41–50 of 147 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm so if you don’t accept you’ll be harassed? Sounds like a disincentive to even applying.
I think they are referring to that candidate's ethnicity
I have a question for the HN audience. Many here have gone to top schools and studied crypto, ML, etc with the best. And are probably the best in their field. Do you currently work for any three letter agencies? Did your smartest colleagues go to work at three letter agencies? I am trying to gauge the quality of talent at CIA, NSA, FBI, etc. All of my best colleagues went to the private sector, usually tech or securi…
I think there’s an aspect of your question that deserves sincere engagement, but I also think there is a very overblown idea of “the best in their field” and a misconception that if you were “good enough” to get hired into top private sector jobs, it somehow means you are better than peers. For one thing, people grow & change. Out of some hypothetical cohort of peers in year X, some few may have been the “best” in sc…
I grew up in DC and have a bunch of friends that went to work for the Federal Government. Not in these types of agencies, but nonetheless instructive I think.
The incentives at these places are completely different. Pay is somewhat low at start but it's rock solid stable and grows predictably and can get pretty respectable over time, the level of stress and unpredictability can be very low, the promotions are on a schedule, and vacation time and flex time can be pretty attractive.
It's not for me, I would go crazy in that culture, but I have some friends that are really happy to have a job they can check into, do what they're told to do, and go home.
It's interesting that US government is embracing Tor, while Germany is cracking down on it[1]. [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19399576
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/10/05...
I have a question for the HN audience. Many here have gone to top schools and studied crypto, ML, etc with the best. And are probably the best in their field. Do you currently work for any three letter agencies? Did your smartest colleagues go to work at three letter agencies? I am trying to gauge the quality of talent at CIA, NSA, FBI, etc. All of my best colleagues went to the private sector, usually tech or securi…
One of my best friends worked at the NSA, then the CIA. Smart guy. Unfortunately he got charged for Vault7 leaks and is going to spend the rest of his life in jail. So, in short, don’t work for them. It might seem cool, but it’s not worth it. If they don’t like you, they’ll fuck you.
I don't know enough about the case to form an opinion about it, but at first glance, uploading CIA-related source code to GitHub it's not what I would define as "smart".
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvn83q/joshua-schulte-cia...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-cia-leaker-josh-schu...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of my best friends worked at the NSA, then the CIA. Smart guy. Unfortunately he got charged for Vault7 leaks and is going to spend the rest of his life in jail. So, in short, don’t work for them. It might seem cool, but it’s not worth it. If they don’t like you, they’ll fuck you.
Do they have the wrong guy or is “they don’t like you” == “commit espionage against the United States”?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're well credentialed, tech-smart, greedy, and morally bankrupt, it's probably more lucrative to work for Google than the NSA.
Yep. GCHQ was recruiting on our CS course and the starting pay they offered was within £30-35k range. Working for literally any IT company in the region would pay more. (obviously there are perks working for the government that the private industry cannot match, so for some people lower pay is acceptable)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think there’s an aspect of your question that deserves sincere engagement, but I also think there is a very overblown idea of “the best in their field” and a misconception that if you were “good enough” to get hired into top private sector jobs, it somehow means you are better than peers. For one thing, people grow & change. Out of some hypothetical cohort of peers in year X, some few may have been the “best” in sc…
> The main question I have is why the agencies are able to pay such low salaries, sometimes even in urban areas, no bonuses, etc. I grew up in DC and have a bunch of friends that went to work for the Federal Government. Not in these types of agencies, but nonetheless instructive I think. The incentives at these places are completely different. Pay is somewhat low at start but it's rock solid stable and grows predicta…
It was the best position I've ever had for work/life balance. The time off was extraordinary, the health insurance was stupid good, it was super stable, but the pay was 1/2 to 2/3 what I could make in private industry.
When I had small children, it was the perfect job, just due to the flexibility in time off and lack of real on-going stress.
It's interesting that US government is embracing Tor, while Germany is cracking down on it[1]. [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19399576
To be fair, "embracing Tor" is an interesting phrase, considering the FBI was actively breaking it 5 years ago: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/11/07/how-did-...
I have a question for the HN audience. Many here have gone to top schools and studied crypto, ML, etc with the best. And are probably the best in their field. Do you currently work for any three letter agencies? Did your smartest colleagues go to work at three letter agencies? I am trying to gauge the quality of talent at CIA, NSA, FBI, etc. All of my best colleagues went to the private sector, usually tech or securi…
It's interesting that US government is embracing Tor, while Germany is cracking down on it[1]. [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19399576
The US government created Tor for intelligence purposes. So it being embraced by the US intelligence community is unsurprising.