According to the new head of the National Security Office (NSB), Jan Čuřín, there is room for digitization and electronicization. The revision could also lead to a reduction in the number of security clearances, which he says are now huge. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) thanked his predecessor Jiří Lang for his many years of work for the state after Čuřín was inaugurated today. He emphasized that he knows the Čuřín office and its issues and does not need to look around.
Until now, Čuřín was the security director of the government office, in the past he worked at the NBU for five years, among other things, as the head of the internal security department. He mentioned the process of granting clearances as his priority in the NBU. “There is room for digitization, connection with state registers and databases,” said Čuřín. Instead of paper questionnaires, background check applicants could apply purely electronically in the future, and the office would also request information from the registers itself. “It would be more comfortable for applicants,” he added.
According to Čuřín, there are a huge number of background checks today, and it is a question of how long the office can handle it. He is not sure if the authorities request a background check in all cases only for those employees who really need access to classified information. “The NBU is not a security scan or a profiling site for institutions that want to check their employees,” he emphasized.
Both Fiala and Čuřín thanked Lang, who ended up at the head of the NBU after more than seven years. Previously, among other things, he managed the Security Information Service (BIS). “Not only mine, but the entire government’s thanks belong to him for the way he has served the state for years,” said the Prime Minister. According to Čuřín, there is an unquestionable amount of work behind Lang, which he wants to follow up on.
According to Fiala, the change at the head of the NBU is what it should be in security agencies. “After a successful service, the long-time director is leaving and a person who has extensive experience in the security environment, but also directly from work at the NBU, takes up the position,” he said. According to him, Čuřín is a highly professionally equipped expert who will not need time to look around at the NBU.
The main task of the NBU is the screening of persons who come into contact with classified information and the screening of companies that participate in strategic contracts. By issuing a security clearance certificate or document, the office guarantees that its holder has not been found to have any facts that would prevent him from having access to classified information or performing sensitive activities.
