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By: FEDweek StaffGSA has issued rules to carry out a law enacted last year requiring new scrutiny of ownership of building space leased by federal agencies, in particular whether there is foreign ownership of space where secure activities are conducted.
The law ordered the GSA to design a verification system that identifies a property’s owners if the space would be used for high-security purposes. It also told the GSA and individual agencies to include provisions in their leasing agreements limiting property owners’ physical access to spaces the government uses for high-security purposes.
Interim rules published in the July 1 Federal Register outline disclosure requirements regarding foreign ownership, particularly “beneficial ownership,” of prospective lessors of property that would have a security level of III or higher. GSA said it further will modify existing leases that are extended or when ownership of the space changes.
The law does not apply to DoD or the intelligence community, which already have similar policies in place, the notice said.
The law came in response to a 2017 GAO report finding that federal agencies were vulnerable to espionage and other cyber intrusions because foreign actors could gain unauthorized access to spaces used for classified operations or to store sensitive data. That report found that agencies including the FBI and DEA were storing law enforcement evidence and other sensitive data in buildings that they didn’t know were foreign-owned.
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