2016 YEAR END REPORT

ADVANCING SECURITY READINESS

Center for Development 

of Security Excellence
2 Center for Development of Security Excellence

A MESSAGE FROM MR. PAYNE

Daniel E. Payne

Director, Defense Security Service

Sincerely,

The Center for Development of Security Excellence 

(CDSE) continues to advance security readiness by 

providing innovative security training, education, and 

certifications across the globe. Since its establishment 

in 2010, CDSE has put its products and services in the 

hands of not only the Department of Defense (DoD), 

but U.S. Government entities and industry under the 

National Industrial Security Program (NISP), ensuring 

their readiness to tackle today’s emerging 

security threats.

As these threats escalate, so do the responsibilities we 

place on all personnel with security responsibilities. 

In response, CDSE adapts alongside the changing 

landscape and leverages current trends in technology 

to create learning activities and provide security 

certification assessments, regardless of location. 

Security awareness is everyone’s responsibility and 

CDSE is poised to provide the most up-to-date security 

policy and information to the community at large.

CDSE remains positioned to move the security 

workforce towards success in their security and federal 

careers with its security programs. I am proud of the 

results we have achieved this last year and excited for 

what is to come.
www.cdse.edu 3

Kevin J. Jones

Director, CDSE

Sincerely,

CDSE is pleased to present our seventh Year End 

Report. During Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, we continued to 

be innovative by producing and delivering products 

and services for security personnel in the Federal 

Government, and industry under the NISP, ensuring 

they continue to meet the demands of an everchanging security landscape. With new issues and 

threats emerging each day, security responsibilities 

now rest in the hands of not only DoD security 

professionals, but of personnel with ancillary security 

duties and anyone with access to current technologies.

We are committed to supporting all military, civilian, 

and contractor personnel by providing them the 

most relevant awareness-level and specialized tools 

to ensure their readiness in today’s ever-changing 

environment. In FY16, CDSE hit one million learning 

events and certified 34% more professionals than 

the previous year. Long gone is the “schoolhouse” 

A MESSAGE FROM THE CDSE FRONT OFFICE

Denise D. Humphrey

Deputy Director, CDSE

approach to training, education, and certification, 

and this incredible growth was facilitated by 

expanding our reach to engage security personnel 

across the globe.

We hope you will find this report informative and see 

our dedication to move the security workforce 

towards success.
Provide the DoD with a security center of 

excellence for the professionalization of the security 

community and be the premier provider of security 

education, training, and certification for the DoD 

and industry under the National Industrial Security 

Program (NISP). The CDSE provides development, 

delivery, and exchange of security knowledge to 

ensure a high-performing workforce capable of 

addressing our Nation’s security challenges.

To be the premier provider and center of excellence 

for security education, training, and certification for 

the DoD and industry under the NISP.

VISION

MISSION Center for Development 

of Security Excellence

Center for Development 

of Security Excellence
CONTENTS

A Message from Mr. Payne 2

A Message from the CDSE Front Office 3

One Million Learning Activities 6

Leading Change 7

Security Awareness Hub 7

CDSE Speaker Series 7

Cyber Skill Standards for Security 8

Results 9

ACE CreditTM Recommendations 9

CompTIA Continuing Education Units 9

Industrial Security Representative (Is Rep) 

Three-Tiered Training 10

Education Certificates Awarded 10

Solutions for Emerging Issues 11

New Courses and Products 11

Insider Threat Symposium 12

Security Assistant Toolkit 12

Community Impact 13

Standing Up the DSTC Appeals Board 13

CDSE Voice of the Community 13

Awards 14

DoD CI and HUMINT Award 14

Federal Government Distance Learning 

Association Five-Star Award 15

CDSE Recognized as a Top 100 Global 

Learning Organization 16

CDSE Receives Innovation Award from the 

International Association for Continuing 

Education and Training 

16

Horizon Interactive Awards 17

Omni Awards 17

By the Numbers 18
6 Center for Development of Security Excellence

ONE MILLION LEARNING ACTIVITIES 

The security community is quickly evolving and as a 

result, choosing new ways to learn. CDSE continues 

to be proactive in providing training and job aids 

available not only on the traditional desktop, but also 

on mobile devices. 

CDSE continues to expand eLearning, webinars, 

toolkits, and shorts offerings that reach a worldwide 

audience, anytime, anywhere. In addition, CDSE has 17 

courses on the Security Awareness Hub, which offers a 

selection of awareness-level courses available without 

having to log into its learning management system, 

Security Training, Education and Professionalization 

Portal (STEPP).

These factors have bolstered CDSE’s numbers in 

all areas and enabled CDSE to hit over one million 

learning event completions in FY16.

FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

LEARNING EVENT COMPLETIONS
www.cdse.edu 7

LEADING CHANGE 

SECURITY AWARENESS HUB

During FY16, CDSE rebranded its Open eLearning 

Portal the Security Awareness Hub. The Hub hosts 

annual and policy-mandated security awareness 

training with no registration requirements and at 

no cost to the DoD workforce and cleared industry 

under the National Industrial Security Program 

(NISP). Training courses offered through the 

Security Awareness Hub cover a range of topics, 

including Insider Threat, Derivative Classification, and 

Counterintelligence Awareness. By providing training 

relevant to the changing security landscape, the DoD 

workforce and industry are well-informed of pressing 

topics and changes to security policy. The Security 

Awareness Hub includes links to other recommended 

training courses and products that promote

security awareness. 

DoD agencies and military services are increasingly 

using the Hub for the DoD workforce to meet their 

annual security training requirements. Since the 

Hub course completions have approached a million, 

additional features have been added to increase 

security vigilance and readiness in the DoD workforce. 

Each month, the Hub emphasizes a new security 

awareness theme, such as cybersecurity awareness. 

Every week, the Hub rotates security video lessons, 

tips, factoids, and trivia questions. CDSE expects 

course completions to continue to rise as DoD 

agencies and services see the cost and time savings 

advantage in having personnel take the security 

awareness courses at the Hub to meet their annual 

security training requirements. 

CDSE SPEAKER SERIES

The new Security Speaker Series provided direct 

access to respected leaders in the security community. 

Nearly 5,000 personnel registered for the Speaker 

Series in FY16. Speakers discussed trending topic 

areas such as insider threat, personnel security 

investigations, counterintelligence, and more. Unlike 

a formal briefing or webinar, speakers are unscripted 

and answer live questions from the virtual audience. 

The live sessions are recorded and posted on the CDSE 

website. All live and recorded events are also 

closed captioned. 

[It was] very helpful in putting all 

the pieces together. Often, we tend 

to focus on our small part and lose 

sight of the bigger picture.

-- a participant in the Speaker Series with Mr. Gus 

Greene, Director of Industrial Security Field Operations 

(ISFO), Defense Security Service (DSS)

Security

Awareness 

Hub
8 Center for Development of Security Excellence

LEADING CHANGE 

CYBER SKILL STANDARDS FOR SECURITY

CDSE took the initiative to cultivate cyber skill standards for 

security professionals, paving the way for the community 

to measure its workforce against established standards 

for cybersecurity.

CDSE aligned with the Cybersecurity Workforce 

Framework initiative and the Cyber Workforce 

Management Board’s (CWMB) six Knowledge, 

Skills, and Abilities (KSAs), applicable to the 

cyber workforce and a job task analysis 

(JTA) with a list of KSAs for associated 

work roles.

CDSE proactively engaged the 

CWMB to align and integrate 

these KSAs into CDSE’s own 

cyber skill standards, 

especially considering 

Component human 

resource departments 

were already coding security 

positions as “cyber” and “cyberaffected” and indexing certifications 

to Security Professional Education 

Development (SPēD) certifications.

On September 9, 2016, CDSE made its mark 

on the cyber and broader security workforce 

with the unanimous acceptance of these 

integrated cyber skill standards by stakeholders 

across the security community. Ahead of this decision, 

CDSE developed an implementation plan and determined 

the impact of cyber on the SPēD Certification Program, 

including integration of these cyber standards and KSAs into 

the DoD Security Skill Standards’ (DS3) Essential Bodies of Work 

and Knowledge.
www.cdse.edu 9

RESULTS

ACE CREDITTM RECOMMENDATIONS

During FY16, CDSE continued 

to add value to its education 

and training program offerings 

with both new and renewed American Council on 

Education (ACE) CREDITTM recommendations. ACETM 

conducted a review of 10 tuition-free CDSE education 

and training courses and curricula. ACE CREDITTM 

recommendations allow CDSE students opportunity 

at participating colleges or universities at which 

they may be pursuing a degree. CDSE continues to 

collaborate with the Office of the Under Secretary 

of Defense for Intelligence (OUSD(I)) Human Capital 

Management Office, the Security Policy & Oversight 

Division, and the U.S. Department of Education to 

explore obtaining degree-granting authority. 

COMPTIA CONTINUING 

EDUCATION UNITS

CDSE connected with CompTIA, 

a non-profit trade association advancing the 

global interests of IT professionals and IT channel 

organizations. CompTIA offers several professional 

certifications, and for certification holders to maintain 

their credentials, they must earn Continuing Education 

Unit (CEU) credits. 

The FY16 ACETM review renewed courses and 

curricula by either retaining their existing credit 

recommendation or advancing up a level. The 

category increased from lower division to upper 

division baccalaureate degree for the following 

courses: 

• Applying Physical Security Concepts (APSC)

• Information Security Management (ISM)

• DoD Security Specialist Course (SSC) (both virtual 

and instructor-led versions)

Additionally, the Counterintelligence (CI) Awareness 

Certificate was reviewed for the first time and 

recommended for four semester hours in the upperdivision baccalaureate degree category.

The ACE CREDITTM logo is a federally registered trademark 

of the American Council on Education and cannot 

be used or reproduced without the express written 

permission of the American Council on Education.

To be approved for CEU credit, CDSE course objectives 

must map to at least 50% of CompTIA exam objectives. 

CompTIA determined that over 40 courses and 

curricula hosted by CDSE are approved for CEU credit 

toward several CompTIA certification renewals, 

including A +, Network +, Security +, and CompTIA 

Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP). 
RESULTS

INDUSTRIAL SECURITY 

REPRESENTATIVE (IS REP) 

THREE-TIERED TRAINING 

CDSE launched its three-tiered IS Rep training in 

FY16. Graduates included 15 NISP Oversight Course 

(NISPOC), 64 Managing Risk through Industrial 

Security (MRIS), and 36 Applying Industrial Security 

Concepts (AISC) students. 

As a culmination of the third training course, the 

AISC course candidates are required to submit a final 

capstone project where they solve a complex, real-life 

industrial security issue, concern, or opportunity. The 

capstone projects are reviewed by DSS leadership, and 

practical recommendations may inform or aid in DSS 

policy and practices. 

For example, the “Understanding Your e-FCL 

Submission Requirements” job aid was developed in 

response to the capstone project recommendations. 

This job aid helps contractors better understand the 

business documents and substantiating material they 

must submit through the Electronic Facility Security 

Clearance System (e-FCL) in order to be processed and 

maintain their facility clearance. This job aid results in 

a more efficient process, eliminating many 

common errors. 

EDUCATION 

CERTIFICATES AWARDED

During the FY, CDSE awarded 38 Education 

Certificates to U.S. government civilian and U.S. 

military personnel from the Air Force, Army, Navy, 

the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, DSS, 

and other agencies. Education Certificates are 

earned by completing four Education courses in 

an area of concentration. Each course within the 

five certificate programs has received ACE CREDITTM 

recommendations. 

Certificate programs include certificates in Risk 

Management, Security Leadership, Security 

Management, Security (Generalist), and for Systems 

and Operations. 

Previous certificate recipients continue to take classes 

and earn additional certificates to advance their 

careers, with several planning to earn all five. 

10 Center for Development of Security Excellence
www.cdse.edu 11

Applying Industrial Security Concepts FOCI Outside Directors, Proxy Holders, and Voting Trustees Training

Clearances in the NISP: Putting it All Together FSO Virtual Assessment

Continuous Monitoring NISP Security Violations and Administrative Inquiries Course

DSS Annual Security Awareness Training Unauthorized Disclosure Refresher

Completing the SF700 DITMAC

Critical Program Information (CPI) Managing Electronic Classified Information

Cybersecurity and the Use of New Personal Devices Special Access Program Oversight

The DGR Role and Responsibilities Termination Briefing

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Security Assistant

FOCI Outside Directors, Proxy Holders, and Voting Trustees Top Secret Control Officer (TSCO)

IS Rep Virtual Library

Creating a Workplace Secure Configuration for Hardware and Software

Culture of Cybersecurity Security Chat with Acting Unit Chief John Harnett, FBI

Cybersecurity Awareness Update Webcast (November) Security Chat with DITMAC Assistant Directors

Developing an Incident Response Capability Security Chat with Dr. Brad Millick

DSS 2015 Targeting U.S. Technologies Security Chat with Dr. R.B. Peele

FSO Effectiveness Security Chat with Mr. Gus Greene

Processing Security Violations Security Chat with Ms. Angela Stow Jago

Risk Management Framework for Industry Staying Protected While Connected

Secure Communication for an Insecure World Your Evolving Digital Life

SOLUTIONS FOR EMERGING ISSUES

NEW COURSES AND PRODUCTS

CDSE continued providing courses and products to keep up to date with changing policies and security 

environments. In FY16, CDSE released:

8 NEW COURSES

8 NEW SECURITY SHORTS

5 NEW TOOLKITS

17 NEW WEBINARS
SOLUTIONS FOR EMERGING ISSUES 

INSIDER THREAT SYMPOSIUM

On September 15, CDSE hosted the Virtual Insider 

Threat Symposium for cleared industry, boasting over 

980 attendees. This event was designed to assist DSS’s 

industry partners in the implementation of an Insider 

Threat Program as required by the National Industrial 

Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM). The 

symposium provided the forum for newly-appointed 

Insider Threat Program Senior Officials (ITPSOs) to 

directly ask the experts questions to understand 

the policy and their new role as well as covering the 

minimum insider threat training requirements. 

Guest speakers from the DSS General Counsel, 

Industrial Security Integration & Application, Industrial 

Security Field Operations, and National Industrial 

Security Program Authorization Office (NAO) discussed 

the new requirements and available tools related to 

the appointment of the senior official, implementation 

plans, self-assessments, and classified system 

monitoring requirements. 

SECURITY ASSISTANT TOOLKIT

The Security Assistant population performs 

various security functions and is integral to the success 

of the overall mission of the military components 

and other government agencies. Although CDSE 

already had extensive courseware and training 

resources available to support the common training 

requirements for this community, the results of a 

Training Needs Analysis pointed to a need for a more 

focused approach. 

As a result, CDSE created a Security Assistant 

toolkit, containing courses, shorts, job aids, policies, 

videos, and webinars targeted to the common tasks 

performed by this audience. In addition, CDSE 

designed two personalized curricula (Personnel 

Security for the Security Assistant and Information 

Security for the Security Assistant) to incorporate 

existing courses, exams, and shorts. 

Our Airmen now have an ondemand bundle of resources 

to help them perform security 

assistant related duties. Efficient 

products like this provide valuable 

learning opportunities while giving 

time back to the Airmen -- that’s 

important to our mission and the 

advancement of security training. 

-Jill Baker, Air Force
www.cdse.edu 13

COMMUNITY IMPACT

STANDING UP THE DSTC 

APPEALS BOARD 

The SPēD Certification Program Management Office 

(PMO) teamed with the DoD Security Training Council 

(DSTC) to create a Certification Appeals Board for 

candidates and certificants to challenge examination 

results, candidate registration, test-taking protocols, 

eligibility related to alleged cheating, alleged 

violation of professional rules of conduct or the law, 

inaccurate information on the application, certification 

maintenance and Professional Development Units 

(PDUs), and certification disciplinary matters.

CDSE and the DSTC established guidelines, roles, 

and responsibilities for board members, including 

administration and operation, processing and 

adjudicating appeals, and appeal submissions.

The SPēD Certification PMO received 10 appeals from 

certification candidates this fiscal year. Using the new 

streamlined appeals process, the Board reinforced the 

SPēD Certification Program’s legal defensibility and 

provided candidates accurate responses for 

each challenge.

CDSE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY

CDSE strives to have a good working relationship with 

its customers and employees. This past FY, a the Voice 

of the Community survey was conducted to assess 

those relationships by capturing the community’s 

holistic experience with CDSE and customer 

satisfaction. The survey results indicated that the 

community values CDSE’s product and services; 

uses CDSE to meet their training, education, and 

certification needs; and constantly desires new and 

current content. The results also indicated there were 

challenges in the form of technical issues.

Feedback from this survey helps CDSE grow and 

advance security readiness within the community. 

The graph below shows these overall results and the 

audience categories.

Additionally, CDSE participated in the Federal 

Employee Viewpoint Survey, which polled CDSE 

employees about the work environment. The survey 

results revealed that employees felt they were 

able to maintain a good work/life balance, their 

supervisors listened to their needs, their job duties 

were important, and they were constantly striving to 

do better at their jobs. Overall, CDSE employees are 

committed to their jobs and workplace. 

HOW DO CUSTOMERS CATEGORIZE THEIR 

EXPERIENCE WITH CDSE?

DOD

OTHER

INDUSTRY

82%

16% 13%

positive

neutral

negative

4% 2%

2% 1%

86%

94%
Center for Development of Security Excellence

In 2016, CDSE received the following recognitions: 

AWARD AWARD TYPE

DoD Counterintelligence and Human 

Intelligence Award in Training and Education Team Award

National Counterintelligence (CI) and Security 

Awards in Education/Training Individual Award

National Counterintelligence (CI) and Security 

Awards in Education/Training

Team Honorable 

Mention

DOD CI AND HUMINT AWARD 

Each year, the Defense Intelligence Agency hosts 

the DoD Counterintelligence and HUMINT Awards, 

which recognizes individuals and organizations for 

their superior education and training efforts to ensure 

that the DoD Intelligence Community has effective 

learning programs strategically designed to address 

counterintelligence and HUMINT training products 

and courses.

CDSE distinguished itself in an exemplary manner 

through the successful integration of CI and Insider 

Threat Awareness in multiple training products. The 

CDSE CI Curriculum Program developed and launched 

several new CI Awareness products, resulting in over 

520,000 course completions, and has significantly 

increased threat awareness and reporting, which 

resulted in the timely identification and mitigation 

of numerous security vulnerabilities. 

AWARDS

14
www.cdse.edu 15

AWARDS

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

DISTANCE LEARNING ASSOCIATION 

FIVE-STAR AWARD

CDSE received its second Federal Government 

Distance Learning Association (FGDLA) Five-Star 

Award in early FY16. CDSE was previously recognized 

as a Five-Star Award winner in 2013. 

The following distance learning products were 

presented for their innovative use of video technology 

to support training and education:

• Security 

Training Videos

• On-boarding 

Refresher

• CDSE 

YouTube Channel

• Effective Communication 

in DoD Security Course

• Awareness and 

Marketing Videos

• DoD Security 

Specialist Course

• DoD Virtual 

Security Conferences

• National Industrial 

Security Program 

Oversight Course 

(NISPOC)

Established in 1995, FGDLA is a nonprofit, 

professional association formed to promote the 

development and application of distance learning in 

the Federal Government.
AWARDS

CDSE RECOGNIZED AS A TOP 100 

GLOBAL LEARNING ORGANIZATION 

CDSE received national recognition at the Enterprise 

Learning! Conference Awards Dinner in Anaheim, 

California. Out of 40 top learning and development 

programs in the public sector, CDSE was recognized 

for coordinating virtual participation during the live 

2015 DoD Security Conference. CDSE’s response 

to the challenge of reaching security personnel 

worldwide ranked number six in the innovation area of 

excellence. 

Learning! 100 Awards recognize the top 100 global 

learning organizations for high performance and 

for their innovative, collaborative, and immersive 

learning culture. The 100 organizations are comprised 

of 60 corporate enterprises and 40 public sector 

organizations. Previous honorees include the 

American Heart Association, AT&T, Cisco, Defense 

Acquisition University, Khan Academy, and Verizon.

CDSE RECEIVES INNOVATION 

AWARD FROM THE INTERNATIONAL 

ASSOCIATION FOR CONTINUING 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

CDSE Director Kevin Jones and other CDSE 

representatives attended an Awards Reception and 

Ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas to accept the 2016 

Innovation of the Year—Technology Integration 

Award. The International Association for Continuing 

Education and Training (IACET) awards deserving 

individuals, innovators, projects, or programs that 

significantly contributed to the field of continuing 

education and training.

CDSE was recognized for its innovative uses of 

Flash and Web technologies, a Collaborative Online 

Learning Platform (COP), and a Collaborative Learning 

Environment (CLE) to allow for growing numbers 

of personnel to access vital security awareness and 

training resources when and how they need them.

IACET is an accrediting body which originally created 

and maintains the approved American National 

Standards Institute (ANSI)/IACET Standard for 

continuing education 

and training. CDSE is 

affiliated with IACET due 

to its accreditation as an 

authorized provider of 

Continuing Education 

Units (CEUs).
AWARDS

HORIZON INTERACTIVE AWARDS

Since CDSE won more than four Horizon Interactive 

Awards, it earned the distinction of being a 

“Distinguished Agency,” a title given to agencies 

and developers who consistently demonstrate highquality work. 

CDSE products won 6 Bronze-level awards in the 

Training/eLearning category:

• Business Structures in the NISP (eLearning)

• Closed Area Practical Exercise

• Competency Preparatory Tools (CPTs) 

Instructional Short

• Counterintelligence Awareness and Reporting 

Course for DoD (eLearning)

• Department of Defense (DoD) Security Specialist 

Course (VILT)

• National Industrial Security Program Oversight 

Course (NISPOC) Lesson Presentations

PRODUCT OMNI AWARDS

Business Structures in the NISP (eLearning) Silver, Education 

Silver, Government

Counterintelligence Awareness and 

Security Brief (eLearning)

Silver, Education 

Silver, Government

Competency Preparatory Tools (CPTs) 

Instructional Short

Bronze, Education 

Bronze, Government

Data Spills (Short) Silver, Education 

Bronze, Government

Department of Defense (DoD) Security 

Specialist Course (VILT)

Bronze, Education 

Bronze, Government

National Industrial Security Program 

Oversight Course (NISPOC) 

Lesson Presentations

Bronze, Education 

Bronze, Government

Unauthorized Disclosure 

Refresher (eLearning)

Bronze, Education 

Bronze, Government

The Horizon Interactive 

Awards is a prestigious, 

international competition recognizing outstanding 

achievements among interactive media producers. 

The competition recognizes and awards the best 

websites, videos, online advertising, print media, and 

mobile applications.

The Omni Awards recognize 

outstanding media productions that 

engage, empower, and enlighten. 

Awards are given in the fields of Film & Video, 

Animation & Effects, and Website Design.

OMNI AWARDS

CDSE won 14 Omni Awards on several courses 

and products:

www.cdse.edu 17
18 Center for Development of Security Excellence

BY THE NUMBERS 

4

99,993

92,762

CERTIFICATIONS WITH

NATIONAL-LEVEL 

ACCREDITATION

JOB AID 

VIEWS

VISITS TO SECURITY SHORTS

EDUCATION 

COURSE

COMPLETIONS

31 256

5,949

12,045

CDSE COURSES WITH 

ACE CREDITTM

RECOMMENDATIONS

TOTAL SPēD CONFERRALS

TOTAL TESTED

270,222

1,285,681

4,453,762

PDUs 

EARNED

OVERALL 

WEBSITE VISITS

VISITS TO TOOLKITS

386,791

COURSE COMPLETIONS
The editorial content of this publication was 

prepared, edited, and approved by the Director, 

Center for Development of Security Excellence. The 

views and opinions expressed do not necessarily 

reflect those of the Department of Defense. To 

comment, contact CDSE Enterprise Management 

at dss.cdseenterprisemgmt@mail.mil.
Center for Development 

of Security Excellence

www.cdse.edu