Review of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Physical Security Waivers and Exceptions Processes

You are subscribed to Reports for Department of State OIG. Manage Subscriptions Review of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Physical Security Waivers and Exceptions Processes 06/17/2024 01:12 PM EDT Summary of Review  Department of State (Department) physical security requirements—as set forth in the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999 (SECCA) and the Overseas Security Policy Board (OSPB) security standards—are in place to reduce risk and vulnerabilities to facilities under chief of mission (COM) authority to protect personnel, property, and information. When overseas posts identify facilities that do not meet SECCA or OSPB physical security requirements, they first seek ways to bring the facilities into compliance. When this is not possible, the Department may grant the overseas post a waiver, exception, or both. Waivers are requested for deficiencies in the SECCA requirements, and exceptions are requested for deficiencies in the OSPB standards.    The Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's (DS) waivers and exceptions processes for physical security deficiencies to determine whether the bureau: (1) developed and implemented internal controls for these processes, (2) ensured the mitigations required by waivers and exceptions were implemented, and (3) identified and addressed organizational, resource, or procedural issues that affected the processes. This review covered the period from January 2018 to December 2023.    Overall, OIG concluded DS implemented some internal controls for the waivers and exceptions processes, which contributed to a reduction in the average processing time from 416 workdays in 2018 to 66 workdays in 2023. The bureau also developed a standard operating procedure, templates, and established timelines and tracking mechanisms. However, OIG found the bureau's tracking mechanisms did not provide the information needed to verify whether its process timelines were being met. Furthermore, OIG determined the bureau did not have formal internal controls in place to ensure mitigations that were approved as part of a waiver or an exception were implemented. Lastly, OIG found DS did not consistently require overseas posts to seek exceptions for facilities that did not meet OSPB standards.   This report includes three recommendations to improve DS' physical security waivers and exceptions processes. In its comments on the draft report, DS concurred with all three recommendations. OIG considers all three recommendations resolved. The bureau's response to each recommendation and OIG's reply can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The bureau's formal written response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.

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