Lithuanian Ministry of Defense Wants to Polygraph Foreigners

Following the Ukrainian government’s recent decision to start polygraphing foreign volunteers, Lithuanian news site LRT.lt reports that the country’s Ministry of Defense wants to polygraph foreign civilians. This short article is cited here in full:

Lithuania’s Defence Ministry is proposing to expand the list of people who could be subjected to polygraph testing by the authorities to include business representatives, candidates willing to become intelligence collaborators and foreigners deemed potential national security threats.

The ministry has told BNS the changes were initiated by intelligence agencies.

According to the Defence Ministry, the aim is to allow polygraph testing employees of private companies before they are given access to classified information.

“The activities of these individuals have to do with the use and protection of and access to classified information, therefore […] they should be subject to the same conditions as civil servants, soldiers, officials or employees of institutions,” the Defence Ministry said.

The proposal also sees lie detector testing for people who apply to become secret intelligence collaborators. According to the ministry, this would be done to ensure that only people who are credible and loyal to Lithuania can serve.

“At present, intelligence secret collaborators can be subjected to polygraph testing, but there’s no possibility of testing candidates,” the ministry pointed out.

Moreover, polygraph testing would also apply to foreigners who may pose a “threat to national security”.

The State Security Department, Lithuania’s main intelligence service, is the institution that vets foreigners who apply for residency permits.

Foreign agents seeking to infiltrate Lithuania’s intelligence service should welcome this opportunity, as polygraphy is vulnerable to simple and effective countermeasures that anyone can learn and that polygraph operators cannot detect.