These improvements enabled Los Alamos to earn the highest possible rating in a recent comprehensive security audit by the DOE.
"We have made significant progress the last two years," Browne said, and "while there are still improvements to be made, we have identified them, aggressively pursued corrective actions and are committed to implementing those actions until all issues have been fully addressed."
Browne outlined areas where Los Alamos recognized the need for continued improvement, including expanded and improved employee security training, improved cyber security against insider threats, expanded testing of the Laboratory's unclassified computer network for vulnerabilities, and efforts to improve security of nuclear materials.
"We recognize that the security threats we face today are different from those during the Cold War," Browne said. "As such, our response must be continuously improved to address newly emerging threats."
Browne detailed in his testimony the status of and recent improvements in Los Alamos' security program in the areas of program management, information security, cyber security, nuclear material control and accounting, and personnel security.
- Program management improvements include the hiring of experienced security and counterintelligence professionals to head these two key areas; funding increases to support additional guards and equipment; and implementation of a comprehensive database system to track security improvements.
Efforts by the program management team have created an increased security focus among Los Alamos employees.
"Perhaps the most fundamental change in our security posture has been the increased buy-in and involvement on the part of our employees," Browne said. "Employees have always taken security seriously, but new challenges have been met with increased commitment at the Laboratory."
- Laudable information security practices include effective control and protection of more than six million classified documents and improved protection of classified, non-nuclear parts for nuclear weapons.
- Cyber security continues to receive extensive attention. Los Alamos has met all milestones of an action plan implemented in the wake of a computing stand-down earlier this year, and continues to strengthen controls to prevent intentional or inadvertent movement of classified information to the unclassified computing system. Los Alamos' classified computing system was deemed secure and fully compliant with DOE orders in the recent audit.
- Los Alamos' nuclear material control and accountability program received a "marginal" rating in a 1998 report, but because of improvements implemented over the past two years was rated by DOE as "the best in the DOE complex" in the recent audit.
"We now have a great deal of confidence in our inventory accuracy," Browne said, "and are equally confident that our material has been adequately safeguarded from theft or diversion."
Planned additional improvements in the area of nuclear materials include upgrades to the security alarm system and reducing the number of areas used for temporary storage of material.
- Personnel security improvements include increased employee training and implementation of a more stringent badging and access control system.
"Training is the key through which we keep our employees knowledgeable of and vigilant to security threats," Browne said. "Our employees are our first and best lines of defense in meeting the tremendous challenge of safeguarding nuclear material and classified information."
Browne noted that Los Alamos' efforts represented a joint commitment by the Laboratory and the University of California, which manages Los Alamos for the DOE, to ensure that security remains a top priority. These efforts were supported and guided by DOE leadership.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.