This site is not updated. The author is a writer-editor for State Magazine. In recent months, the Secretary set a goal of changing the culture of security at the Department and called for a security action plan to be implemented to meet that challenge. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was helpful in voicing its concerns and providing advice. The plan, announced to all employees Sept. 1, includes changes in the Department's promotion and tenure process, program planning, training, and selection process for senior positions in Washington and overseas and a new Security Incident Program that tightens employee accountability for handling and storing classified information.
Violations are security incidents with actual or possible compromise.
Certain categories of incidents, such as those involving Top Secret, are automatically treated as violations. Infractions are security incidents with no actual or possible compromise, usually occurring in a controlled- access area. Three infractions in an employee's three-year moving window trigger the disciplinary process, ranging from admonishment to reprimand to suspension without pay. The three-year moving window is the time period for the aggregate of security incidents to be counted for security clearance review or disciplinary action. These briefings began in mid-May, and more than 8,300 employees have been briefed domestically.