 Safeguarding Our Information While terrorism is our primary concern, there is no question that incidents of espionage against the United States continue. Hostile intelligence groups still try to gather information from our facilities in the United States and from our missions abroad through surveillance, electronic eavesdropping, and attempts to recruit and manipulate our employees into committing acts of espionage. DS personnel respond to these attempted attacks with numerous countermeasure and detection methods.
DS security engineers monitor and negate electronic threats directed toward our embassies, while our intelligence and information security experts educate employees on counterintelligence and possible vulnerabilities that might be exploited by foreign intelligence agencies. Our special agents investigate alleged espionage incidents and conduct damage assessments of confirmed acts of espionage.
With the rapid advancement of computer technology, the threat of unauthorized access to information has increased significantly. Under the auspices of our computer security professionals, DS develops and tests security standards that are built into all computer systems used by the Department.
Through the Diplomatic Courier Service, DS ensures the secure movement of classified U.S. Government material all over the world. These materials are more than just papers and file--diplomatic pouches often consist of thousands of pounds of equipment and construction materials bound for sensitive posts.
DS' uniformed guard force provides access control to more than 100 Department of State facilities around the United States, while Marine Security Guards control access to our missions abroad.
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