What security clearances are about [View all]

[Recursion]

Since this has come up in the Snowden case and the Navy Yard shooting, I wanted to correct what seems to be a common misconception. The primary information gathered in a clearance process is about foreign connections and travel. That's what they are looking for most and that's what they care about. Yes, it's an outdated mindset. Unfortunately it's what we have right now.

You can, if you want, download the form you have to fill out for a clearance (you can't turn it in to anyone without a sponsoring government agency):

http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf

Clearances are not an attempt to find intrinsically trustworthy people. I can't stress that enough. Clearances are an attempt to find the people least vulnerable to undue foreign influence. They ask about criminal history, drug use, credit history and debt, etc., but mostly because they are worried that these could be used to blackmail you.

I don't think this is a particularly great system, but it's the system we have.