At a recent recruiting session, an Agency staffer told wannabe spooks that "illegal file sharing" was one of the things that would keep them from getting the security clearances needed to work at the NSA. (Spending time in the Peace Corps was another).

Quick question: Since practically every college kid in the country has done some illegal online swapping, doesn't that effectively cut the NSA's pool of new recruits to like, zero?

Reader comment: Jeremy Maitin-Shepard says,

The statement at the recruiting session may not in fact indicate that the NSA cares about infringing file sharing; rather, it may have been for the purpose of improving the reliability of the polygraph/lie detector tests they perform while interviewing potential recruits. By making the statement, new recruits may believe that past file sharing seriously jeopardizes their chances of recruitment, and consequently are encouraged to lie about past file sharing while being tested, and thus provide a reliable control measurement to calibrate the test.

I have also heard that the CIA makes similar comments to potential recruits.

Your story on the NSA and file sharing reminds me of what the vile Thatcher did back in the 80s. She banned staff at GCHQ (the UK's listening agency) from being members of a trade union. Obviously, if you join a trade union, you're a commie spy. The ban was lifted when New Labour came in to power in 1997. Sadly, under New Labour today, everyone is under suspicion. Link.

posted by Xeni Jardin at 01:27:56 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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