Dead Drop: March 9

BREAKING THE CODE ON CYBER HIRES: The Economist is out with an article about the U.S. intelligence community’s search for creative ways to compete for talent among cybersecurity analysts and data scientists. It is a tough nut to crack since employers on the outside often pay much more for the needed skills. The Economist says National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency chief Robert Cardillo now encourages certain staff to work temporarily for private firms while still drawing a government salary. They return after six months or a year with new skills – and fatter bank accounts.

PORN TO RUN: The Intercept reported late last week that a decade ago, when the situation in post-invasion Iraq was pretty dicey, NSA used to exploit captured laptops, hard drives, CDs, etc. and often found pornography that had been the property of prisoners who claimed they were devout Muslims. According to the story – the U.S. would use the discovery to “humiliate” and break down the detainees and gain their cooperation. So, who is outraged that the Americans would use “porn for black ops”? Sputnik, one of Vladimir Putin’s house organs, expressed horror at the dirty pool – and dredged up stories like one about a woman who was a former CIA employee who posed for Playboy two decades ago – as evidence that the U.S. intelligence community is somehow obsessed with sex. This would never happen in Mother Russia.