The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published an updated doctrine on Jan. 13 that details new core security vetting principles for the government to use in managing security clearances.
The principles help guide agencies to build a trusted workforce by assessing “the trustworthiness of individuals based on the core characteristics to protect people, property, information, and mission, as they relate to the particular purpose,” the doctrine reads.
This doctrine helps guide the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, which would provide for more continuous security evaluations assisted by improved IT architecture and business processes.
In February of 2020, the Federal government’s backlog of security clearance had fallen to near 200,000, from its peak of 725,000 backlog applications in 2018. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., had said the backlog number was “decreasing, but still problematic.”
According to a recent January 2021 report from the Trump administration on Performance.gov, that backlog number now sits at 213,000, “despite COVID-19 challenges.”
