Engineering Pop Culture!
Comment
WKetel
Security can also be tight in some non-government organizations, I guess it is ...
Stargzer
Long ago a friend worked at Cheltenham, outside of DC. He said the Marine ...
Your security clearance is here somewhere
Radcliffe Cutshaw
7/12/2010 7:39 PM EDT
An engineer recalls the insanities of the security clearance
procedures in place at the first company he worked for
My first job was with a contractor that ran a DoD facility. The facility had access to all types of classified information on a need-to-know basis: troop movements, battle plans, current and future hardware designs, and, even nuclear weapon information. The purpose of the facility was to determine everything in relation to electromagnetic compatibility and communications.
As you can imagine, security was very tight and not taken at all lightly.
We had to cover documents with the appropriate classified cover sheet while walking down the hall, and when documents were not in use they had to be locked up in a safe. Security was so tight that any project that was in progress was given the classification of Secret, even if the final document would be classified as Unclassified
It was baffling why some stuff was classified: For example, a statement that a piece of equipment had certain characteristics had to be classified, even though those characteristics were easily identifiable from an unclassified photograph of the equipment. Also, if something classified was discovered in an unclassified public publication, we were supposed to report it to the facilities librarian so that the publication with the classified material could be classified and stored in a vault instead of on open library racks.
The most ridiculous rule was that all publications, even if they were not connected with the job, such as a school class paper, had to be approved for publication by a review board. I know that this is true because my manager was studying law, and he complained bitterly about having to submit each brief and paper to the review board.
In the event of a security breach, the person responsible had to write a letter to the Air Force Colonel in charge of the facility. Three minor breaches or one major breach and you were fired.
This was my first job, and I didn't know anything about security procedures. On my first day I reported to work, checked in at the front desk, and was escorted by the head of personnel into the office area, where I filled out various forms and signed papers. Towards the end of the day, I was taken to the security office and photographed and fingerprinted by the civilian designated as the security officer. I was handed a photo badge with the word “Confidential” on it, and my manager took me to my office and introduced me to everyone in the department.
The next day, I was given a personal briefing by the security officer about all of the rules and regulations surrounding work there. I was assigned some projects and began working.
After about two months, the manager asked me if I knew Fortran. I answered, “Yes.” The manager then said, “You're going to have to be cleared to a higher level.”
“Why?”
“Because you know computer programming.” He then walked away.
I talked to some of the more senior people and found out that none of them wanted to write programs for the mainframe: some didn't know any computer languages. Those who did hated the computer because they hated punching the card decks and dealing with the corrections that had to be made in order to run a program.
A week later I was called down to the security office and was given a form to fill out to apply for my Secret Clearance. The security officer was sitting behind his desk; his secretary at the door. He said, “Be sure that you give the same answers you gave when filling out the questionnaire for your Confidential clearance.”
“I never filled out a questionnaire for the Confidential clearance,” I said.
The secretary immediately asked, “Should I write a letter to the Colonel?” I looked up to see the security officer was getting very uncomfortable.
After a pause, the security officer said he didn’t think that would be necessary. He stood up and pulled another form out of a file cabinet and an application for a Confidential clearance and told me to fill them out.
I filled out both clearance applications and handed them back to him. There were no problems and the security officer was very friendly during my employment there.
As for the necessity of a Secret clearance? After it was granted, I became the official custodian of decks of punch cards modeling classified military systems.
Radcliffe Cutshaw is a creative private consultant in the areas of RF design and RF development and wireless. He is also involved with writing.
My first job was with a contractor that ran a DoD facility. The facility had access to all types of classified information on a need-to-know basis: troop movements, battle plans, current and future hardware designs, and, even nuclear weapon information. The purpose of the facility was to determine everything in relation to electromagnetic compatibility and communications.
As you can imagine, security was very tight and not taken at all lightly.
We had to cover documents with the appropriate classified cover sheet while walking down the hall, and when documents were not in use they had to be locked up in a safe. Security was so tight that any project that was in progress was given the classification of Secret, even if the final document would be classified as Unclassified
It was baffling why some stuff was classified: For example, a statement that a piece of equipment had certain characteristics had to be classified, even though those characteristics were easily identifiable from an unclassified photograph of the equipment. Also, if something classified was discovered in an unclassified public publication, we were supposed to report it to the facilities librarian so that the publication with the classified material could be classified and stored in a vault instead of on open library racks.
The most ridiculous rule was that all publications, even if they were not connected with the job, such as a school class paper, had to be approved for publication by a review board. I know that this is true because my manager was studying law, and he complained bitterly about having to submit each brief and paper to the review board.
In the event of a security breach, the person responsible had to write a letter to the Air Force Colonel in charge of the facility. Three minor breaches or one major breach and you were fired.
This was my first job, and I didn't know anything about security procedures. On my first day I reported to work, checked in at the front desk, and was escorted by the head of personnel into the office area, where I filled out various forms and signed papers. Towards the end of the day, I was taken to the security office and photographed and fingerprinted by the civilian designated as the security officer. I was handed a photo badge with the word “Confidential” on it, and my manager took me to my office and introduced me to everyone in the department.
The next day, I was given a personal briefing by the security officer about all of the rules and regulations surrounding work there. I was assigned some projects and began working.
After about two months, the manager asked me if I knew Fortran. I answered, “Yes.” The manager then said, “You're going to have to be cleared to a higher level.”
“Why?”
“Because you know computer programming.” He then walked away.
I talked to some of the more senior people and found out that none of them wanted to write programs for the mainframe: some didn't know any computer languages. Those who did hated the computer because they hated punching the card decks and dealing with the corrections that had to be made in order to run a program.
A week later I was called down to the security office and was given a form to fill out to apply for my Secret Clearance. The security officer was sitting behind his desk; his secretary at the door. He said, “Be sure that you give the same answers you gave when filling out the questionnaire for your Confidential clearance.”
“I never filled out a questionnaire for the Confidential clearance,” I said.
The secretary immediately asked, “Should I write a letter to the Colonel?” I looked up to see the security officer was getting very uncomfortable.
After a pause, the security officer said he didn’t think that would be necessary. He stood up and pulled another form out of a file cabinet and an application for a Confidential clearance and told me to fill them out.
I filled out both clearance applications and handed them back to him. There were no problems and the security officer was very friendly during my employment there.
As for the necessity of a Secret clearance? After it was granted, I became the official custodian of decks of punch cards modeling classified military systems.
Radcliffe Cutshaw is a creative private consultant in the areas of RF design and RF development and wireless. He is also involved with writing.
|
|
|
|
|
Navigate to related information
Jimelectr
7/13/2010 1:50 AM EDT
Sounds familiar. 20 some-odd years ago I had the pleasure of needing a security clearance for my first job out of engineering school at a not-to-be-named aerospace corporation (the names have been changed to protect the guilty!). Another engineer waiting for his security clearance clued me in when he said, "You would think that the security people would be the best and brightest; not so!" I was there for over 6 years and looked at probably 2 classified documents the whole time, yet because I worked in a secret building, I had to have a special badge and had to unlock the combination lock every morning and lock it every evening when I left. The silliest thing to me was how we had to log in and out on a sheet of paper right on the outside of the door. That's an example of poor operational security; if somebody wanted to break in, all he/she would have to do would be to look at the log to know when nobody would be around! Duh, just make it easier for spies! I found an awful lot of incompetence being hidden behind locked doors.
Sign in to Reply
Neo1
7/13/2010 6:05 AM EDT
All these issues are still present though in a different form and they exist because of all people bureaucracies understanding of technology is the least.
Sign in to Reply
KB3001
7/13/2010 6:45 AM EDT
I guess it's the blame culture that pushes people to extremes in order to remove any possibility of them being charged of a misconduct or incompetence. Everyone tries to pass the buck to the next, and we end up with systems like the ones described above which make non sense. Yet if you dig deeper you discover that pieces of the system make sense for the individual(s) behind them. No one cares about the big picture.
Sign in to Reply
Radcliffe
7/13/2010 2:46 PM EDT
I've heard of places that are worse. One friend of mine was subject to triple security. He had his regular badge which enabled to get to a security checkpoint where he could get another badge, which enabled him to get to another security checkpoint for another badge. This badge enabled him to get to yet another checkpoint where the three previous badges stayed the guards hands from shooting him until the guards checked a list to see if he was allowed into the secured area where he worked.
Sign in to Reply
Karen Field
7/14/2010 10:39 AM EDT
On my first job working for a defense systems contractor, I was a design engineer on a project that required a Top Secret security clearance. In order to enter this secure area, employees had to swap out their regular company badge (used throughout the facilities) for a special, classified badge, which was required to gain entry. I imagine it was similar to the type of badge that Radcliffe describes.
Each badge was stored in a designated slot in an open card rack outside the entrance door, and employees were responsible for making the switch between badges. Classified badge out, regular badge in, and vice versa when you left the secured area. It was entirely the employee’s responsibility to manage this exchange—in fact, an empty slot (forgetting to put your badge back) would get you written up.
After lunch one day I reported back to the secured area, pulled my classified badge from its designated slot, only to realize with amazement that it wasn’t mine: The employee photo was of a male who looked to have a few years on me. I'll just leave it at that.
Obviously I couldn’t get back into the secured area without my classified badge, which was nowhere to be found. Confusion ensued all around, and I suppose someone somewhere got written up. To this day, I'm still agog at the flimsy security system in place for an important classified project.
Sign in to Reply
Radcliffe
7/14/2010 3:12 PM EDT
Actually, according to my friend, the badges were added without deleating any of the badges; he had to have three badges when he approached the final security checkpoint.
Sign in to Reply
Frank Eory
7/14/2010 4:23 PM EDT
How about the time charging system, where you had to record all work activity to the correct charge number to the nearest tenth of an hour? If you worked on multiple projects and used multiple numbers, you might end up taking more than 6 minutes to do your time card entries. I seem to recall that there was a special charge number to use in that situation, to correctly and completely account for the time spent doing your time card!
Sign in to Reply
FHampshire
7/17/2010 6:58 PM EDT
I worked in a nuke material plant, where they hired armed guards at 7.50/hour. One guard was practicing his "quick draw" in the bathroom and blew the mirror apart (that brought everyone running). Another genius was practicing his quick draw in front of the office windows one night and executed a copy machine. They made them attach their weapons to their belts with a lanyard, I guess so if they dropped their weapon it would follow them.....
Sign in to Reply
Larry Taibbi
7/19/2010 9:21 AM EDT
My software development work for several years involved similar security circumstances that many times seemed archaic or silly. However often there are valid reasons, unknown to workers since the nature of classified work means compartmentalization. For instanced have you ever heard of the Pentagon Pizza? As it was told (and it may just be a parable, who knows) back during the cold war era, the Pentagon spent a week conducting a series of frenzied hi-level meetings meaning a large group of officials (miltary and civilian) had suddenly descended on the facility. As the story goes, security was extremely tight but soviet listening posts picked up on the uncharacteristic outflow of phone calls to pizza restaurants coupled with soviet observers noticing an uncharacteristic influx of pizza deliveries to the Pentagon. They reasoned of course something "big" was up which only served to heighten their interest. But I suppose we'll never know what ever became of it.
Sign in to Reply
Mike_McK
7/20/2010 4:55 PM EDT
My first job out of school was at an avionics company (name withheld... you'll see why in a minute) that was extremely lax regarding security.
One day we had government visitors (USAF) coming in for the first time in many years. As our newly-hired security officer handed out brand-new badges an hour before our visitors were due, I noted that "Les" had a different colored badge to show he was the project lead.
"No", said the security guy, "Les gets a different color because he's a foreign national." The room froze and several managers' faces went white as we learned that Les was Canadian and not privy to any of the information he was supposed to present in less than an hour...
Sign in to Reply
zeeglen
8/20/2010 9:39 AM EDT
Les might have had a joint US/CDN clearance. My first real job out of school I had to obtain a similar clearance for work with NORAD.
Sign in to Reply
Jeff.Petro
11/24/2010 5:00 PM EST
I encounter the "Evil Canadian" syndrome regularly. I don't know how many times I've been asked to leave the room in order that others may discuss the technical details of the equipment I'm supplying/supporting.
Understandably, it's a blanket policy and I've learned not to get upset at my exclusion. However, I still take pleasure in pointing out that my knowledge on the subject exceeds the combined knowledge of those who remain in attendance.
Sign in to Reply
Rich Krajewski
7/25/2010 4:25 AM EDT
Most of you had the lucky experience of working in a place where security was tight. I had the opposite experience, working at a place where showing a pack of Marlboros instead of a red security badge could get you past the guard.
Sign in to Reply
Stargzer
11/24/2010 6:11 PM EST
Long ago a friend worked at Cheltenham, outside of DC. He said the Marine guards always stared straight ahead and didn't seem to be watching your badge. He said one day some idiot walked in with a picture Mickey Mouse or somebody like that on his badge. He was one step past the guard before he was flat on his back with a .45 in his face. Don't mess with the Marine guards!
Speaking of Mickey Mouse and security, when converting to a new computer access system we needed to gather some data from the dial-in users (3270 emulator traffic). We cobbled up a system to present them a screen every time they logged in until they completed all the requested info. One idiot listed his name as Mickey Mouse. Since Mickey was not the authorized user of that ID it was shut down. Someone had some explaining to do. Don't mess with IT, either!
Sign in to Reply
DrQuine
7/31/2010 8:23 PM EDT
I remember when digital door locks were first installed at airport jet ways. At boarding time, I watched the stewardess walk up to the lock and punch in 12345. While a random number generator could have generated that as the secure code, I suspect it was no coincidence. At least now shields are placed around the keys so that casual observers can't learn the codes (and I trust that more complex combinations are now the norm).
Sign in to Reply
Stargzer
11/24/2010 6:04 PM EST
In 1974 I worked at a bank in DC at a time when people were getting mugged in downtown office rest rooms, so all the non-public rest rooms were locked. If you worked in one of the clerical offices you had to go to the supervisor for the key. In DP we had our own keys, but on the floor that housed the mainframes they had a combination lock of four rocker switches. If you forgot the code to the men's room you walked over to the keypunch, typed out MALE, and read the holes to get the number. Never pursued the combo to the ladies' room.
Sign in to Reply
Radcliffe
8/9/2010 11:36 AM EDT
In the middle of the opening in the Pentagon there is a snack bar. The Soviet Union could see that there were many people coming and going, thus they thought that it was some sort of important command and control facility. After the Soviet Union went out of business in the early 90's, two former Soviet Generals were being given a tour of the Pentagon. They saw the snack bar out of a window and asked what it's function was. The guide replied that it was a snack bar and asked if they would like a snack. The Generals later admitted to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that they had thought that it was a command and control center and had targeted it with two warheads.
Sign in to Reply
WKetel
11/24/2010 9:18 PM EST
Security can also be tight in some non-government organizations, I guess it is part of corporate culture. When I was at Delphi Diesel, it was customary for those who had offices to lock the door behind them when they walked 50 feet to collect printout form the printer. This was in a secured building with time-locked key-card entry, plus a receptionist at the only entrance door. I still wonder what they believed was so secret. At another employer after that, those with offices would leave the doors open while they were out of town, so that others could water their plants. Quite a different culture.
Sign in to Reply