect under President Jimmy Carter.

National Agency Check with Local Agency and Credit Checks (NACLC) is a type of background check required in the United States for granting of security clearances.

United States federal civil service

The United States federal civil service is the civilian workforce of the United States federal government's departments and agencies. The federal civil service was established in 1871. U.S. state and local government entities often have comparable civil service systems that are modeled on the national system, in varying degrees.

Linda M. Springer American government official

Linda M. Springer, was appointed Senior Advisor at the White House Office of Management and Budget in February 2017. She served as the eighth Director of the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM). She was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in June 2005. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Springer served as Controller and head of the Office of Federal Financial Management at the White House Office of Management and Budget. She previously worked for 25 years as an executive and actuary in the insurance and financial services industries.

Federal law enforcement in the United States Wikimedia list article

The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.

e-QIP secure website managed by US Office of Personnel Management for security questionnaires

e-QIP is a secure website managed by OPM that is designed to automate the common security questionnaires used to process federal background investigations. e-QIP was created in 2003 as part of the larger e-Clearance initiative designed to speed up the process of federal background investigations conducted by OPM's Federal Investigative Services (FIS). e-QIP is a front end data collection tool that has automated the SF-86, questionnaire for national security investigations as well as the SF-85P, the questionnaire for public trust positions. e-QIP allows applicants for federal jobs to enter, edit and submit their investigation data over a secure internet connection to their sponsoring agency for review and approval.

Blake Percival whistleblower

Blake Percival was the Director of Fieldwork Services, Western Pennsylvania,(WPA), for USIS. He became a whistleblower in July 2011, when he filed a qui tam suit saying he was fired from USIS, for not ordering his subordinates to submit cases to the U.S. Government for payment, that had not been completed. He had worked for USIS from January 2001 to June 2011. In his suit he stated he had been fired after he refused to order his employees to continue an elaborate fraud known as dumping. The suit was filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Alabama. His allegations were investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and in October 2013 the DOJ joined Percival’s suit and removed the seal. The case, United States of America ex rel. Blake Percival v. U.S. Investigations Services, Civil Action No. 11-CV-527-WKW, was filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama. On January 22, 2014 the DOJ filed their formal complaint against USIS. In their filing the DOJ stated that USIS committed fraud on at least 665,000 background investigations. This case was moved to Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2014. The case was settled on August 19. 2015 when USIS agreed to forgo claims to more than $30,000,000 it was owed by the U.S. Government. On December 18, 2015 the Department of Justice awarded Percival 20%, just over $6,000,000, of the money recovered from USIS.

In June 2015, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that it had been the target of a data breach targeting the records of as many as four million people. The final estimate of the number of stolen records is approximately 21.5 million. This includes records of people who had undergone background checks, but who were not necessarily current or former government employees. It has been described by federal officials as among the largest breaches of government data in the history of the United States. Information targeted in the breach included personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, as well as names, dates and places of birth, and addresses.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a division of Colorado Department of Public Safety, is a law enforcement agency of the state of Colorado that performs forensic and laboratory services and criminal investigations at the request of local and state law enforcement, agencies, and district attorneys. They investigate arson, homicides, sexual assaults, fraud, cyber, identity theft, and other crimes. Their forensic services include DNA, biology, firearm, latent print, toxicology and drug chemistry analysis. Other units in the CBI include Crime Scene Services, Crime Information Management Unit, Criminal Justice Information Systems, and Colorado’s InstaCheck Unit. The CBI is designated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, as the CJIS Systems Agency for Colorado. It is headquartered in the Denver suburb of Lakewood at 690 Kipling Street.

References

  1. ↑ Ayesha Rascoe and Dustin Volz (January 22, 2016). "White House turns to Pentagon in U.S. background checks shake-up". Reuters. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ Office of Personnel Management - Federal Investigative Services - Background Checks
  3. ↑ "White House creates agency to handle background checks". The Washington Examiner.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.