Three DCSA Industrial Security Directorate leaders represented the United States at the 38th annual Multinational Industrial Security Working Group (MISWG) Plenary, hosted by the Swiss government from Sept. 11-15.
Richard Stahl, Kristy Engholm and Matthew Kitzman attended the MISWG Plenary to oversee and administer agency level guidelines and international responsibilities regarding cleared U.S. industry’s involvement with foreign governments, foreign contractors and NATO on behalf of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
“The MISWG provides a unique opportunity for the United States to build on those relationships with 36 plus partner nations and a forum to shape the face of industrial security globally to further enhance our national security as we move into the future,” said Stahl, DCSA International and Special Programs Operations chief, in a Sept. 14 dispatch from the MISWG plenary.
The MISWG – created in 1986 as an informal non-governmental body – develops common security practices and procedures for the protection of classified information shared under non-NATO Multinational Defense Programs and international industrial security matters. It is composed of NATO member nations (except Iceland), as well as Australia, Austria, Finland, Israel, Sweden and Switzerland.
Stahl, Engholm, Kitzman and their international counterparts – national security authorities and designated security authority representatives responsible for industrial security in their countries – convened at the forum to discuss ways to adapt security practices to continuing changes in the overall security environment, defense industry trends and international industrial security.
“There are 104 participants from 36 country members in attendance,” said Stahl, adding that, “one country is participating as a guest and one as an observer.”
The MISWG mission is to promote, improve and harmonize common international industrial security best practices to safeguard classified and certain other forms of government-controlled information in order to confront current and emerging security threats and challenges within its scope.
As the recognized collaborative body for international industrial security best practices, MISWG is committed to the standardization of security procedures related to Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence, visit requests, hand carriage plans, and program as well as project security instructions. These procedures are available to NATO and other select countries which allow increased efficiencies for all.
