NSA is looking for a few good hackers

He drew a distinction between hackers with skills and computer criminals. Of the latter, he says with a laugh, “it would not be good to let them in your front door.”

Moss worries about young hackers who might cross lines and end up breaking laws that did not exist when he got his first computer in the early 1980s.

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 These six companies have fallen victim to major cyber attacks in recent months.

Q&A Transcript: Cyber-Spying

"The problem is that spying isn't an act of war under international law. We might not want to change that since we do some spying ourselves."

James Lewis, CSIS

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“You can absolutely learn the same skills without breaking any law,” he said.

While U.S. intelligence agencies’ computer systems are believed to be relatively secure, a wave of recent cyberattacks has hit the Pentagon, major defense contractors and others such as the International Monetary Fund.

The NSA’s tasks include helping the Department of Homeland Security secure civilian U.S. government networks.

One bureaucratic hindrance that can impede hiring top-flight experts is the security clearance process, which can take six months, by which time a candidate may have found other employment. For the NSA, prospective employees must pass a lie-detector test, be drug-free for one year and undergo an extensive background check.

Unlike the threat from nuclear weapons in which it is known which countries have that capability, cyberattacks can come from anywhere.

“So we need to worry about everybody,” George said. “In fact, we need to worry about significant adversaries hiding among the ankle biters.”

He explained that it was like finding a single needle in a pile of needles — much more difficult than in a haystack. Among constant pings from teenagers just fooling around, “the real bad guy can hide in that noise,” George said. “That’s a big problem for us: trying to identify the real threat from among all the stuff that’s not really threatening.”

George would not name countries that pose high threats, but other intelligence officials have expressed concern about China’s growing cyber-warfare capabilities, as well as Russia’s.

The NSA can attract hackers to work within its cloistered walls by dazzling them with the latest technology, appealing to their competitive nature and giving them a sense of working for the greater good, George said.

“We have a wonderful atmosphere, we have great people and we have the hardest problems on Earth. And we need help — the country needs help,” he said.

But there is one big difference about winning bragging rights at public competitions vs. inside the NSA enclosure.

“You’re not going to make yourself famous working here, that’s the downside. You can be internally famous, but you can’t be externally famous,” George said.

The NSA’s secretive nature also brings a positive side effect in striking a work-life balance.

“If you come here, you really can’t take work home with you,” George said. “That’s a bonus.”

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