The NSA Needs Computer Hackers

Dickie George, who recruited people to work at the NSA, said the agency 'will take a chance on somebody who has the skills we need.' NSA/Reuters

For NSA, Hackers Are Needed, Risky -- Wall Street Journal

When President Barack Obama last week called intelligence leaker Edward Snowden a "hacker," the comment was designed to be dismissive. But the president also put his finger on a growing fear among national-security officials: that others in the ranks of young, tech-savvy new recruits could prove as unpredictable as they are indispensable.

Faced with accelerating technological advances over the past decade, and pressed to outsource vital government services, U.S. spy agencies are reaching ever further outside the traditional government hierarchy for expertise. That approach likely led them to Mr. Snowden, a community-college dropout whose sophisticated computer skills trumped his lack of formal education, a situation that has become increasingly common in hiring within the National Security Agency, officials there confirm. The 30-year-old's work as an NSA infrastructure analyst gave him the ultimate insider's access to national secrets.

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My Comment: The NSA's efforts to recruit hackers has been ongoing for a very long time.