FBI Attitude Towards Pot Affects How It Fights Cybercrime
The FBI has a hacker problem, and we don't just mean foreign powers trying to hack voting booths or spread fake news. We mean the FBI has a problem finding enough hackers and cybersecurity professionals to keep on staff. When they do find qualified candidates, they then lose them to top tech companies faster than you can make a bad hacker joke. Here's one such bad joke from a former FBI Official:
"One of the only things the FBI effectively does at the 'speed of cyber' is churn through executive leadership. How can an organization effectively develop and implement an effective, long-term strategy on anything, let alone the highly complex and rapidly changing environment of criminal and national security cyber threats, with that kind of turnover?"
But there's also a solution that will fix the FBI hacking problem at the 'speed of cyber,' and it will be just as simple to implement too. Just loosen the FBI restrictions on smoking pot. We don't want to make any generalizations here about people in tech-loving some THC so we'll just let James Comey, former head of the FBI, and current embarrassing dad, make those generalizations instead. Said Comey, "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."
As it stands, the FBI currently requires that "Candidates cannot have used marijuana within the three years preceding the date of their application for employment (even if marijuana usage is legal in the candidate's home state)." That's a pretty high bar to clear even for someone that isn't a habitual marijuana user. Imagine going to one party (we're talking about high-level hackers here, so maybe it's a LAN party) and then eating some brownies that you didn't realize had weed. Now you've narrowed your job prospects by at least one for the next three years, and also you have to go sleep off an intense craving for pizza bagels.
To their credit, the CIA, who also have stringent policies on drug-use, have started to loosen up.
Hopefully, the FBI will take the hint and soon do the same. After all, it's not like we have any important elections coming up or anything.
Support Dan by following him on Twitter and he will talk about his life with you in lieu of getting a therapist. He also hosts The Bachelor Zone Podcast, where you can hear him give a sports-style breakdown of all things happening on The Bachelor.
Top Image: Pixabay
