Author Archive

Marko Hakamaa

Marko Hakamaa served in various military police positions with the United States Army worldwide for 22 years before retiring in 2006 as a Master Sergeant. Afterwards, he transitioned into the civilian workforce as a contractor background investigator for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before entering civil service as a Security Specialist in 2009.

Security Clearance Denial

There is a saying in military circles about what happens when you are on travel to a temporary duty assignment (TDY) stays there. This also applies to DoD civilians and contractors. Well, one DoD contractor found out this is not necessarily true after having his clearance eligibility denied due to

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Security Clearance Denial

Federal contractor companies are constantly looking for IT professionals to fill critical positions to support their contracts with government agencies. This in-demand career field is fast moving with constant changes in requirements. This puts pressure on IT specialists to keep up with the pace and sometimes leads to taking shortcuts

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Security Clearance Denial

More and more often, on all levels of background investigations I see applicants who fail to disclose required information. Some attribute it to oversight and failing to thoroughly read the questions and others claim an unfamiliarity with filling out government forms. Regardless, all applicants must check the box on the

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Cybersecurity

A few weeks ago, security clearance holders started getting emails that looked like they came from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) that referenced the collection of information needed from them on an “SF-86F” (which does not exist) or SF86. In reality, it is a sophisticated malicious phishing email

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