Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
4/3/2015
The Department of Energy is changing its approach for a planned covert security review at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant after information was publicly posted on a government website late last week. DOE had issued a sources sought notice on the FedBizOpps web site to begin conducting market research to identify companies interested in performing the review, but the notice was withdrawn this week after being reported on in Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. “The Expression of Interest for the Carlsbad Field Office security assessment has been withdrawn and the approach is being reconsidered,” a DOE spokesman said in a statement late this week.
The cancelled notice had stated that the site’s operational security policy requires the protection of critical information. “However, the security culture within WIPP operations does not appear to have matured beyond minimum requirements for the protection of sensitive information,” according to the notice. “Since implementation of the current policy, work practices have evolved with changing technology, the old techniques for security awareness have proven to be too slow and inadequate to mitigate against growing security threats. The intent is to gather information without the knowledge of general management or staff. Testing and evaluation should be planned to assess actual practices by WIPP employees performing normal duties.”
Once the evaluation is complete, “vulnerabilities and areas needing improvement need to be reported with recommended training plans designed to provide awareness level training for WIPP employees,” the withdrawn notice said. “The final report is expected to provide CBFO a baseline rating of how operational security practices are maintained, a plan for training needs, and key indicators that can be assessed in the future to evaluate progress.”
Review ‘Not the Result of Any Specific Threat’
The security assessment was being considered “as a part of a ‘continuous improvements initiative’ to ensure the protection of employees’ personal information such as financial and payroll data, medical information and other personal information,” the DOE spokesman said, noting that the effort “was not the result of any specific threat” and was not connected to last year’s truck fire and radiological release at WIPP. “DOE continuously assesses security conditions and operations at sites across the complex, from low risk concerns such as this issue, to higher level concerns such as potential terrorist threats. The responsibility for the security of the Department’s employees, the public and the Nation’s assets is taken seriously and conducting assessments is necessary to improve security is a continuous process,” the spokesman said.
