COMSEC -- Have IT? Want It? Know the Basics?

 

STE, STU, SIPR, KOI, KIV, the list of strange acronyms goes on forever.  It is all a part of the language of Communications Security, most often referred to as COMSEC, and it is truly a language unlike any other.
 
What exactly is COMSEC?  It is measures and controls taken to deny unauthorized persons information derived from telecommunications and ensure the authenticity of such telecommunications.  COMSEC includes cryptosecurity, emission security, transmission security, and physical security of COMSEC material.
 
The COMSEC program comes under the purview of the National Security Agency Central Security Service and is covered in NSA/CSS Manual 3-16.  In fact, if you look in the NISPOM for information on COMSEC, the very first sentence in paragraph 9-400 states, "This section was prepared by NSA."
 
NSA/CSS Manual 3-16 sets forth very specific rules regarding clearance and access requirements, briefing and debriefing requirements, storage, destruction, ordering, and simply all things COMSEC. 
 
If you are a seasoned security professional who gets a new contractual requirement to have a COMSEC account or if you're relatively new to security and are being assigned COMSEC duties, the first thing you want to do is get scheduled for training.  Why?  Because completion of COMSEC Custodian Training (Course IAEC 2112) is mandatory for all persons appointed as a COMSEC Custodian or Alternate.  It is also very important to help you learn and understand the language, become familiar with the requirements, and will allow you and your company to enjoy a properly functioning COMSEC program.
 
The course schedule for the required training can be found on-line at http://www.ccmit.org/t-comsec.aspx.  Most of the classes are offered at the Linthicum Heights, MD facility, so please be advised there will be some travel involved, especially for those of us deep in the heart of Texas.

Escorting Visitors, Vendors, and Others

 

We (my husband Dan, Mom, and I) had borrowed a friend's trailer to bring a couple of new Watussi heifers to the ranch.  John (the friend who owned the trailer) joined us upon our return and requested permission to scrounge up some tin to reinforce the roof of the trailer we had borrowed. While we continued to talk with another friend who had come out to the ranch, John visited approximately five different areas where we might have had left over tin stored.  As he left each spot for the next, Rosita discreetly followed him and ensured that all was as it should be.  As John rejoined our group to show his findings and to wish us well prior to reclaiming his trailer, Rosita ambled over to the corral for a drink and to check on grain recently disbursed.  Are your staff trained to observe visitors, vendors, contractors, and other staff for actions out of the ordinary?

 

Would your staff know if an action by a visitor, vendor, contractor, or staff member was inappropriate or a danger to your facility.  With the advent of so many technical advances in audio/visual recording devices and their disguises, sometimes body language or a person's actions may be the only clue that something might be wrong.  To protect national secrets, your facilities' trade secrets and proprietary information, your staff must be trained to recognize each type of data, know if there are restrictions on handling or viewing, and when and how to report if they have a suspicion or actual incident to report.  Incorporate physical security, counter intelligence awareness and training as a part of your company culture and find automatic countermeasures securing your facility.

Hiding in Plain Sight - OPSEC in an Industrial Security and Defense Contractor Entity

Later that night, after returning to our vacation cabin my wife came running up to me.  "See, I knew that was her."  My wife held open a gossip magazine with the actress and her famous boyfriend in a photo walking along a resort beach.  In the picture, the actress had worn the same pink trucker hat and brown sunglasses we had seen her in earlier that day.  I couldn't believe it, it had been a good sighting.  "So, why didn't you talk to her?" asked my wife.  "Well, I really didn't know what I would say.  Plus, I really think she just wanted to enjoy her holiday," I replied.