When the Pentagon starts handling all federal security clearances this fall, it will usher in a brand-new approach to figuring out who can be trusted with dangerous secrets. After an applicant passes their initial screening, they’ll be incorporated into a system in which software continuously scours open-source information — court proceedings, financial data, and more — looking for signs that the person might be turning into a security risk. The Defense Department and the intelligence community are shifting to what is called continuous evaluation, using software that continuously scans arrest records, court filings, major purchase records, etc. If something consequential turns up, the software tips off an adjudicator — basically a human in charge of figuring out what to do next. The adjudicator can then send an email, make a phone call, conduct an in-person visit, or take some other step, depending on what the evaluation turned up.
