Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
washingtonpost.com
Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
1–10 of 55 posts
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#2Isn't Starbucks Store #1 at Pike Place in Seattle? That seems like it would be suspicious; wouldn't it be better to borrow the store number of the one inside the Safeway or something?
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#3Surprised Starbucks got more points than the CIA museum
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8370849
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#4I wonder if it is cash only. Credit card transactions would also be revealing to interested parties. If there ever was a time for the "Company" to pick up the tab, this would be one just to prevent the data leak to the outside world.
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#5I imagine that a similar process happens for pretty much all mundane jobs in sensitive locations. Sure, people think about the process to recruit high-level personnel for CIA and NSA positions... but what about the janitors, truck drivers, plumbers, and warehouse personnel?
I imagine that these people are paid pretty well for their positions, as they're not being paid for their skills; they're being paid for trustworthiness.
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#6[deleted]
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#7I wonder if it is cash only. Credit card transactions would also be revealing to interested parties. If there ever was a time for the "Company" to pick up the tab, this would be one just to prevent the data leak to the outside world.
[deleted]
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#8Isn't Starbucks Store #1 at Pike Place in Seattle? That seems like it would be suspicious; wouldn't it be better to borrow the store number of the one inside the Safeway or something?
According to the article, the receipt just says "Store Number 1", nothing about Starbucks.
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#9Interesting article. The CIA sounds like a terrible place to work. No smartphones, definitely no BYOD, and you can't talk to coworkers about your projects. You don't even know if you have old friends who work at the same place.
The benefits and pay are probably decent, but it seems like one could find a better job in the private sector. I guess the restrictions weed out a lot of people who aren't truly dedicated to the CIA's purpose.
Re: Inside the Starbucks at CIA HQ
#10> The baristas go through rigorous interviews and background checks and need to be escorted by agency “minders” to leave their work area
I would have expected the baristas to be actual CIA agents in training. Barista is a job available all over the world. Starbucks itself has locations in 65 countries, covering most of North and South America, most of Europe, and most of Asia. They also have pretty good coverage in the Mideast and Arab regions. Map here [1]. Being able to be planted in a coffee house as a barista and pull that off without suspicion would be a useful skill for an undercover agent trying to monitor what's going on in an area.