NSA Risks Talent Exodus Amid Morale Slump, Trump Fears (reuters.com)

Dustin Volz and Warren Strobel, writing for Reuters: The National Security Agency risks a brain-drain of hackers and cyber spies due to a tumultuous reorganization and worries about the acrimonious relationship between the intelligence community and President Donald Trump, according to current and former NSA officials and cybersecurity industry sources. Half-a-dozen cybersecurity executives told Reuters they had witnessed a marked increase in the number of U.S. intelligence officers and government contractors seeking employment in the private sector since Trump took office on Jan. 20. One of the executives, who would speak only on condition of anonymity, said he was stunned by the caliber of the would-be recruits. They are coming from a variety of government intelligence and law enforcement agencies, multiple executives said, and their interest stems in part from concerns about the direction of U.S intelligence agencies under Trump. Retaining and recruiting talented technical personnel has become a top national security priority in recent years as Russia, China, Iran and other nation states and criminal groups have sharpened their cyber offensive abilities. NSA and other intelligence agencies have long struggled to deter some of their best employees from leaving for higher-paying jobs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

Comments

Obama Loyalists

[Anonymous Coward]

Just Obama loyalists. Any time a new administration takes power, current people leave and new people come in. This is especially the case when a new party takes power.

You'll also find those who support Trumps agenda joining the administration.

Re: All my friends in NSA are looking

[TheRaven64]

I fail to see how nsa has EVER 'kept us safe'. and due to their being untouchable and above the law, we'll NEVER KNOW, either.

Then NSA is a dual-mission agency. They do SIGINT, but they are also tasked with ensuring the security of critical infrastructure. Some of this involves designing crypto protocols, some auditing nominally secure systems, and so on (for example, writing SELinux). It's entirely possible to be working entirely on this kind of thing. You're probably making the world a better place, even if the net contribution of your entire organisation might not be.

Re:Help them leave

[meta-monkey]

Honest question: what behavior are you talking about?

Filibustering Trump's cabinet? It's taking forever, for no other reason that Democrats dragging their feet. Republicans did not do this to Obama's cabinet, and approved 7 of his appointments on Obama's first day in office.

I'm not arguing Republicans didn't use obstructionist tactics later in Obama's presidency, but I don't see how you can say Democrats aren't being obstructionists now when they've filibustered cabinet appointments. It ultimately doesn't matter because they have no power and can't actually stop anything. They're merely delaying the inevitable.