Unexpected Glitch in DISS Rollout Affects Non-DoD Agencies

On March 15, 2021 the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) rolled out their new Defense Information System for Security (DISS) to replace the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS). DISS is made up of the three sub-systems below:

 Case Adjudication Tracking System (CATS) performs electronic and human adjudication functions, automating record-keeping for security clearances, HSPD-12, military fitness, and suitability determinations.

Joint Verification System (JVS) enables DoD professionals to document security clearance access and verify eligibility determinations.

Appeals supports the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) and the Personnel Security Appeals Board (PSAB) with completing due process for subjects appealing adjudicative determinations.

For the most part implementation was successful, but one major glitch is impacting personnel security staff in non-DoD agencies. Non-DoD agencies use the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Central Verification System (CVS) to verify investigations, adjudications, and security clearance information. Previously, JPAS fed DoD security information directly into CVS which enabled security specialists to go in and verify the information in order to apply reciprocity.  The JPAS system was retired and went to read only mode and no longer feeds into OPM’s CVS database. A communications glitch between DISS and CVS has left hundreds of non-DoD contractor security support specialists and government security officers in a lurch because they can no longer see DoD clearance information to verify current access or separation dates. Without this visibility it makes it next to impossible to apply reciprocity standards, in turn delaying approval for access to Federal facilities and systems.