James Shappell, director of the DOD Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, discussed at a recent symposium how DITMAC works to mitigate and prevent insider threats at the installation level through the Prevention, Assistance and Response program, DVIDS reported Wednesday.
Under the PAR program, DITMAC hires, trains and assigns PAR coordinators to Department of Defense joint bases in an effort to help civilian leaders and commanders understand and counter insider risks.
“Our PAR program is designed to give commanders the right amount of detail and information so they can make informed, risk-based decisions on how they should best move forward to support their personnel,” Shappell said at the event.
He went on to explicate DCSA’s efforts to mitigate risks from trusted insiders across the enterprise, including initiatives to meet its personnel security mission.
“We run 95% of the background investigations for the federal government and we adjudicate the security clearances for the Department of Defense,” Shappell said. “Then we run Continuous Vetting for the Department of Defense and a large population of non-DOD entities. So, from a personal security perspective, the gatekeepers at DCSA have a great opportunity to lead the charge on stopping people from getting in the front door.”
The DSCA official also raised the agency’s Center for Development of Security Excellence and how it helps promote security education training and awareness.