DOD may restrict foreign workers

As part of its efforts to improve security, the Defense Department is considering a policy that could prohibit foreign nationals from working on information technology in specified "sensitive-but-unclassified positions," DOD officials confirmed last week.

The exact scope of the draft proposal is unclear, and DOD would not release a copy of the draft policy. However, Pete Nelson, DOD's deputy director for personnel security, said in a written statement March 7 that the draft requires "all persons, including contractors and foreign nationals, employed in specific IT sensitive-but-unclassified positions be subject to an appropriate investigation depending on their positions.

"Some foreign nationals — those in the most sensitive positions — may not be permitted to remain in those positions," Nelson said.

Without more information about the policy, the ramifications are fuzzy, analysts said.

Vendors who do classified work, especially for intelligence organizations, already meet such requirements, said Anthony Valletta, former acting assistant secretary of Defense for command, control communications and intelligence (ASD/C3I) and currently vice president and director of SRA International Inc.'s C3I systems division.

But industry groups said the draft policy raises many questions and could raise the cost of DOD IT contracts.

"I think it is something that needs a lot more public discussion," said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, an Arlington, Va.-based industry group. All IT companies have foreign workers woven throughout their staff, he said, and adhering to such a policy could be a logistical nightmare.

Furthermore, he noted that U.S. citizens also have been prone to misdeeds, he said, noting Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and accused FBI spy Robert Hanssen.

The draft policy is under review and could be approved in 60 days to 90 days, Nelson said.