FBI Director Explains Agency's Quest to Be Cool Enough to Recruit Hackers

Advertisement
By Andrea Peterson, The Washington Post | Updated: 5 September 2016 17:23 IST
FBI Director Explains Agency's Quest to Be Cool Enough to Recruit Hackers

The FBI has struggled for years to attract enough fresh hacker talent to defend America's computers.

One problem? A culture clash between elite coders who are attracted to casual - or even rebellious workplaces - and the agency's bureaucratic reputation.

Or, as FBI Director James B. Comey recalled his daughter's explanation of the issue at a recent speech: "Dad, the problem is you're 'the Man,' " she said. "Who would want to work for 'the Man?' "

His daughter was right, he said. But the agency is trying to get more hip to attract recruits who will help the agency keep pace with a digital landscape in constant flux, according to Comey.

Advertisement

"We're working very hard inside the FBI to be a whole lot cooler than you may think we are," he said during his remarks at a Symantec Government Symposium this week.

The agency hasn't added "beanbags and granola and a lot of whiteboards" - stereotypical hallmarks of West Coast start-up culture - at least not yet, Comey said.

Advertisement

"But we're working very hard at marching in that direction, so that when this talent comes into our organization we are open to having them make us better - in a way that connects us and them to our mission more closely," he said.

Despite outreach at high profile hacker conferences like Blackhat and DefCon, recruitment of tech whiz kids by law enforcement and intelligence agencies has been hampered in recent years. One issue is that they have to compete with private sector gigs that can offer better salaries and benefits.

Advertisement

But fallout over surveillance programs revealed in Snowden documents and the FBI's legal battle to get Apple to help it break into a locked iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., attacks has also made government work a hard sell to some.

And another cultural staple of hacker culture has further limited the FBI's recruitment pool: Marijuana use. Comey even addressed the issue during remarks at the White Collar Crime Institute in 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"I have to hire a great workforce to compete with those cybercriminals, and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview," he said.

The FBI was "grappling with the question" of how to approach cannabis and coders at the time, he said. But current hiring rules still require applicants to be pot-free for three years before joining the agency - so it doesn't look like the FBI's quest for cool has pushed it to change its tune about blazed candidates just yet.

© 2016 The Washington Post

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: James Comey, FBI, Internet, Hacking, Hackers
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Here's When Apple Could Unveil the iPhone 17 Series
  2. Grok Will Now Let You Chat With a Goth Anime Girl That Has an NSFW Mode
  3. Realme 15 Pro 5G to Get 50-Megapixel Sony IMX896 Main Rear Camera
  4. LG Launches OLED Evo and QNED Evo TVs in India With These Features
  5. Amazon Prime Day Sale 2025 Highlights: Top Last-Minute Deals on Day 3
  6. Oppo K13 Turbo Series Design, Colours Revealed Ahead of Launch
  7. iQOO Z10R With 32-Megapixel Selfie Camera to Launch in India on This Date
  1. HMD T21 Tablet Launched in India With 10.36-Inch 2K Display, 8,200mAh Battery
  2. Google’s Gemini Space Feature With Sports, Birthday Reminder Cards Spotted: Report
  3. iPhone 17 Lineup to Launch in the Second Week of September: Report
  4. Meta Introduces Stringent Measures Against Unoriginal, Improperly Reused Facebook Content
  5. Samsung Said to Have Begun Testing One UI 8 on Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4
  6. Google NotebookLM Gets Featured Notebooks, Offers Expert-Curated Sources for Users
  7. Global Smartphone Market Grew 1 Percent YoY in Q2 2025; Samsung, Vivo Witness Biggest Jump in Shipments: IDC
  8. LG OLED evo and QNED evo TVs With Alpha AI Processor Gen2 Launched in India: Price, Specifications
  9. Realme C71 5G Launched in India With 6,300mAh Battery, Reverse Charging Support
  10. iQOO Z10R Confirmed to Launch in India on July 24 With 32-Megapixel Selfie Camera
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.