How does that even work? Does the NSA post on 4chan asking for l33t hax0rs to do a job?
They run operations like Cicda3301 to recruit to ones that make it to the end.
/s
Ok but seriously they fund things like USAMTS which I assume gives them access to a list of promising young Americans.
That's boring maths though. Great, they found some people that can do hard maths. Cicada3301 winners prove they have a wide range of abilities. You're "tests" would be fine for the NSA types that just sit in a gov't cubicle going blind on cyphers. CIA wants people that can figure things out without getting caught.
The parent comment asked about the NSA, and, well, they happen to do a lot of math.
I found Lex Friedman's interview with Nicole Perlroth discussion of hacker culture and the mechanics of creating and selling 0-days to nation-state actors interesting.
Re:An update on the threat landscape
by ASalazarMX on Tuesday March 08, 2022 @12:44PM
(#30602965)
Aren't they famous for going to hacker conventions and looking like another fellow hacker instead of a suit? the NSA even has given talks at DEFCON.
You really think there aren't computer security experts from government organisations on 4chan? I thought half of its schtick was it was a wide range of humans from all walks of life, pretending to be (or actually being) whatever-it-is that humans become without any form of supervision.
Re:An update on the threat landscape
by heavyset_go on Tuesday March 08, 2022 @12:06AM
(#30596631)
I'd imagine direct and indirect infiltration. Hackers charged with crimes, who are part of a larger group, sometimes get plea deals. As part of their deals, they might give up accounts, keys, data, or evidence from the group, and/or work as confidential informants for the government.
You can see some of this with Anonymous and the FBI these days, too, and NSO Group and Israel. I wouldn't be surprised if most countries do this, now.