Cyber security is a looming national security threat, and the head of the top security agency in the U.S. thinks he has a way to combat it. Hire hackers.
According to a report on CNN.com, General Keith Alexander, director of the U.S. National Security Agency, delivered a “recruiting speech” at the annual DefCon convention, held in July 2012 in Las Vegas, NV. “In this room, this room right here, is the talent our nation needs to secure cyberspace,” Alexander told the standing-room-only audience. “We need great talent. We don’t pay as high as everybody else, but we’re fun to be around.”
In support of its hacker recruiting efforts, the NSA has also set up a somewhat unconventional recruiting site for DefCon attendees and other interested parties at www.nsa.gov/careers/dc20.
Originally started in the early 1990s, DefCon is reportedly one of the largest and longest continuously running hacker conventions. An estimated 16,000 people were expected to attend this year’s conference.
