FBI to Relax Its Weed Policy to Hire Pro Computer Hackers

What’s the Latest?

The FBI’s zero-tolerance drug use policy for new hires is costing the Bureau dearly, according to FBI Director James B Comey, who is having trouble staffing the 2,000 posts of a newly-created cybercrime unit. “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” Comey said. If the FBI’s hiring protocol encourages its prospective employees to smoke pot just before the interview, the FBI may consider softening its interview techniques. Currently, the FBI automatically discards all applicants who have smoked marijuana in the last three years. 

What’s the Big Idea?

The FBI is confronted by a changing culture with respect to marijuana and with the need to hire talented computer hackers. Director Comey’s comments on the need for more FBI hackers came on “the same day five Chinese military officials were indicted by the U.S. government on charges of computer hacking, economic espionage and other offenses directed at six American companies.” Demand for professional hackers has never been higher, with 1,300 agents currently working 10,700 white collar crime cases in the U.S., with corporate fraud cases increasing by 65 percent since 2008.

Read it at the International Business Times