News

Agency News

Sept. 12, 2023

DCSA renames Counterintelligence Award

Today, DCSA hosted the family of John “Jack” Donnelly, the Director of the Defense Investigative Service (DIS) from 1988 to 1996, for a ceremony to rename the DCSA Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence to the Jack Donnelly Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence. This name change celebrates the 30th anniversary of the counterintelligence program he established in 1993. In 1981, Mr. Donnelly entered the Senior Executive Service, as a Department of Defense counterintelligence expert at the Pentagon. In 1988, Mr. Donnelly was appointed as the Director of the DIS, where he oversaw the security of cleared defense contractors and security background investigations of industry personnel. During his tenure at DIS, Mr. Donnelly transformed DIS’ relationship with cleared industry to promote partnership and mutual responsibility for preserving national security. Under Mr. Donnelly’s guidance, the DIS established a program that trained and sensitized investigators to counterintelligence red flags. Mr. Donnelly’s dedication to the national security mission led to the establishment of the agency’s counterintelligence mission in 1993. The Excellence in Counterintelligence Award is given to cleared companies who strive to deter, detect, and disrupt the theft of sensitive or classified U.S. information and technologies by foreign entities, and who seek to promote the uncompromised delivery of such technologies to the Department of Defense and other U.S. Government agencies. DCSA recognizes only four of those companies for their outstanding excellence in counterintelligence.

Sept. 8, 2023

Agency publishes Federal Investigations Notice (FIN) pertaining to DCSA products, services and pricing

DCSA has published a Federal Investigations Notice (FIN) pertaining to fiscal year (FY) 2024 and FY25 products, services, and pricing. This FIN is a follow-on to FIN 23-01 dated January 30, 2023. FY24 and FY25 pricing high level results, changes, and updates are as follows: DCSA is adjusting legacy, 5-tier background investigation (BI) prices in FY25 by 1% below the FY23 rates. This reduction follows DCSA’s one-time BI rate decrease of 18% in FY24 designed to return accumulated working capital fund (WCF) cash to DCSA customers. New TW 3-tier BI products will be introduced by DCSA in accordance with the TW Implementation Strategy FY25. The rates for these products will be consistent with FY23 legacy BI prices, adjusted only for inflation.

Sept. 5, 2023

DCSA Kicks Off 5th Annual National Insider Threat Awareness Month (NITAM)

Since 2019, the month-long campaign, held annually in September, brings together thousands of U.S. security professionals and policy makers from government and industry to educate and increase awareness about the risks posed by insider threats, and the role of insider-threat programs. This year’s them is ‘Bystander Engagement.’ An engaged bystander is an individual who is aware of concerning behaviors and knows what to do to address those concerns. In his annual NITAM letter, DCSA Director William K. Lietzau added, “This year’s NITAM theme promotes increased awareness for the workforce to identify, understand, and report potential behaviors of concern, and to engage and assist at-risk employees.” Throughout the month, DCSA officials will host and participate in several supporting events including: • The Counter Insider Threat (C-InT) Social & Behavioral Science (SBS) Summit 2023 - SBS 2023 • The official kick-off DCSA Conference for Insider Threat on Sep. 7 – Register (Webinars and Conferences (cdse.edu)) • A memorial webinar reflecting on the tenth anniversary of the Washington Navy Yard shooting: The Washington Navy Yard Shooting: 10 Years Later and A Survivor’s Account – Register (Webinars and Conferences (cdse.edu)) • Remarks by DCSA’s DOD Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center (DITMAC) Director James Shappell, at an annual insider threat symposium Other items recognizing NITAM include, launching the official NITAM website, a NITAM public service announcement, an agency director’s recognition letter and a social media campaign for increased awareness. “Regardless of how you choose to participate,” said Lietzau, “please know that your actions and contributions support our collective effort to identify and mitigate insider threats to our national security.” For more information on NITAM 2023, please visit: National Insider Threat Awareness Month (NITAM) (usalearning.gov).

Aug. 7, 2023

New DOD Prevention, Assistance and Response Cadre to Convene for PAR Training

Prevention, Assistance and Response (PAR) coordinators assigned to U.S. military installations will convene at Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Quantico headquarters from Aug. 7-10 for a PAR Cadre Training Seminar. The PAR program – a newly formed DCSA capability under the direction of the DOD Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center (DITMAC) – will prepare the new coordinators to fulfill their roles supporting commanders and equivalent civilian leaders on installations and in the military community by conducting threat assessment and management, particularly focused in the area of workplace violence.

July 17, 2023

DCSA seeking background investigators in TN, OH, KY

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is seeking Investigators for our Background Investigations Directorate in multiple locations in Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky. These are all developmental positions and a great opportunity to enter the federal government. Become a part of America's Gatekeeper Team! Click here for more information.

June 7, 2023

DCSA Announces 2023 Cogswell Award Recipients

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) has recognized 19 facilities as recipients of the 2023 James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award. Chosen from nearly 12,500 cleared facilities in the United States, each facility has demonstrated industrial security excellence. To qualify, companies must establish

June 5, 2023

Phishing Attempt

DCSA has been made aware of a sophisticated malicious phishing email circulating which references the collection of an “SF-86_F” or an SF-86 (an example of the email is below).  Please do not engage with this email and advise your staff not to engage with it; you should report it to your security office or cyber security team and delete it

April 7, 2023

Redesigned website

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is redesigning its public website, with an expected launch during the last week of April. The redesigned website enhances the users’ digital experience with increased functionality and navigation capability to DCSA content and services. Once the website is launched, users are encouraged to visit the site and check their existing bookmarks, as some pages bookmarked on the legacy site may no longer be accessible.

March 27, 2023

DISS Release 13.17 updates CV reason codes

Defense Information System for Security (DISS) release 13.17 includes an update to the Continuous Vetting (CV) reason codes on the user interface and reports. Records that had "Other" or "Deferred" will now be reflected as "Enrolled." Within the Joint Verification System (JVS) User Interface (UI), users will see CV enrollment statuses of Enrolled, Unenrolled and No Records Found. The corresponding date associated with the Enrolled or Unenrolled will also be visible. No Records Found indicates the individual is not enrolled in CV. Reports in JVS and CATS will display CV Status (e.g. Enrolled, Unenrolled, or Never Enrolled) and date. In reports, Never Enrolled is the status for No Records Found. If you have any questions, please contact dcsa.ncr.dcsa-dvd.mbx.askvroc@mail.mil

March 10, 2023

DCSA Customer & Stakeholder Engagements (CSE) to host Industry Background Investigations Stakeholder Group

The DCSA Customer & Stakeholder Engagements (CSE) will be hosting the first ever Industry Background Investigations Stakeholder Group (Industry BISG) meeting on March 30th, 2023, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (EST) and will continue a quarterly cadence of this group meeting for all Industry Facility Security Officers and Professionals. The March meeting will be held virtually via WebEx. Please click the title for more information.