Hackers: Uncle Sam (still) wants you! #BlackHat | Internet News

Hackers: Uncle Sam (still) wants you! #BlackHat

Jul 31, 2009
1 minute read

USCERT_SMALL.jpg

From the

Black Hat as job fair

files:

LAS VEGAS. Last year, US Government made a plea to hackers at Black Hat to join the government.

Did it work?

Marcus Sachs, executive director of government affairs and national security policy at Verizon and a former government employee argued that the DHS has created a disincentive environment to keep people in DHS.

It’s a position that the current government employees don’t agree with.

“As we grow, we do have career paths for many of you,”  US-CERT’s Mischel Kwon said. “We have open positions and we welcome you to come and join us.

Yes it does take a while to get in and we’re looking to fix that.”

Col. Mike Convertino of the Air Force Cyber Command said that Black Hat and DEFCON have been tremendous recruiting efforts for them. Convertino said that last year the Air Force hired 60 people it met at Black Hat.

“So it is possible for agencies to populate themselves but it takes effort and certain good events like this one to move things forward.”

Picture: US-CERT’s Mischel Kwon Credit: Sean M Kerner

Internet News Logo

InternetNews is a source of industry news and intelligence for IT professionals from all branches of the technology world. InternetNews focuses on helping professionals grow their knowledge base and authority in their field with the top news and trends in Software, IT Management, Networking & Communications, and Small Business.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.