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posted by takyon on Monday August 03 2015, @06:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the blunt-assessment dept.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is struggling to hire computer scientists, according to a Department of Justice audit of the feeb's attempts to implement its Next Generation Cyber Initiative.

A 34-page audit report (PDF) from the DoJ notes that, while making considerable progress, the FBI has "encountered challenges in attracting external participants to its established Cyber Task Forces".

[The audit] bemoaned how hiring and retaining qualified white hats remained a challenge for the FBI, especially when competing private-sector entities pay more and have less invasive recruitment processes. The FBI reportedly did not hire 52 of the 134 computer scientists for which it was authorised, meaning 38 per cent of the workforce it requires (as per budget) is simply not there. This additionally means that five of the FBI's 56 field offices do not have even a single computer scientist assigned to their Cyber Task Force.

Back in 2011, the Office of the Inspector General gave the FBI a thorough scolding over its inability to address America's cyber-intrusion threat, for which it has become the responsible national body. The Next Generation Cyber Initiative was launched in response, essentially as a platform for funding increases in the face of a swelling number of data breaches and cyber-attacks in recent years.

This is not the first mention of the FBI's difficulties in recruiting infosec professionals. Last year, the [FBI]'s director James Comey said the company was re-examining its drugs policy as too many applicants seemed to be enjoying a doobie en route to interview.


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Spook brat on Monday August 03 2015, @10:01PM

    by Spook brat (775) on Monday August 03 2015, @10:01PM (#217616) Journal

    Yes, they do direct hire. They had a booth at my University's job fair the year I graduated, and were looking to recruit field agents.

    Yes, there's a job list: https://www.fbijobs.gov/ [fbijobs.gov]

    There are field agent positions in all major cities across the U.S., and some overseas postings at embassies and Military bases.

    By coincidence, the "hot job" at the top of the list today is for "Information Technology Specialists", [fbijobs.gov] and may be what we're talking about here. You're right, they're vague almost to the point of incomprehensibility; however, in this case it seems that they're just being cagey rather than bureaucratic.

    I listened to the recruiters' pitch out of morbid curiosity. I'm prejudiced, since the FBI shares jurisdiction with the DIA and CID on U.S. Military installations, and they have a reputation for stealing high-profile cases and botching them (business suits and sunglasses indoors tent to stand out at the PX when you're tailing a suspect; everyone else there is wearing camouflage). Apparently, they were afraid for their personal security on campus; their name tags had only a first name, and not the agents' actual first names. Why they felt that a cover identity was needed to go recruiting is beyond me.

    I didn't apply.

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  • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday August 04 2015, @01:35AM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday August 04 2015, @01:35AM (#217689) Homepage

    Yeech, their website looks like the title screen of Police Quest III.