The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) reported the number of new security clearance applications has risen to almost 500,000 over the past four years. This increase, combined with the current investigation backlog, does not bode well for companies who rely on a pool of cleared employees to work on classified projects.

In the world of high tech defense activities, contractors move around or change jobs quite often. For that reason, companies frequently have their employees sign non-disclosure and non-compete statements. The main purpose of this is to prevent the loss of proprietary information to competitors. A defense department contractor recently found