DHS Seeks "Ethical Hackers" To Protect Federal Net Infrastructure

Death Metal sends this excerpt from an AP report: "General Dynamics Information Technology put out an ad last month on behalf of the Homeland Security Department seeking someone who could 'think like the bad guy.' Applicants, it said, must understand hackers' tools and tactics and be able to analyze Internet traffic and identify vulnerabilities in the federal systems. In the Pentagon's budget request submitted last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon will increase the number of cyberexperts it can train each year from 80 to 250 by 2011. With warnings that the US is ill-prepared for a cyberattack, the White House conducted a 60-day study of how the government can better manage and use technology (PDF) to protect everything from the electrical grid and stock markets to tax data, airline flight systems, and nuclear launch codes. ... Nadia Short, vice president at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, said the job posting for ethical hackers fills a critical need for the government."

Comments

From the article :)

[click2005]

How do you prove you're good enough?

There is a secret NSA computer somewhere for potentiial job applicants to leave their C.V. on.

priorities, priorities...

[martas]

let me get this straight, they're training tens (hundreds?) of thousands of various kinds of soldiers each year, and they're aiming to train only 250 "cyberexperts" a year by 2011? And this after all the "reports" about russia and china bullying the entire world, including the US, with their DoS and other kinds of attacks? I see, if you can't see it explode, then it can't hurt you, right?

Re:Civilans Need Not Apply.

[TheRaven64]

I've held security clearance in the past (it lapses if you don't renew it periodically, and I didn't), and I know a few people who got jobs that required a higher level of clearance than I had. Although the job adverts will say you require clearance, this usually means that any offer will be conditional on the clearance being granted. You can still apply without it and if they think you are qualified then they may offer you the job. The offer will say 'pending security clearance' or similar on it, and you will then have to undergo a background check (exactly how detailed this is depends on the level required, but it can usually be done in a couple of months). It is quite rare for someone to fail - most people who might tend not to apply. If you do need to go through the process, then don't lie. They don't care if you're gay or smoked pot, but they do care if you have secrets that someone can blackmail you about.