Quote of the Week

The NSA "needs" more "cyber warriors," its euphemism for hackers. Like the other sponges in government, these miscreants soak up our taxes to commit crimes that would land any of us in the pokey. Here's "Marine Capt. Robert Johnston" explaining a "cyber warrior's" job: "So we're the guys kinda pounding at the front door... finding all the open holes that we can, and beatin' down the door."

In my experience, folks erect doors precisely to keep out intruders, especially those aggressive enough to "pound at the front" entrance. But Capt. Johnston and his pillagers allow neither common decency nor liberty's principles to hamper them. They are part of a competition among "the nation's top military academies, including one from Naval Academy at Annapolis and one from the Military Academy at West Point. It's all part of CDX, an annual cyber defense exercise run by the NSA" that extends over three days. 

The NSA hopes to recruit more hackers from this abomination, but it's finding that tough in the wake of Heroic Ed and his revelations. "Industry insiders say competition for top cyber experts in both the private and public sectors has never been so fierce. 'We're all fighting for the same talent — it's tough out there,' says NSA recruitment marketing manager Lori Weltmann. But she insists NSA is holding its own, especially when prospective employees get to know the agency's operations."

Which brings us to our Quote of the Week. "'Once you try NSA, you buy NSA,' Weltmann says. 'The work is exciting, and you can do things here that you can't do anywhere else.'"

Oh, indeed.