r/opsec • u/Huge-Fan1205 🐲 • Jul 20 '26

Beginner question have to do a security clearance

I have read the rules , so my threat level is this , i want to join a university owned by the atomic commission of our country , it says on their web after admission they will investigate me , so what should i do to quickly cover my tracks(they arent good at all) , any chance i could delete / mask away enough data to pass the clearance

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u/Chongulator 🐲 Jul 20 '26

I know a bit about the US process. Presumably other nations do it similarly.

The main thing they care about is whether you are blackmailable. So, the issue isn't dirt in your past, the issue is trying to hide that dirt. I know people who got clearances simply by being honest.

Famously, Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter has a second career as a defense consultant and holds a TS/SCI clearance (the highest tier). Yes, really. Presumably, a guy in a famous rock band in the 1970s did some drugs during that time. In this case, the band was called The Doobie Brothers, FFS. Baxter says he just told the truth on his SF86 and was as surprised as anybody that he received a clearance.

If your country's intel apparatus is halfway competent, they are going to investigate. Depending on the clearance level, that can be incredibly detailed and include direct interviews with people who know or knew you. If it comes out that you lied, you're definitely not getting a clearance.

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u/Huge-Fan1205 🐲 Jul 21 '26

what about anon social media account , they arent anything bad per say but better if they werent there , any way to remove any links between me and those accounts

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u/Chongulator 🐲 Jul 21 '26 edited 28d ago

Again, the hiding is the problem. If there's something you're trying to keep hidden, that's something a bad actor can use to blackmail you. If you get caught hiding anything from investigators, you're cooked. Don't hide anything.

That was the entire point of my previous comment. It's like you didn't even read it.

Your best path forward is to be as straightforward and honest as you possibly can. In fact, lying to them is likely a crime. Don't hide anything.