After OPM hack, CIA pulls agents from Beijing for their safety

[anon37332521]

I’m seconding what @TobinL and @mindysan33 said. Anybody who comes into contact with sensitive or classified information is required to go through these screenings, and the government outsources a lot of work.

• Aerospace company on DoD contracts? Likely clearance work.
• Network operations in DoD, DHS, FBI, OPM etc.? Yeah you too.
• Janitor in a facility with a [SCIF][1]? Probably.
• DoE employee or contractor dealing with atomic energy? Yep.
• DoS staffer? You might as well.
• Various members of state LEAs that work in “fusion centers”.
• All of the people that handle government payroll.

ETA: I forgot to mention the high profile and publicly favored NASA. I’m sure I’m forgetting others as well.

…and we haven’t even got to the big Intelligence agencies or actual military personnel yet.
[1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Information_Facility

[anon8420928]

Lots of civilians doing gov work around here. If you meet someone who’s part of that industry, it’s a given they have a clearance. You can’t do that kind of work without it.

[Mindysan33]

It might still be odd, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be true. The security state is huge and growing, in both the public and private sector. It’s probably surpassed what it was during the Cold War, at this point.

[anotherone]

I don’t doubt that it’s true. I just hate to see a good argument that the "government is too big’ crowd is right.