Trawl the Internet for red flags, says Congressional report on U.S. security clearances

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/trawl-the-internet-for-red-flags-says-congressional-report-on-u-s-security-clearances/



Trawl the Internet for red flags, says Congressional report on U.S. security clearances
By Reuters
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 12:42 EST
By Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. security clearance process that failed to flag former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and the Washington Navy Yard shooter needs reforms as simple as letting investigators use the Internet and forcing local law enforcement to cooperate, a congressional report said on Tuesday.

The report suggested federal investigators be allowed to tap tools ordinary Americans use to find out about a specific person: Facebook, Twitter and Google.

The Office of Personnel Management’s Investigative Handbook, updated in 2007, places an almost blanket restriction on Internet use, it said, but social media and search sites “contain a treasure trove of information about their users”.

“Congress should force OPM’s investigative practices into the 21st century by allowing investigators to use the Internet and social media sources in particular for the first time,” it said.

[bemildred]

1. Why is that not allowed now? Doesn't say.

I mean the NSA can look at it all, right?

Some interesting bits in there:

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It was triggered by last September’s killings of 12 people at the Navy Yard. Shooter Aaron Alexis was a Defense Department contract employee who received a “secret” clearance in 2008 despite his involvement in a series of violent incidents and his erratic behavior.

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USIS vetted both Alexis and Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed secrets about U.S. government surveillance before taking refuge in Russia.

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The committee, led by Republican U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, said legislative fixes it was considering included requiring continuous evaluation of clearances, which now have to be re-evaluated every five or 10 years.

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The report said local police departments are now required by law to cooperate in federal security clearance investigations, but more than 450 offices around the country do not, including New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.