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They hire contractors. Most intelligence works are "outsourced." http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/nsa-leaks-put-focus-o...

A plausible example is hiring a team to DDoS another State-sponsored infrastructure from outside of U.S. soil. Or hire some elite crackers to write custom software for them.




You still get investigated even if you are a contractor. I know many of them firsthand, and they tell me that contractors are put under additional scrutiny, actually. You need a high-level clearance for this sort of work done on behalf of the government, regardless of your employer.


Glad to know, but I still feel some of contract works require high-level clearance or background check.

If they just need a crack tool, they just need an agent to pay someone to write the tool and that doesn't give away information. Maybe I am spoiled by TV shows how they contact elite hackers in the black market.


Yeah, there's a lot more bureaucracy involved. I know people who used to work at these sorts of places. It's a wonder that anything gets accomplished, at all.




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