Keith’s note: there are several credible reports that I have verified of incidents wherein NASA employees (civil servant and contractor) were persistently harassed outside of their office in public places like coffee shops. IMHO NASA folks should use caution outside of work with regard to wearing badges etc. NASA has sent out this statement (to some media but not others) in response to reports of these incidents: “While we generally do not report on personal matters, I would like to clarify we are hearing stories of possible harassment toward employees, but not assault. Our managers are hearing information thirdhand and using this as an opportunity to remind our teams to be mindful of their surroundings and to report any incidences to the Office of Protective Services.” See NASA Management Is Ignoring You

NASA OIG: NASA’s Security Management Practices “While overall security policy and oversight are managed by OPS at the Agency level, implementation and funding of protective services operations remains a responsibility of Center leadership who used their resources to pursue Center- based priorities. As a result, OPS authority is marginalized and Centers, at times, develop and implement strategies that conflict with the intent of Agency directives. As part of MAP, OPS […]

A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone, The Verge “Seemingly, Bikkannavar’s reentry into the country should not have raised any flags. Not only is he a natural-born US citizen, but he’s also enrolled in Global Entry — a program through CBP that allows individuals who have undergone background checks to have expedited entry into the country. He hasn’t visited the countries listed in […]

Follow-up Evaluation of NASA’s Implementation of Executive Order 13526, Classified National Security Information, NASA OIG “Although NASA has taken steps to implement our prior recommendations, we continued to identify inconsistencies in the Agency’s application of CNSI policies and procedures that led to improper marking of classified documents. This occurred because of insufficient identification and training of classifiers. Further, implementation of the Agency’s self-inspection program was not fully effective because NASA […]

help @AnoushehAnsari? My NASA security clearance was rejected b/c I'm a foreign national of a state that supports terrorism! I'm Canadian. — Sara Mazrouei (@MazroueiSara) May 31, 2016

Keith’s 11 Aug update: Sources report that the person (referenced below) who was told that they could not attend the JPL Planetary Science Summer School has now been told by NASA HQ that they can attend after all. Keith’s 7 Aug 10:11 am note: The following is posted in a Closed Facebook page “Young Scientists for Planetary Exploration“. The group has 1,549 members. I was made aware of this issue […]

NASA JPL Memo: Office of Personnel Management Cyber Incidents, NASA JPL “If you underwent a background investigation through OPM from 2000 or thereafter (which occurs through the submission of forms SF 86, SF 85, or SF 85P for a new investigation or periodic reinvestigation), the OPM says there is a high likelihood that anyone who filled out one of those SF forms has had their information compromised.” Keith’s note: All […]

NASA: An lndependent Review of Foreign National Access Management “Over the last year, security incidents involving foreign nationals at NASA research Centers have drawn the attention of the NASA Administrator and other agency leaders, Congress, and the media. Recognizing the growing threat of cyber-attacks and espionage aimed at government agencies by hostile nation-states and foreign adversaries, NASA asked the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to conduct this review […]

NASA’s Compliance with Executive Order 13526: Classified National Security Information “However, while the Agency’s procedures meet Federal requirements, its implementing directive does not require Agency personnel with classification authority to receive all necessary training. Additionally, we found instances in which Agency personnel were not consistently following these NASA policies. Specifically, we found classified documents that were improperly marked,training requirements that were not met, and self-inspections that were not fully implemented. […]

Keith’s 11 Sep note: NASA was hacked yesterday by the BMPoC to protest U.S. cyberintelligence activities. One more reminder that everything everyone posts everywhere is seen by everyone. These NASA websites (at ARC) were affected and are currently offline: kepler.arc.nasa.gov, amase2008.arc.nasa.gov, event.arc.nasa.gov, amesevents.arc.nasa.gov/sites, academy.arc.nasa.gov, planetaryprotection.nasa.gov, virtual-institutes.arc.nasa.gov, astrobiology2.arc.nasa.gov, nextgenlunar.arc.nasa.gov , lunarscience.nasa.gov, moonfest.arc.nasa.gov, iln.arc.nasa.gov, lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov NASA ARC has this notice up if you try to reach these websites: “Down For Maintenance. The […]