Secret Service
The Secret Service is tasked with ensuring the safety of the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, the president-elect of the United States, the vice president-elect of the United States, and their immediate families; former presidents, their spouses and their minor children under the age of 16; major presidential and vice-presidential candidates and their spouses; and visiting foreign heads of state and heads of government. By custom, it also provides protection to the secretary of the treasury and secretary of homeland security, as well as other persons as directed by the president (usually the White House chief of staff and national security advisor, among others). By federal statute, the president and vice-president may not refuse this protection.[5] The Secret Service also provides physical security for the White House Complex; the neighboring Treasury Department building; the vice president's residence; the principal private residences of the president, vice president and former presidents; and all foreign diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. The protective mission includes protective operations to coordinate manpower and logistics with state and local law enforcement, protective advances to conduct site and venue assessments for protectees, and protective intelligence to investigate all manners of threats made against protectees. The Secret Service is the lead agency in charge of the planning, coordination, and implementation of security operations for events designated as National Special Security Events (NSSE). As part of the service's mission of preventing an incident before it occurs, the agency relies on meticulous advance work and threat assessments developed by its Intelligence Division to identify potential risks to protectees.[6]
Secret Service
In addition to the above, the Secret Service can also protect other individuals by executive order of the president.[9] Under Presidential Policy Directive 22, "National Special Security Events", the Secret Service is the lead agency for the design and implementation of operational security plans for events designated a NSSE by the secretary of homeland security.
The USSS plays a leading role in facilitating relationships between other law enforcement entities, the private sector, and academia. The service maintains the Electronic Crimes Task Forces, which focus on identifying and locating international cyber criminals connected to cyber intrusions, bank fraud, data breaches, and other computer-related crimes. Additionally, the Secret Service runs the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), which provides law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges with cyber training and information to combat cybercrime.
In the face of budget pressure, hiring challenges and some high-profile lapses in its protective service role in 2014, the Brookings Institution and some members of Congress are asking whether the agency's focus should shift more to the protective mission, leaving more of its original mission to other agencies.[12][13]
In 1990, the Secret Service initiated Operation Sundevil, which they originally intended as a sting against malicious hackers, allegedly responsible for disrupting telephone services across the entire United States. The operation, which was later described by Bruce Sterling in his book The Hacker Crackdown, affected a great number of people unrelated to hacking, and led to no convictions. The Secret Service, however, was sued and required to pay damages.[citation needed] On March 1, 1990, the Secret Service served a search warrant on Steve Jackson Games, a small company in Austin, Texas, seizing three computers and over 300 floppy disks. In the subsequent lawsuit, the judge reprimanded the Secret Service, calling their warrant preparation "sloppy."[26]
In 1994 and 1995, it ran an undercover sting called Operation Cybersnare.[27] The Secret Service has concurrent jurisdiction with the FBI over certain violations of federal computer crime laws. They have created 24 Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTFs) across the United States. These task forces are partnerships between the service, federal/state and local law enforcement, the private sector and academia aimed at combating technology-based crimes.[citation needed]
As of 2010, the service had over 6,500 employees: 3,200 Special Agents, 1,300 Uniformed Division Officers, and 2,000 technical and administrative employees.[37] Special agents serve on protective details and investigate financial, cyber, and homeland security-related crimes.
The Secret Service's current duty sidearm, the SIG-Sauer P229 double-action/single-action pistol chambered .357 SIG, entered service in 1999. It is the issued handgun to all special agents as well as officers of the Uniformed Division. As of 2019, the SIG-Sauer P229 is scheduled to be replaced with Glock 9mm pistols.[78] Most special agents will be issued the Glock 19 Gen 5 MOS with forward slide serrations, Ameriglo Bold night sights, and a Streamlight TLR-7A weapon light.[79] US Secret Service's Special Operations will be issued the Glock 47 with Ameriglo Bold sights and a Surefire X300 Ultra weapon light.[80][81]
Special agents and special officers of the Secret Service wear attire that is appropriate for their surroundings, in order to blend in as much as possible. In most circumstances, the attire of a close protection shift is a conservative suit, but it can range from a tuxedo to casual clothing as required by the environment. Stereotypically, Secret Service agents are often portrayed wearing reflective sunglasses and a communication earpiece. Often their attire is customized to conceal the wide array of equipment worn in service. Agents wear a distinctive lapel pin that identifies them to other agents.[82]
The Secret Service has agents assigned to 136 field offices and field agencies, and the headquarters in Washington, D.C. The service's offices are located in cities throughout the United States and the world. The offices in Lyon and The Hague are respectively responsible for liaison with the headquarters of Interpol and Europol, located in those cities.[84]
In addition to training new recruits, SSPT can also provide in-service protective details with advanced training on a range of scenarios, including preparation against chemical, biological or radiological attacks, armed assaults, suicide bombers and other threats.
\"This uptick in rhetoric associated with an alleged indictment against the former president represents the most significant 24-hour traction observed by the Fusion Center since the August 2022 search warrant service at Mar-a-Lago,\" the bulletin said.
A zero trust architecture is a set of cybersecurity principles stating that organizations must verify everything that attempts to access their systems and services. These principles cover five pillars (see figure).
The U.S. Secret Service developed an implementation plan for four milestones intended to support a zero trust architecture. The milestones are to (1) perform a self-assessment of the agency's IT environment against federal guidance, (2) implement cloud service offerings from a vendor, (3) achieve maturity in event logging, and (4) transition the agency's IT infrastructure to a more advanced internet protocol. Secret Service completed a self-assessment, and made progress in implementing cloud services and achieving maturity in event logging. In addition, the agency had a plan to implement a more advanced internet protocol, but had not met longstanding Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements for public-facing systems. By transitioning to this protocol, the agency can leverage additional security features.
Applicants selected for this position will be required to sign a continuing service agreement before being assigned to an initial training class. The continuing service agreement will commit the applicant to a specified period of employment with the U.S. Secret Service upon the successful completion of training. Applicants will be required to travel to all phases of the hiring process at their own expense. If a final job offer is extended, relocation expenses will not be authorized for the duty location. The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger). Pursuant to an exception granted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), your application must contain a completed Optional Form 306, Declaration of Federal Employment. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to update your OF-306, and to again sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. E-Verify Statement: DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Click here to learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
MI6 is an organisation where integrity, courage and respect are central to what we do. We encourage and admire difference. Many MI6 staff are based overseas while others work from our headquarters in Vauxhall, London. Although our work is secret, everything we do is legal and is underpinned by the values that define the UK. 041b061a72