Technical Security Engineering

Links:

FASTC Employment Opportunities
Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) 

Through its Office of Technical Security Engineering (TSE), DSS provides technical security training for U.S. Department of State security professionals. The specialized training focuses on the life cycle of technical security systems to secure information and property, and keep mission personnel safe worldwide. The security training also includes advanced methodologies and techniques in technical surveillance countermeasures for the Department’s security engineers.

In coordination with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, TSE trains and certifies Department construction security and related personnel to deter, detect, and prevent compromising penetrations at construction sites for Department facilities domestic and overseas. TSE provides technical security awareness training for other Department professionals as well. Technical espionage awareness training raises officer knowledge of the threats posed by specific intelligence collection techniques and tools used to extract information. Personnel also brief members of the foreign affairs community who serve in U.S. Department of State facilities.

TSE is consolidating all technical security training into a state-of-the-art training facility called the Technical Security Engineering Training Center. Located in Virginia, the newly renovated complex is designed to support basic and advanced courses in construction security, technical security systems, and countermeasures tradecraft. TSE will have purpose-built facilities that provide real-world overseas training scenarios and will host training capstones and interagency exercises. The project will be completed in April 2022.

DSS technical security training is an important part of new Department security initiatives. Among other important functions, TSE is developing training for advanced network-based technical security systems, including high-definition security video systems. The training curriculum also focuses on maintaining video management systems and the DSS network infrastructure to support video analytics at missions overseas.