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DHS Turns To Unpaid Interns For Nation's Cyber Security

Posted by Soulskill on from the probably-still-an-upgrade dept.

theodp writes "A week after President Obama stressed the importance of computer science to America, the Department of Homeland Security put out a call for 100+ of the nations' best-and-brightest college students to work for nothing on the nation's cyber security. The unpaid internship program, DHS notes, is the realization of recommendations (PDF) from the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Task Force on CyberSkills, which included execs from Facebook, Lockheed Martin, and Sony, and was advised by representatives from Cisco, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Northrop Grumman, the NSF, and the NSA. 'Do you desire to protect American interests and secure our Nation while building a meaningful and rewarding career?' reads the job posting for Secretary's Honors Program Cyber Student Volunteers (salary: $0.00-$0.00). 'If so, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling.' Student volunteers, DHS adds, will begin in spring 2014 and participate throughout the summer. Get your applications in by January 3, kids!"

4 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Stick with what works... by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Ooo! Outsiders worked so well before! Snow-den! Snow-den! What fun.

    If youi're taking a snipe at contractors vs govt personnel here on this one, there really isn't much a difference in the loyalty or trustworthiness of the two.

    If you're working on something security related, you have to sign the same forms saying you're liable to the same laws and penalties if you divulge secrets, etc.

    It isn't like the govt. worker is held to any standards higher than the contractor is, if working on the same system/data.

    And a secret clearance background check isn't any more thorough for a govt employee than it is for a contractor, they pretty much use the same exact methods and entities for them.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. Is this a Labor Law violation? by peterofoz · · Score: 4, Informative
    If they're displacing regular employees or they derive immediate advantage from the activities of the intern...

    6 Legal Requirements For Unpaid Internship Programs

  3. Re:Stick with what works... by Obfuscant · · Score: 4, Informative

    Show me a single congressman (house or senate) that left "public service" poorer than they started.

    Harry Truman. When he ended his 2nd term, all he had was his old WW1 Army pension to fall back on.

    This contains an interesting summary of Truman's salary history.

    • In 1921 Truman's salary was probably close to nothing. He was living in debt and trying to keep his failing business open.
    • In 1922 he was elected Missouri's Jackson County judge and was paid $3,465.00 per year.
    • In 1925 Truman lost reelection and took a job selling AAA automobile club memberships for $15.00 each...
    • In 1926 he was elected as the presiding judge and was paid $6,000.00 per year.
    • In 1934 Truman was elected senator and made $10,000.00 a year.
    • In 1944 he was chosen to be the Roosevelt's third vice-president. His salary jumped to $20,000.00 per year.
    • In 1945 ... Truman became the President of the United States. His salary was $75,000.00 and then increased $100,000.00 a year
    • In 1954 he sold the rights to his biography for $600,000.00 which would be paid over 5 years, and in 1958 Congress passed a law to retroactively provide former presidents a pension of $25,000.00 a year.

    So, he went into public service making about zero, starting with a judicial position at $3465 a year. He left the Presidency and started a military pension at $13500 a year. He then picked up another $25k a year retroactively starting in 1954.

    I'd say going from zero to $38k a year is not leaving public service poorer than he started. It's not the lavish pensions pols get today, but it's still not poorer.

    As for political donations for personal use, the same source reports:

    He continued paying down the debt, even while the Great Depression was occurring, until 1934 when a political supporter bought his debt allowed him to pay it off for $1,000.00.

    So, a political supporter donated a huge sum by buying the existing debt on the new Senator's failed clothing store and letting him pay it off cheap.

  4. Re:Stick with what works... by volxdragon · · Score: 5, Informative

    Federal civil service workes haven't had a pension in decades - CSRS was closed to new government workers in 1987, all they get now is FERS which really is no different than any other 401(k). The days of the government pension are pretty much dead (unless you're a congress critter that is).