For more than 12 years, Falls Church-based USIS went about its business quietly scrutinizing the backgrounds of thousands of individuals who needed security clearance to work in the U.S. government or in the private sector.
Not anymore.
USIS, which renamed itself Altegrity last month, has ambitions of becoming much more than an investigation and data-collection company. ...
...Altegrity's mission is to train and consult U.S. and foreign police departments, as well as to advise foreign governments on how to build a criminal justice system. Most of the foreign programs will be carried out through the U.S. State Department.
Specifically, Altegrity has its eye on about a dozen State Department contracts expected to be awarded in the coming months. The contracts are aimed at helping post-conflict democracies rebuild their public safety infrastructures. ...
...Altegrity was launched when the federal government privatized the investigative branch of the Office of Personnel Management in July 1996. The company, which began with 600 employees, started with a five-year contract to provide security clearance background investigations. Its original name was U.S. Investigations Services Inc., and it was an employee-owned company.
The firm has grown to more than 8,000 employees worldwide, with 2,000 based in Northern Virginia and the District. USIS performed more than 2 million investigations for 95 federal agencies and organizations last year, according to an Altegrity spokesman. ...
Hmm. OTOH, private spy! That's got interview potential...