NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
1–10 of 106 posts
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#2Contrary to the article's inflammatory title, software engineers haven't quit their jobs at the USG en masse.
As for the "with the government" vs the "for the government" rebuttals: surveillance and research contractors haven't stopped working with the USG either.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#3Contrary to the article's inflammatory title, software engineers haven't quit their jobs at the USG en masse. As for the "with the government" vs the "for the government" rebuttals: surveillance and research contractors haven't stopped working with the USG either.
I don't think there will be droves of people leaving because of recent scandals. But it sure will make it harder to answer a smart college grad who asks "Why should I work for the NSA?" when he/she has options at private tech companies.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#4Contrary to the article's inflammatory title, software engineers haven't quit their jobs at the USG en masse. As for the "with the government" vs the "for the government" rebuttals: surveillance and research contractors haven't stopped working with the USG either.
I don't think there will be droves of people leaving because of recent scandals. But it sure will make it harder to answer a smart college grad who asks "Why should I work for the NSA?" when he/she has options at private tech companies.
i agree with this statement. i don't think that anyone was saying they would quit the government en masse. i actually got the impression that they were talking about freelancers and such, but i could be wrong.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#5Doesn't really present much evidence that this is happening so far, but I wouldn't be surprised if the continuing revelations push more and more hackers in this direction, especially at the margins. The possibility of such a "self-correcting" measure to the surveillance state, even without legislative reform, is one reason to be optimistic (though it would be naive to put too much hope in that alone)
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#6Even before seeing that the submission was from techdirt, the headline itself contains the type of assertion that is highly questionable on its face.
1. What is a "top" hacker? Someone who has hacked the most systems? Hacked the most secure system? Created the most cleverest exploit?
2. How do you know that it's actually the "top" hackers who are refusing to work with the USG? Because quite conceivably, there are great hackers who are already working at the USG and aren't revealing themselves or quitting in protest. The hackers you have now speaking out may indeed be refusing to work for the USG, but your article is then based on a self-selecting sample.
3. Is being a "top" hacker an immutable thing? If top mercenaries said they'd never join the Navy SEALS, does that mean the SEALs are screwed? Only if you forget that they have no shortage of young men who are pruned and groomed to being elite fighters.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#7Doesn't really present much evidence that this is happening so far, but I wouldn't be surprised if the continuing revelations push more and more hackers in this direction, especially at the margins. The possibility of such a "self-correcting" measure to the surveillance state, even without legislative reform, is one reason to be optimistic (though it would be naive to put too much hope in that alone)
I dont know about your second point, but I definitely agree the link quotes another article that says something "might" happen.
While I hope that the intelligencia of america wake the hell up and stop cooperating, this article is a crock of shit.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#8Contrary to the article's inflammatory title, software engineers haven't quit their jobs at the USG en masse. As for the "with the government" vs the "for the government" rebuttals: surveillance and research contractors haven't stopped working with the USG either.
I don't think there will be droves of people leaving because of recent scandals. But it sure will make it harder to answer a smart college grad who asks "Why should I work for the NSA?" when he/she has options at private tech companies.
Except... They aren't only recruiting "smart college grads" they're recruiting smart college Freshmen etc. I know several people who did internships with the NSA/DoD starting their freshmen year. And I can tell you at that point there is still the shiny, "I work for the NSA! This is so cool!" feeling.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think there will be droves of people leaving because of recent scandals. But it sure will make it harder to answer a smart college grad who asks "Why should I work for the NSA?" when he/she has options at private tech companies.
Except... They aren't only recruiting "smart college grads" they're recruiting smart college Freshmen etc. I know several people who did internships with the NSA/DoD starting their freshmen year. And I can tell you at that point there is still the shiny, "I work for the NSA! This is so cool!" feeling.
If their friends, condemned their actions i.e. working for a bunch of incompetent, paranoid spooks, their job outlook would change as well.
Re: NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with 'betrayed' hackers
#10Contrary to the article's inflammatory title, software engineers haven't quit their jobs at the USG en masse. As for the "with the government" vs the "for the government" rebuttals: surveillance and research contractors haven't stopped working with the USG either.
I don't think there will be droves of people leaving because of recent scandals. But it sure will make it harder to answer a smart college grad who asks "Why should I work for the NSA?" when he/she has options at private tech companies.
I'm sure it will be a consideration, but I wonder how MUCH of a consideration it really will end up being. The loudest voices against the government in the current debate seem unlikely to be people who would work for the government under most circumstances anyway. At the end of the day, the NSA will always be a secret government intelligence gathering organization, 3 descriptors that seem at odds with a big part of the hacker community to begin with.