Security clearance vetting investigations are carried out to protect Finland’s security and interests
Security clearance vetting seeks to prevent information of importance to Finland’s security from falling into the wrong hands. Security clearance vetting is only conducted for functions specified by law.
The purpose of security clearance vetting is to safeguard the security of Finland. Personnel security clearance vetting examines the background of individuals to ensure their reliability.
Foreign powers may be interested in such fields as Finnish policymaking or state-of-the-art technology. Security clearance vetting seeks to prevent information of importance to Finland’s security from falling into the wrong hands.
Security clearance vetting examines such aspects as whether individuals have committed any criminal offence, or are in financial difficulties that could expose them to pressure or other undue influence.
Security clearance vetting is only performed for certain functions
Security clearance vetting is only conducted for duties specified in the Security Clearance Act. The investigation is performed for duties that require special reliability. These situations relate to the duties and protected interests referred to in the Act, such as national security, preparations for a state of emergency, and public safety.
The applicant for security clearance vetting is usually an employer or a party issuing an assignment. Security clearance vetting is conducted, for example, with respect to duties in which an individual handles confidential information or enjoys access to premises that are important for national security.
Security clearance vetting alone does not guarantee security, but supplements other security arrangements.
Security clearance vetting is conducted for both public and private sector clients
Supo conducted 96,000 security vetting assignments in 2023. About half of these investigations were conducted for national authorities.
Ministries, Parliament, the Office of the President of the Republic and several government agencies are regular clients of the Supo security clearance vetting department. These clients generally always request security clearance vetting when recruiting new staff members.
Security clearance vetting may also be conducted when individuals wish to train for certain occupations, such as by seeking to enrol at the Police University College of Finland.
About half of security clearance vetting investigations are conducted for private businesses. Businesses engaged in product development, large export firms or companies associated with critical infrastructure in Finland are among those that may be entitled to security clearance vetting. Subcontractors of these businesses providing information technology and other support may also fall within the scope of the security clearance vetting procedure.
Contact
Please contact Supo by e-mail at [email protected] if your organisation has no prior history of dealing with Supo and you are seeking security clearance vetting of your employees.
To ask about corporate security clearance procedures and the Designated Security Authority (DSA), please e-mail [email protected]. Please contact your (prospective) employer if you are personally undergoing security clearance vetting.