“Much attention has been given to how government can provide more or faster clearances to our private sector critical infrastructure representatives, but not enough is given to how we can ensure we are getting the right information, to the right individuals, at the right time, and the inconsistent implementation of classified information sharing,” Ms. Menna said.  She added, “Clearances are a means to an end—information sharing that leads to action and better security—that couldn’t be any more urgent.”

“Jenny Menna’s important paper on security clearances for private sector critical infrastructure companies being published today by NSI clearly lays out some of the key challenges in the granting of high-level clearances and the sharing of actionable cyber threat data between the government and the private sector,” said Jamil N. Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.  “Ms. Menna’s paper correctly argues for providing clearances more broadly and in more consistent manner in order to empower the kind of real-time sharing of threat data and behavioral information that is critical for the collective cyber defense capability that our nation needs in the modern era,” said Jaffer.

The paper is available here.
Ms. Menna’s bio can be found here.

About the National Security Institute
The National Security Institute serves as a platform for research, teaching, scholarship, and policy development that incorporates a realistic assessment of the threats facing the United States and its allies, as well as an appreciation of the legal and practical challenges facing U.S. intelligence, defense, law enforcement, homeland security, and cybersecurity communities.  NSI draws on the experience of its visiting fellows, as well as its highly distinguished advisory board and faculty, to produce timely research and policy materials that deliver insightful analysis and actionable recommendations to senior policymakers in the White House and key departments and agencies, as well as those on Capitol Hill.