July 6, 2016 issue of the DPSAC NEWS

In This Issue

Pre-Screening Overview for New Federal Employees: What is Required for a Final Offer Letter to be Sent Out

Paper Fingerprint Cards: A Tool of Last Resort

News Briefs...Increased Police Patrols & Inspections of Common Areas Begin July 1 on NIH Campus

FAQs...Restoring Lost Sponsorship Authority

Helpful Tips

NED Training Schedule

ID Badge Rollout Scorecard

Past Issues

Contact Us

Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC),

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Monday - Friday

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Helpdesk: 301-402-9755

E-mail: orspersonnelsecurity@

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Helpdesk: 301-451-4766

E-mail: facilityaccesscontrol@

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Pre-Screening Overview for New Federal Employees: What is Required for a Final Offer Letter to be Sent Out

In July 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandated additional security requirements be implemented by all HHS Operating Divisions (OpDivs), including NIH, when hiring new federal employees. It required that before a final offer letter of employment could be sent to a prospective hire, the candidate must:

Undergo a criminal history check by submitting fingerprints to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Complete any/all required forms to conduct a background investigation

To meet these new requirements, DPSAC partnered with the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) team to create a five-step pre-screening process that, once completed, would signal to OHR that it could make a final offer to the prospective hire.

The steps in pre-screening process include:

____ Action Performed by

Step 1: Tentative Offer ------ IC/HR

Step 2: NED record ------ IC/AO

Step 3: e-QIP ------ Individual/DPSAC

Step 4: Fingerprints ------ Individual/DPSAC

Step 5: Final offer ------ IC/HR

Steps 1 & 2 are prerequisites for DPSAC to complete their portion of the pre-screening process. DPSAC needs to make sure that the NED record contains the necessary information to initiate the appropriate background information. This includes the individual's personal information (e.g., Social Security Number, Date of Birth, etc.) and the individual's position information (e.g., Biologist with access to Select Agents & Toxins).

In Step 3, DPSAC will initiate the required background investigation (if necessary) by sending the prospective new hire an e-mail asking them to complete e-QIP and release it to DPSAC along with any additional forms that may be required (e.g., credit release, OF-306, etc.).

Once the person completes these actions, DPSAC will review the information to ensure it is accurate and complete before submitting it to OPM. DPSAC will contact the prospective hire for any missing information.

In Step 4, the individual will be notified that s/he must be fingerprinted. Three options are available to the applicant to submit fingerprints. These are (in order of preference):

Option 1: Visit an NIH Enrollment Station (Preferred)

Option 2: Visit an HHS Enrollment Station at one of the following regional offices: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City (MO), Denver, San Francisco and Seattle.

Option 3: Submit paper fingerprint cards to DPSAC (See the following article: "Paper Fingerprint Cards: A Tool of Last Resort" for a detailed explanation of when to use this option). (Least preferred: will cause delays and is subject to manual errors)

Note: Anyone choosing Option 2 or 3 must contact DPSAC at ORSPersonnelSecurity@mail.nih.gov to make the necessary arrangements.

Once Steps 1-4 are completed, an automated e-mail will be sent to OD-OM-OHR-CSD-NEDNotifications@mail.nih.gov notifying OHR that the Final Offer letter can now be sent out (Step 5).

The completion of the pre-screening process also enables the new hire to get his/her ID badge while at orientation.

Paper Fingerprint Cards: A Tool of Last Resort

As part of the pre-screening processes at NIH, new federal employees must be fingerprinted to conduct a criminal history check. While DPSAC strongly urges individuals to use an NIH or HHS Enrollment Station to provide electronic fingerprints, they understand that at times this is simply not possible due to logistical considerations.

In these rare instances, DPSAC advises individuals to start the prescreening process by getting ink fingerprinted at a local Police Department and mailing the paper fingerprint cards to DPSAC. DPSAC in turn can submit the fingerprints to OPM to conduct the required check.

Recently DPSAC has fielded several inquiries from AOs asking whether individuals who have submitted paper fingerprint cards and have completed their e-QIP questionnaires need to take further action to be issued a PIV Card.

In a word, yes! Fingerprint cards can be used to conduct the required criminal history check as part of the pre-screening process, but the cards cannot be used as part of the process to receive a PIV card. Individuals still need to get enrolled (i.e., identity proofed, photographed and fingerprinted with an electronic fingerprint reader) at an NIH Enrollment Station when they arrive at NIH. This is because the PIV card stores electronically captured fingerprints and the photo on the smart chip embedded in the ID badge.

Why Bother with Paper Fingerprint Cards?

Individuals who can access an NIH or HHS Enrollment Office should not be using paper fingerprint cards. Enrolling at an NIH or HHS Enrollment office not only saves the applicant time with the onboarding process, but also speeds up the badging process. Once the new hire has completed the enrollment process, he or she should be able to obtain his or her new PIV Card on their Entry on Duty (EOD) day.

As noted above, using a paper fingerprint card may be unavoidable for some applicants who can't reach an NIH or HHS enrollment facility due to geographic limitations. While submitting paper fingerprints is not ideal, doing so will allow OHR to expedite the onboarding process for the new hire and will save those individuals who are unable to access an NIH or HHS enrollment office valuable time in obtaining a PIV Card when they arrive at their NIH duty station.

Remember: No Enrollment = No PIV Card (HHS ID Badge)

News Briefs

Increased Police Patrols and Inspections of Common Areas Begin July 1 on NIH Campus

ORS sent the following notice to the NIH workforce via the 'ORS Information Line' on June 29, 2016

Beginning July 1, 2016 you will see increased police presence around the NIH campus. NIH police and associated K-9 units will be more visible to the NIH community with increased patrols and inspections of common areas of campus, such as vehicles in parking lots and multi-level parking garages as well as buildings common spaces such as a building's atrium.

The security measures are being put in place to comply with the Department of Homeland Security Interagency Security Committee's (https://www.dhs.gov/interagency-security-committee) 2016 edition of "Physical Security Criteria for Federal Facilities."

Discussion of these changes included briefings to the NIH Scientific Directors, Executive Officers, Fellows Committee, Community Advisory Board for Security and the Office of Research Services Advisory Committee. These changes should not interfere with normal operations.

For more information and answers to your questions about security procedures on the NIH campus, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of the Security.nih.gov website at: http://www.security.nih.gov/FAQ/Pages/default.aspx. If you still have additional questions about this policy, please contact the NIH Police at 301-402-9668 or NIHDivisionOfPolice@mail.nih.gov.

***

OPM: Background Check Hack Affected More People Than First Disclosed

Excerpted from the June 27, 2016 NextGov Newsletter by Aliya Sternstein

An historic background check breach that the Office of Personnel Management had said impacted 21.5 million individuals also compromised potentially tens of millions of more people than initially disclosed, according to OPM's website.

Other family members and close contacts of those victims are "affected," according to an updated OPM FAQ. Last summer, OPM announced attackers had opened files on 21.5 million national security personnel and their immediate dependents.

Suspected Chinese cyberspies set their sights on forms submitted by Americans seeking clearance to handle classified information that, among other things, included details on their private lives.

The stolen data about the newly announced victims contains what is "generally available in public forums," OPM officials say.

What knowledge might adversaries now possess about the larger group of individuals?

OPM officials, in explaining who else is a victim, state: "When you submitted your background investigation form, you likely provided the name, address, date of birth, or other similar information of close contacts. These individuals could include immediate family members, co-habitants, or other close contacts."

Much of the information about the additional category of individuals already is visible in internet directories or social media, officials said.

"Therefore, the compromise of this information generally does not present the same level of risk of identity theft or other issues," they added.

This subset of hacked individuals will not be offered ID protection services.

The 21.5 million victims are eligible for up to 10 years of free fraud protection services.

The background check forms at issue were submitted between 2015 and 2000, and possibly earlier, but that is less likely, officials say.

Within the next few weeks, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee GOP members are expected to release a comprehensive report on the OPM network intrusion.

FAQs

Q. I'm hearing from my Administrative Officers (AOs), seemingly on a regular basis, that they are losing their Sponsorship role in NED and are no longer able to see their AD Account Review in NED. When we notify the NED help staff, they are having the AO re-take the online PIV Sponsor training. Does Sponsorship have to be renewed each year?

A. No. AOs should not have to renew their sponsorship authorization. Unfortunately, NED has a known defect, namely, that when the SACs available to a sponsor change (i.e., added or removed), the sponsor role is terminated. According to the NED team, when this happens in the future, the affected AO should open a ticket and the NED team can restore the sponsor role. Indicate in the comments that sponsorship needs to be restored.

Helpful Tips

Summer Interns Still Arriving at NIH -- Now that high school has let out for the Summer, DPSAC is seeing a final wave of students at its badging locations in Building 31 and Building 10 before they start their Summer internships.

DPSAC News has run several articles and FAQs detailing the Summer intern badging process. If you missed these articles, or want to review the badging procedures for these aspiring researchers, please refer to the May 25, 2016 DPSAC News.

All Building 31 badging services - Enrollment, Badge Issuance and Customer Service -- now offered at a single, convenient location in 1B03. All badging services in Building 31 are available between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. DPSAC will continue to offer Enrollment and Badging services in the South Lobby of the Clinical Center from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

AOs who wish to obtain sponsor authority -- must complete the sponsor training (see: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Training/Pages/administrators.aspx) and e-mail a copy of your signed certificate to the NIH HSPD-12 Program Office at hspd12@od.nih.gov. Upon receipt of the certificate, the Program Office will authorize the AO as a Sponsor. Please note: ONLY individuals with Administrative Officer access to NED are eligible to be an HHS ID Badge/PIV Card Sponsor.

ICs that want to add Lifecycle Work Station (LWS) operators to the approved roster -- send a written request to Richie Taffet at: taffetr@mail.nih.gov. Your request should include:

* the new operator's name

* his/her IC

* his/her NED number

* the operator's e-mail address, building/room and phone number

Once Mr. Taffet has approved the request, he will forward the name(s) to HHSIdentityAdmins@deloitte.com to complete the approval process, add the name(s) to the LWS operator roster, and inform the IC that the individual is now approved to operate the LWS.

Need to make changes to the LWS operator directories? -- drop an e-mail to Lanny Newman, newmanl@mail.nih.gov, and let him know what needs changing (e.g., adding new operators or LWS locations, removing operators, etc.). Remember, before a new operator can be added to the LWS directory, s/he must first be approved by Richie Taffet (see preceding Helpful Tip).

If an LWS is not available in your IC or your immediate area, and you work in the greater Bethesda or Rockville area -- please call 301-402-9755 to schedule an appointment with the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control located in Building 31, Room 1B03 or in Building 10, South Lobby, Room 1C52.

If you work outside the Bethesda/Rockville area, contact your local badge issuance office. You can find contact information for all badge issuance offices at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Pages/contactinfo.aspx.

Know someone who should be reading DPSAC News? -- have the person contact Lanny Newman, newmanl@mail.nih.gov, and ask to be put on the mailing list.

NED Training Schedule: a Class a Month for the Balance of FY '16

New and relatively inexperienced NED Portal users with an Administrative Officer (AO) or Administrative Technician (AT) role are invited to take advantage of one of the hands-on NED training classes being offered (once a month) through the end of fiscal year 2016.

Each class will provide an overview of the NED Portal and the NIH business functions it supports from the perspective of a NED Portal user with the AO or AT role.

Upon completing the course, students will have a solid working knowledge of the NED Portal and be able to perform the following tasks: Register/Activate, Update, Modify, Transfer, Badge Renewal and Deactivate.

The course will also familiarize students with other aspects of the NED Portal so they can set their primary SAC coverage using 'Preferences,' determine the status of a person's ID badge and/or network account request, look up and view information in a person's NED record and utilize NED reporting capabilities.

To register for one of the classes listed below, go to: http://training.cit.nih.gov/class_details.aspx?cId=NIHCIT-GN142.

Percentages are rounded up, yielding a total greater than 100%

NIH badging statistics from HHS as of July 1, 2016

Sponsored: 37,549 Enrolled: 36,483 Issued: 35,165*

*This figure represents 94.0% of individuals who have been sponsored.

Note: the Department reports weekly on the number of individuals who have been sponsored, enrolled and issued new HHS ID Badges for each OPDIV.

DPSAC News reports the latest Departmental figures for NIH in the first issue published for that month.

A biweekly e-newsletter from the Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep you informed as NIH rolls out "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12" (HSPD-12) establishing a common identification standard to better safeguard NIH and its workforce.