4 ms·

A bit of a naive question but can someone answer this for me? To be a CIA Director, isn't it a requirement to have some sort of a technical background that way

A bit of a naive question but can someone answer this for me? To be a CIA Director, isn't it a requirement to have some sort of a technical background that way whoever is in the role is able to anticipate and always be a step head when it comes to these sort of problems?

Cheyana 11y ago
I guess they don't look at themselves very closely. Otherwise, the biggest red flag should have been the fact that the CIA director has AN AOL ACCOUNT.
- pavornyoh 11y ago
  Thank you all for answering my question.
oldmanjay 11y ago
Perhaps in some government that is run well, but the US government optimizes for political rewards over suitability for service at this level.
xlm1717 11y ago
It seems you just have to put in a long career and know all the right people. It also seems that it's the NSA doing all the high-tech work now anyway.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
avivo 11y ago
The CIA "is tasked with gathering, processing and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT)" The director is presumably in charge of executing specific missions and a long term vision for human spying. She/he does this by directing people who manage people who manage people (etc.). I don't think a technical/engineering background is presumed or necessary for such a role. That said, an understanding of the basic structures and failure modes of information security in the digital world as it pertains to HUMINT does seem highly relevant (and necessary) for crafting and executing a modern vision/mission.
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  >I don't think a technical/engineering background is presumed or necessary for such a role. Definitely, but one should know his/her limitations, and that one in particular should also never speak about infosec. Brennan fails on both of those accounts.

Cheyana 11y ago

I guess they don't look at themselves very closely. Otherwise, the biggest red flag should have been the fact that the CIA director has AN AOL ACCOUNT.

pavornyoh 11y ago
Thank you all for answering my question.

oldmanjay 11y ago

Perhaps in some government that is run well, but the US government optimizes for political rewards over suitability for service at this level.

xlm1717 11y ago

It seems you just have to put in a long career and know all the right people. It also seems that it's the NSA doing all the high-tech work now anyway.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

avivo 11y ago

The CIA "is tasked with gathering, processing and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT)" The director is presumably in charge of executing specific missions and a long term vision for human spying. She/he does this by directing people who manage people who manage people (etc.). I don't think a technical/engineering background is presumed or necessary for such a role. That said, an understanding of the basic structures and failure modes of information security in the digital world as it pertains to HUMINT does seem highly relevant (and necessary) for crafting and executing a modern vision/mission.

fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
>I don't think a technical/engineering background is presumed or necessary for such a role. Definitely, but one should know his/her limitations, and that one in particular should also never speak about infosec. Brennan fails on both of those accounts.