Sextortion and Security Clearances

Since all of us are human, we all have normal desires for companionship. Those desires, however, when coupled with bad people and the ubiquitous internet can, unfortunately, sometimes lead to negative consequences.  This is especially true for anyone who holds a security clearance.  Whether the problem is due to drugs, alcohol, financial, criminal issues or sexual behavior, if someone holds a security clearance and that clearance is required for his or her job, then any problem issues for a person can be problems for the government as far as how it views someone who holds a clearance.

Sextortion Sting Operations

Now, what has recently been in the news, are these sextortion sting operations where someone is caught in a compromising situation.  Since the military branches see it as a problem for their service members, then that means that this is something that affects the entire population as a whole. These articles have good advice and counsel on how to approach this situation if someone, unfortunately, finds himself or herself twisted into this type of nightmare scenario.

• Army CID warns Soldiers to beware of 'sextortion' scams
• Navy sees increase in 'sextortion' cases
• Sextortion: The U.S. military's dirty little secret is a growing national security concern
• CYBERSECURITY: SEXTORTION

In addition to following the steps advised in these articles, once that is done, I also advise security clearance holders to advise their facility security officer (FSO) of the problem.  The security clearance system is predicated upon disclosure and self-reporting and, like with everything else in life, bad news usually doesn’t get better with time.

As a former Colonel once told me, who also happened to be my senior rater, “I don’t flinch at getting bad news Captain Sykstus.  But if there is bad news coming, I need to hear it from you first and fast.”   Once the preventive and precautionary steps are taken to try to extricate from this type of situation, reporting the problem to the FSO is probably the next best step. That way, the government doesn’t think you were hiding something that should have been reported. Surprisingly, the security clearance law allows for a full range of mitigation for all types of concerns that the government may have regarding someone who holds a security clearance.

Again, all of us are human and we all fail and have issues and problems on a regular basis. The worry and consternation regarding a situation like this must be unimaginable. One always hears in the news about tragic consequences that result from something like this or this or this.

I have written previously about various topics that concern the government and can negatively impact a person’s access to classified material, which then jeopardizes any job that requires a security clearance.

• Clearance Being Revoked
• Security Clearance and Alcohol or Drug Use
• Security Clearance and Financial Issues
• Security Clearance and Addiction Help

If this is a type of concern you have and you hold a security clearance or if you have any clearance concerns at all, please email me or call me at 256-713-0221 and we can plot the appropriate steps for you to try to get your work  life and personal life back together and on a good path.