As Black Hat kicks off, the US government is getting the message on hiring security talent With the world's largest collection of security folk gathering in Las Vegas for the Black Hat conference there are encouraging signs that the US government might actually be getting smarter about hiring. Youtube Video Katie Moussouris, founder of Luta Security, knows a thing or six about recruiting new security talent and was …
We hire purely on the basis of you having gone to the same university as the boss. Which relies on you having gone to one of a small number of very 'selective' schools. That doesn't mean your name has to end in "the IIIrd" but it helps.
Of course we hire women and people of ethnic-ness (but see #1)
Naturally no police record, we can't have anyone that ever got stopped by the police for skateboarding. We never had a problem with the police at the old XYZ club so we assume anybody who the police stop are criminals
And never smoked the devils lettuce. Our national security infrastructure may be under threat from enemy nation state hackers, but we have to have some standards.
No inappropriate life-choices, like tattoos or not being married. We don't mind if you're gay, many of our bosses were gay - but at least most of them had the decency to marry an understanding woman.
Church going of course, but proper church, not one of those weird foreign ones - like Jedi or Catholicism
As a former U.S. Federal employee I have to say this was not my experience at all. Federal recruitment and hiring has many problems but the good ol' boys network you imagine is not one of them. That could well be how political appointments are made, but that's not relevant to filling the positions that Katie Moussouris is talking about.
And be an American citizen is a difficulty to be removed if one is not a home grown one .....is a normal pre-requisite for sensitive US government employment which does nothing to enhance and expand the talent pool likely to show an interest should the lure of the dollar shine bright in ones’ eyes and cause one’s heart to sing for is that not all that they have to offer, ideally in excess, as a reward for one’s capture and continued captivation in service of ........... well, exactly whose wishes and to what particular and peculiar specific ends is the question to be answered by any and all, both at home and abroad in foreign lands and alien spaces seeking similar novel leading partnerships with virtual strangers.
Give an unsatisfactory answer to those few questions has one the creator of an almighty foe and overwhelming opposition against which one competes in vain to better and vanquish.
It is all very well Katie Moussouris, founder of Luta Security, having the right idea for Uncle Sam but it will not bear profitable sustainable fruit if Uncle Sam is a scam and a sham and a poison chalice of a universal enterprise ...... well, not until that rotten vine is destroyed and burnt to a cinder that is, which is only natural and simple plain common sense.
Knowing what to do but choosing to leave it undone has one flogging a dead horse and going nowhere good real fast.
This sounds like a plot for a Fantasy movie. .... A Yank for YES
That is as may be, A Yank for YES, and it is certainly an avenue worth further exploring and supporting as a popular generic means to generate value adding interest and a certain wealth/fiat churn in a stagnating moribund enterprise pond of despair for investors and future-builder pioneers.
However, it would not really do it the adequate justice nor have the grander overall impact and everlasting bunker-busting effect of a similarly engaging absolutely fabulous fabless documentary series where novel emerging facts freely shared in both the politically captivated public mainstream and alternative private and pirate dark web media channels revolving around NEUKlearer HyperRadioProACTivated Alien Technology Alliances are far stranger and ever more powerful than just simply complex fictions as they are proved or prove themselves to be true in fact and fully responsible for the present states of current nascent and pre-pubescent future virtual reality programmes ...... Earthed Existence Projects.
And whether that be a Wild Western Hollywood Hills or Wacky Holywood Palace Barracks Intelligence Community type enterprise or a Far and Middle East Kingdoms project/Long March/2030 Vision is another one of those Multi-Trillion Dollar Questions to not answer .... but slowly observe incredulously.
I Kid U Not. All necessary technologies and utilities are in place and readily available, the scripts are already well written and securely stored and leading agency proxies identified for notification and assimilation and stimulation .... with myriad wheels and deals in motion and out manufacturing and tendering leading inclusion.
What/Who would you bet on having that sort of long-term hypervision and dedicated wherewithall to guarantee at least all of that with life-changing universal deliveries? The Wild Wacky West or an Exotic Erotic East?
Answers/hopes below please. :-)
What about all the other issues out there? Continuous spam phone calls, continuous spam texts, daily emails with malware, daily phishing attempts - all these are everywhere these days with virtually nothing being done to stop it, we're just told that everyone needs to be careful reading their emails and replying to phone calls that ask you to give them your credit card details so that they can deposit your prize winnings.
Hiring security people has done nothing to stop the hourly IT attacks for years now.
High level government security work almost always requires a polygraph (commonly called a Lie Detector but it's not). Well technically it's not "required", but they are not required to employ you if you decline.
"Passing a polygraph" is not what many people think. It has nothing to do with lies, the polygrapher (the person administering the Poly) has to be able to "READ" you. Too calm, you fail. Too nervous, you fail.
Sit down in the "chair" with the builtin butt tension sensor. Have a stretch cord connected around you chest to monitor breathing, a blood pressure cuff to monitor blood pressure, and a finger clamp for pulse and sweat monitoring. Now "Relax", but not too much!
Diligent honest thinking people have problems.
Question: "Have you ever ..."
"Crap! EVER is a long time, I might have ... wait what was the question?"
Congratulations, you've managed to make it almost through the session and you take a deep breath of calming relief. BUZZZZZZ WRONG! Now you have to start from the beginning all over again.
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