How Does the CIA Keep Its IT Staff Honest?

Tootech points out this story for anyone who's been curious about getting that top-secret clearance and the promise of a cushy pension from the CIA, as a reward for decades of blood-curdling, heart-pounding, knuckle-whitening IT service: "Be prepared to go through a lot of scrutiny if you want to work in the Central Intelligence Agency's IT department, says chief information officer Al Tarasiuk. And it doesn't stop after you get your top secret clearance. 'Once you're in, there are frequent reinvestigations, but it's just part of process here,' says Tarasiuk, who also gets polygraphed regularly, though he won't be more specific. For those senior IT managers who are the 'privileged users,' meaning system administrators, 'there is certainly more scrutiny on you,' Tarasiuk says. 'It's interesting: there's so much scrutiny that a normal person might not want to put up with that. But it's part of the mission.'"

Comments

Hmmm

[lightknight]

By only employing people who are willing to work for money, and paying them well?

Re:Hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

By only employing people who are willing to work for money, and paying them well?

It's a double whammy: having a well paying and a cool sounding job ("I work for the CIA!" - with an ID with CIA on it to show chicks in a bar?) and maybe some patriotism mixed in.

As someone who dealt with real CIA operatives told me, a field agent never has an ID that says "CIA" on it. If they have an ID that says "CIA" on it it means they're a clerk or some other back office staff - like in IT.

Re:Hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

By only employing people who are willing to work for money, and paying them well?

If money is the only incentive, I'm certain there are many foreign governments that are willing to pay for inside information.

Re:Hmmm

[the linux geek]

Employing people monetarily-driven might make them more of an espionage threat.

Re:Hmmm

[kagaku]

Umm... any company that cares about security? It helps prevent someone from picking up a list badge and thinking "oh look at this badge for XYZ Co! let's see if it still works!"

Re:Hmmm

[laron]

Not so long ago, my company had "blank" access badges. In case one is lost, there's no need to give a thief or spy a hint which doors it might open for him.

Polygraphs are nothing but BS.

[Jane Q. Public]

If you read about the actual history and accuracy of polygraphs, you will find that they are not "lie detectors" at all, but merely tools of intimidation. (I could cite many, many sources. While not authoritative, the Penn & Teller show "Bullshit" has a very informative episode on the matter. And yes, the show is called "Bullshit" for a reason. Polygraphs are bullshit.)

Polygraphs are used as tools for intimidation in order to interrogate. By themselves, they are worthless. They are security theater, much like the TSA. I really hate to see our country run by people who believe in (or pull) this kind of BS.

Relativity

[cmholm]

$45K salary at retirement, 30% = $15K / year guaranteed. That's more than a two person, poverty-level working household, so it is pretty cushy. It may even be more than the new Walmart stocker drop out. So each retiree is like a currently employee on the staff.

Re:Explains their drug problem.

[Oxford_Comma_Lover]

Plenty of people who don't take drugs have original ideas.

Also, I saw a sign at the Rally to Restore Sanity that read "Retired CIA Analysts for a Sensible Drug Policy"

Re:Pension equivalent to a new hire

[dadioflex]

If you leave after 20 years but before you're 60, you get nothing.

Why do people put up with that?

I get that the US is dog eat dog, but why do the dogs put up with it? It comes across as a little third world, every time I see that my insurance covers Panama, Haiti, but not the US.

Cuba is an effort-free vacation spot. The US? I have no idea. I can't risk finding out.

Re:Actual question

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw an actual questionnaire for a similar service position. It said, "Have you ever had sex with an animal?" Honest, it said that.

It's better to ask before you hire than to find the office maskot molested on a lunch break.

Lots of them in the government

[mbkennel]

There is some kind of standardization of ID cards.

They *might* have some generic code, you might get "DOD", "DOE" but also a common one is "U.S. Government" for the entire Intelligence Community (which is a term of art referring to quite a number of agencies). I've seen business cards on them with little more than a "U.S. government" identifier and some generic identifiers for email or phone number.

What is indicated pretty clearly by some kind of color & pattern code is (a) authorization level (b) bool isContractor

The most striking thing about the CIA (and many other cards), is that they don't even have the person's *NAME*.

Yes, I have some first hand knowledge, as I was inside the CIA HQ building about 10 years ago and my escort mentioned how the ID cards don't have any names on them, intentionally.

Re:WTF?

[stephanruby]

...says Tarasiuk, who also gets polygraphed regularly, though he won't be more specific.

Polygraphed?

I hope they also check each employee's horoscope just to make sure.

Re:Risk/reward

[Anonymous Coward]

As my father, an ex-prison-director, would say: Prison is full of stupid people.