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 Process

All national security background investigations have required checks that must be completed in order for the investigation to meet federal investigative standards. One of the required checks is verifying claimed higher education transcripts and degrees. Prior to the existence of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and its predecessor, the National

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Security Clearance Denial

It seems everyday you hear about technology, trade secrets or proprietary theft by foreign agents acting on behalf of China and it is well known their aggressive cyber-espionage threat, not only to the United States, but the entire world is high. The U.S. State Department has established a “One China”

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Career Advice

When you think of the types of jobs the Department of Justice (DOJ) has, most likely you are thinking of lawyers, accountants, judges, clerks, etc., and not all of these positions require a security clearance. In actuality, this is but the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of other

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Security Clearance Denial

Time and again I read stories about how a security clearance holder meets someone on a dating site, becomes smitten without even meeting in person, and then starts doing very foolish things like sending money or opening up new bank accounts for wire transfers from the person to move to

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