DSS Updates Terms Relating to Oversight Mission
March 1, 2012 - The Defense Security Service has been assigned the mission of overseeing the protection of classified Information resident in cleared industry. DSS performs this function on behalf of the Department of Defense and 24 other Federal agencies. Key elements of this National Industrial Security Program (NISPOM) mission include identifying the threats and assessing the risks to classified information, and then providing advice, assistance and guidance to cleared contractors so that necessary and appropriate countermeasures and protections are in place to mitigate those risks.
As today's security environment continues to evolve, DSS must continue to partner with industry to ensure timely identification and elimination of vulnerabilities. While our oversight responsibilities have not changed, we will be updating some of the terms we use to describe our oversight mission. We encourage you to ask your IS Rep if you see or hear new terms with which you are not familiar. Some examples of new terms you may hear include "Vulnerability Assessment" or "Security Review", which are both terms that describe what was previously described by DSS as an "inspection." Security Review is also the term used by the NISPOM. Also, going forward, "Acute" or "Critical" will be used to describe serious vulnerabilities. These terms better reflect the nature of our work in helping cleared industry identify and mitigate risks to classified information.