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NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

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Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#41

Post by lusr »

ihsw wrote: post #20
stfu wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and polygraph Are they still serious about doing the polygraph dance? Even after all these years with questionable results and even the Supreme Court rejecting it as neutral evidence. I guess they are starting pretty early in making employees believe into made-up Security Theater mechanisms.

As mentioned the polygraph bluntly measures lying-ability (to a lesser degree) and measures mental stress-management, which in this line of work is very mandatory.

Polygraphs measure your ability to clench your rectum (www.youtube.com/watch?v=bScv6kfxRyE).

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#42

Post by briandear »

nraynaud wrote: post #25

And if you think it's ok to use national security means to spy on foreign companies to rig the economic competition and if you think a human being from another country has less rights to privacy than one with a US passport, apply.

Right. Because China and France would never do that. One of the primary purposes of French Intelligence is industrial espionage. Before you make ignorant statements about the NSA how about getting some facts?

Also, if those 'human beings' are trying to blow up Americans, then I don't care about their rights. I have a right for my kid to not get killed while traveling on the subway. I have a right to not have bombs blowing up while out at a nightclub. Is the NSA perfect? Of course not, but it's a dangerous imperfect world. When people stop blowing shit up in the name of their deity, then I'll gladly revise my opinion of the relevance for the NSA.

Where's your outrage over Syrian and Iranian Intelligence and their tactics? How about North Korean intelligence and their wholesale kidnapping of hundreds of Japanese citizens? How about the Chinese and their operations in the US? It's a popular sport to pick on the US from the safety of an armchair, but it's quite another to address the reasons the NSA and CIA do what they do. I'm not defending all of the actions of those agencies, but I will certainly defend their mission and goals.

The fact that you can even safely criticize the NSA and feel secure that you won't be arrested is a testament to the freedoms the NSA helps preserve. Spend ten minutes in China and start posting messages about their MSS and see how long your comment stays up (and how long before you get a visit from a local Public Security Bureau officer.)

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#43

Post by Symmetry »

briandear wrote: post #19
stfu wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and polygraph Are they still serious about doing the polygraph dance? Even after all these years with questionable results and even the Supreme Court rejecting it as neutral evidence. I guess they are starting pretty early in making employees believe into made-up Security Theater mechanisms.

The polygraph isn't about lie detection. If you can't beat an NSA poly, they wouldn't want you. The poly isn't about finding 'truth' inasmuch as it's about your abilities to pass it. I can't speak to the NSA specifically, but in other agencies, the poly is a screening tool. Even if you're lying but can beat the poly, then you have proven that you can maintain while under extreme pressure. Intel agency polys are serio…

That's actually not true, as far as I know. If they can't get an actual emotional reaction out of you there's no way you're passing.

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#44

Post by mindcrime »

richardofyork wrote: post #7

A few NSA reps should hang around HN, if they are not already, to respond to any questions and partake in the discussion on this thread.

A few NSA reps should hang around HN

Please don't give them any ideas. I mean, I imagine they monitor this site already anyway, but why encourage them?

What would be really cool, would be if pg could determine if an incoming request was from the NSA, and redirect any such requests to youporn.com or something.

Now sure how you'd detect the NSA requests though. I doubt they publish which netblocks they snoop from, and I doubt their browser UA string says "NSABrowser 1.0 (Mozilla 4.0/Compatible)" or anything.

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#46

Post by Daniel_Newby »

utnick wrote: post #10
maayank wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I learned and searched for (sorry, no references), in general the important thing for a security background check for government agencies is not that you have shady business in your past - but that you're willing to be totally transparent to your (governmental) employer. Was in the past a heavy consumer of weed/was part of a cult/always attending protests against federal government policies? No problem, jus…

Doesn't this approach seem kind of backwards though? For example, weed. If they want to prevent enemies from blackmailing their employees for past weed use. They should come out and say we don't care how much weed you smoke, we're not going to drug test you now or ever, we just don't care what you do in your free time. The fact that they polygraph & question you to find the exact # of times you have done drugs in the…

> They should come out and say we don't care how much weed you smoke, we're not going to drug test you now or ever, we just don't care what you do in your free time.

The threat is that a foreign nation will take over a DEA field office and blackmail you. "We can overlook the pot this time if you cooperate and wear this wire. Don't cooperate and we'll do an asset forfeiture on your house and report your kids to CPS for being homeless." In a few months you'll be doing dead drops for a Chinese handler and thinking you are doing the right thing for family and country.

It is not about drugs but the abject corruption of the War on Drugs.

Polygraph interviews are not anout ferreting out all secrets, they are about finding how hard it is to get secrets out of you.

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#47

Post by sp332 »

briandear wrote: post #42
nraynaud wrote: post #25

And if you think it's ok to use national security means to spy on foreign companies to rig the economic competition and if you think a human being from another country has less rights to privacy than one with a US passport, apply.

Right. Because China and France would never do that. One of the primary purposes of French Intelligence is industrial espionage. Before you make ignorant statements about the NSA how about getting some facts? Also, if those 'human beings' are trying to blow up Americans, then I don't care about their rights. I have a right for my kid to not get killed while traveling on the subway. I have a right to not have bombs bl…

Where's your outrage over Syrian and Iranian Intelligence and their tactics?

Your entire rant is irrelevant. Independently of how much you dislike foreign agencies, working for the NSA might also pose ethical problems.

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#48

Post by luriel »

Zenst wrote: post #2

Have to appreciete the direct honest approach: "It's true that you must be a U.S. citizen, and you'll need a security clearance that requires a background investigation and polygraph. But ... If you have a few, shall we say, indiscretions in your past, don't be alarmed. You shouldn't automatically assume you won't be hired. If you're really interested, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot."

> polygraph

WTF?

What security expert would want to work at a place that takes seriously crackpot bullshit like polygraphs?

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#49

Post by GodIsGovernment »

zeethrow wrote: post #17

Appalling.

Unprofessional Keith B Alexander goes out of uniform to preach government spy jobs to innovators. Makes me doubt if the DSMs and DSSM on his class A's are fake too. Why not wear the MOH on your class A's Keith? You do not have to worry about being out of uniform.

Re: NSA Careers for DEF CON Attendees

#50

Post by lawnchair_larry »

briandear wrote: post #42
nraynaud wrote: post #25

And if you think it's ok to use national security means to spy on foreign companies to rig the economic competition and if you think a human being from another country has less rights to privacy than one with a US passport, apply.

Right. Because China and France would never do that. One of the primary purposes of French Intelligence is industrial espionage. Before you make ignorant statements about the NSA how about getting some facts? Also, if those 'human beings' are trying to blow up Americans, then I don't care about their rights. I have a right for my kid to not get killed while traveling on the subway. I have a right to not have bombs bl…

False dichotomy. You're only comparing it to the worst examples. Let's assume that the NSA doesn't spy on Americans, and what they say about only collecting data on foreigners is accurate (haha).

Why do the Swiss have no privacy rights? Australians? Canadians? What makes any of their average citizens not worthy of respecting? They don't "export terror" or have large scale state-sponsored abuses.

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