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JPL Scientists Take NASA To the Supreme Court
CheshireCatCO writes "Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, concerned about background checks now required of federal employees, sued NASA to suspend the checks back in 2007. The case has now worked its way up to the Supreme Court. At stake: whether all federal employees can be forced to undergo open-ended background checks whether or not the employee has exposure to classified or sensitive information. The background checks, which can include interviewing people from employees' pasts such as landlords and teachers, may seek, among other things, sexual histories."
It always cracks me up here on nerdot how supposedly really smart people fail basic simple analysis.
OK, I'll spell it out, security is in layers, and it is ongoing. Nothing is perfect, but you start at the outer perimeter, which is the grounds and buildings, the physical plant. You do not want a potentially compromised employee present, even if said employee is not "working on classified material". Yes, even the janitor.
That "classified" work might be done within the same area/building is reason enough to start your security screening THERE.
Think about it as your network, where is your first layer of security? Your second, your third, or do you just run wide open with consumer grade "firewalls" on individual PCs? Nope, you do it in LAYERS and each layer is as good as you can do it.
This is why we have specialization and different jobs, some people are good at some things, some at others. You may be a whizzbang coder or materials scientist, but you could still suck so bad at security you would "take offense" at what the experts KNOW they should do.
And I am not a huge rah rah rah flag waver or anything, I am actually quite critical of both foreign and domestic policy trends today, just I know about this from some work in the past, which I don't want anything to do with now or ever again..but really..will you ultra smart guys one trick pony people just STOP thinking you are smart in every single discipline that exists? You aren't. No one is an expert in everything, even if your IQ is 160 or higher, you could still be dumb as a box of rocks in any number of subjects.