After Snowden, The NSA Faces Recruitment Challenge

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Not many students have the cutting-edge cybersecurity skills the NSA needs, recruiters say. And these days industry is paying top dollar for talent. Brooks Kraft/Corbis hide caption

Not many students have the cutting-edge cybersecurity skills the NSA needs, recruiters say. And these days industry is paying top dollar for talent.

Daniel Swann is exactly the type of person the National Security Agency would love to have working for it. The 22-year-old is a fourth-year concurrent bachelor's-master's student at Johns Hopkins University with a bright future in cybersecurity.

And growing up in Annapolis, Md., not far from the NSA's headquarters, Swann thought he might work at the agency, which intercepts phone calls, emails and other so-called "signals intelligence" from U.S. adversaries.

"When I was a senior in high school I thought I would end up working for a defense contractor or the NSA itself," Swann says. Then, in 2013, NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked a treasure-trove of top-secret documents. They showed that the agency's programs to collect intelligence were far more sweeping than Americans realized.

After Snowden's revelations, Swann's thinking changed. The NSA's tactics, which include retaining data from American citizens, raise too many questions in his mind: "I can't see myself working there," he says, "partially because of these moral reasons."

This year, the NSA needs to find 1,600 recruits. Hundreds of them must come from highly specialized fields like computer science and mathematics. So far, it says, the agency has been successful. But with its popularity down, and pay from wealthy Silicon Valley companies way up, agency officials concede that recruitment is a worry. If enough students follow Daniel Swann, then one of the world's most powerful spy agencies could lose its edge.

People Power Makes The Difference

Contrary to popular belief, the NSA's black buildings aren't simply filled with code-cracking supercomputers.

"There's no such thing as a computer that can break any code," says Neal Ziring, a technical lead in the agency's information assurance directorate. "People like to think there's some magic bullet here, and there isn't. It's all hard work."

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After Snowden, The NSA Faces Recruitment Challenge

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2 men dressed as women ram NSA gate

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Story highlights Two people tried to enter the main gate to enter the headquarters of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade. One died at the scene, and another was wounded, the NSA says.

His passenger who remained hospitalized Tuesday has not been publicly identified.

On Monday morning, Hall attempted to gain entry at the National Security Agency headquarters, Jonathan Freed, NSA director of strategic communications, said in a statement.

"The driver failed to obey an NSA Police officer's routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus. The vehicle failed to stop and barriers were deployed."

NSA police on the scene fired on the vehicle when it accelerated toward a police car, blocking its way, according to the NSA. An NSA police officer was also hospitalized but not identified.

The two men who officials say tried to ram the main gate at NSA headquarters were dressed as women, according to a federal law enforcement official.

Investigators are looking into whether the men were under the influence of drugs following a night of partying, a federal law enforcement official said.

A man reported his car stolen from a hotel not far away from NSA Headquarters and said he had been with two men who had taken his car. Cocaine was found in the vehicle. The Howard County Police Department confirms that a Ford Escape reported stolen in Howard County, Maryland, is the vehicle involved in the incident.

The FBI said Monday morning that it was conducting an investigation with NSA police and other law enforcement agencies, and interviewing witnesses on the scene. The incident took place near one of the gates to the complex, far from the main buildings. The FBI said they did not think terrorism was related to the incident.

"We are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted," the FBI said in a statement.

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2 men dressed as women ram NSA gate

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Cross-dressing man killed by NSA had lengthy record

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Fort Meade, Md. Two cross-dressing men who were fired upon by National Security Agency police when they disobeyed orders at a heavily guarded gate had just stolen a car from a man who had picked them up and checked into a motel, police said Tuesday.

The FBI said the driver, Ricky Shawatza Hall, 27, died at the scene, and his passenger remained hospitalized Tuesday with unspecified injuries. An NSA police officer was treated for minor injuries and released.

NSA police opened fire on the stolen sports utility vehicle after Mr. Hall failed to follow instructions for leaving a restricted area, authorities said.

As it turns out, Hall and his passenger had just driven off in the SUV of a 60-year-old Baltimore man, who told investigators that he had picked up the two strangers in Baltimore and brought them to a Howard County motel.

"We can't confirm there was any sexual activity involved," a Howard County Police spokeswoman, Mary Phelan, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The SUV's owner, who has not been publicly identified, said they checked into a room at the Terrace Motel in Elkridge at about 7:30 a.m. Monday, and that he used the bathroom about an hour later. When he came out, the men were gone, along with his car keys.

He called police to report the stolen car, and only minutes later, just before 9 a.m., the men took a highway exit that leads directly to a restricted area at the NSA entrance at Fort Meade.

The two men were dressed as women, but "not in an attempt to disguise themselves from authorities," FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson said.

Hall has a lengthy criminal record that includes assault and robbery charges. In 2013, Hall was charged after he assaulted a woman and stole a bottle of methadone from her pocket. Court papers show that Hall had been wearing a yellow dress at the time of the assault and was mistaken for a woman. In 2014, Hall was charged with robbery after stealing a vest and skirt from a Baltimore clothing store.

The FBI has ruled out terrorism, and no one has explained yet why the men ended up in a restricted NSA area.

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Cross-dressing man killed by NSA had lengthy record

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NSA shooting: FBI identifies man killed

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FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) -- Two cross-dressing men who were fired upon by National Security Agency police when they disobeyed orders at a heavily guarded gate had just stolen a car from a man who had picked them up to "party" at a motel, police said Tuesday.

The FBI said the driver, Ricky Shawatza Hall, 27, died at the scene, and his passenger remained hospitalized Tuesday with unspecified injuries. An NSA police officer was treated for minor injuries and released.

NSA police opened fire on the stolen sports utility vehicle after Hall failed to follow instructions for leaving a restricted area, authorities said.

As it turns out, Hall and his passenger had just driven off in the SUV of a 60-year-old Baltimore man, who told investigators that he had picked up the two strangers in Baltimore and brought them to a Howard County motel to "party."

Howard County Police "can't confirm there was any sexual activity involved," spokeswoman Mary Phelan told The Associated Press on Tuesday. She also declined to elaborate on whether drugs or alcohol were part of their plan.

The SUV's owner, who has not been publicly identified, said they checked into a room at the Terrace Motel in Elkridge at about 7:30 a.m. Monday, and that he used the bathroom about an hour later. When he came out, the men were gone, along with his car keys.

He called police to report the stolen car, and only minutes later, just before 9 a.m., the men took a highway exit that leads directly to a restricted area at the NSA entrance at Fort Meade.

The two men were dressed as women, but "not in an attempt to disguise themselves from authorities," FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson said.

The FBI has ruled out terrorism, and no one has explained yet why the men ended up in a restricted NSA area.

However, the new timeline suggests they may have simply taken a wrong turn while fleeing the motel, about 12 minutes away.

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NSA shooting: FBI identifies man killed

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U.S. Supreme Court: GPS Trackers Are a Form of Search and Seizure

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When the government places a location monitor on you or your stuff, it could be violating the Fourth Amendment.

If the government puts a GPS tracker on you, your car, or any of your personal effects, it counts as a searchand is therefore protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The Supreme Court clarified and affirmed that law on Monday, when it ruled on Torrey Dale Grady v. North Carolina, before sending the case back to that states high court. The Courts short but unanimous opinion helps make sense of how the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, interacts with the expanding technological powers of the U.S. government.

It doesnt matter what the context is, and it doesnt matter whether its a car or a person. Putting that tracking device on a car or a person is a search, said Jennifer Lynch, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF).

In this case, that context was punishment. Grady was twice convicted as a sex offender. In 2013, North Carolina ordered that, as a recidivist, he had to wear a GPS monitor at all times so that his location could be monitored. He challenged the court, saying that the tracking device qualified as an unreasonable search.

North Carolinas highest court at first ruled that the tracker was no search at all. Its that decision that the Supreme Court took aim at today, quoting the states rationale and snarking:

The only theory we discern [] is that the States system of nonconsensual satellite-based monitoring does not entail a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. That theory is inconsistent with this Courts precedents.

Then it lists a series of Supreme Court precedents.

And there are a few, as the Court has considered the Fourth Amendment quite a bit recently. In 2012, it ruled that placing a GPS tracker on a suspects car, without a warrant, counted as an unreasonable search. The following year, it said that using drug-sniffing dogs around a suspects front porchwithout a warrant and without their consentwas also unreasonable, as it trespassed onto a persons property to gain information about them.

Both of those cases involved suspects, but the ruling Monday made clear that it extends to those convicted of crimes, too.

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U.S. Supreme Court: GPS Trackers Are a Form of Search and Seizure

Supreme Court Rules Government GPS Trackers Can Break Fourth Amendment

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The Supreme Court has confirmed in a ruling that if the government places a GPS tracker on someone's person or their belongings, the act counts as a searchsomething that remains protected by the Fourth Amendment.

As part of a case referred to as Grady v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court heard about how Torrey Dale Gradytwice-convicted as a sex offenderwas made to wear a GPS monitor at all times by North Carolina officials. In court, Grady challenged this, claiming it qualified as an unreasonable search. The Supreme Court agreed, explaining:

The only theory we discern [] is that the State's system of nonconsensual satellite-based monitoring does not entail a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. That theory is inconsistent with this Court's precedents.

It also listed some Supreme Court precedents to make its case, including a case where a tracker placed on a car without a warrant counted as unreasonable search. "It doesn't matter what the context is, and it doesn't matter whether it's a car or a person," Jennifer Lynch, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation, told The Atlantic. "Putting that tracking device on a car or a person is a search."

Still, the Fourth Amendment takes poor account of digital technology generally, and courts have only ruled on a small number of cases involving GPS data. At some point, as Lynch points out to The Atlantic, the justice system will need to establish how geo-location datanow prolific in phones, cars, watches and moreis governed and protected. In the meantime, though, North Carolina better rethink its policy on issuing GPS trackers to sex offenders. [The Atlantic, Washington Post]

Image by Canned Muffins under Creative Commons license

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Supreme Court Rules Government GPS Trackers Can Break Fourth Amendment

SCLC calling on blacks to "Exercise Second Amendment Rights"

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ATLANTA - State Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Sam Mosteller is calling on all African Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights, the right to bear arms.

During a news conference Tuesday, Reverend Mosteller said, "I am going to ask that every family avail themselves of their Second Amendment rights, which is their full amendment rights cuz I'm tired now."

Mosteller told reporters he is tired of talking and marching, of inaction at the local and federal level. He says police and the justice system have failed blacks in cities nationwide.

Reverend Mosteller stated, "We going to have to do something in our community to let the rest of America know that we are not going to be victimized by just anybody whether it be police or folks that decide that black people are thugs and we need to control that black community. We [are] not going to allow that anymore."

But when asked if he was suggesting blacks pack weapons the reverend insisted he was being misquoted saying, "Listen, listen I didn't say that. I said the Second Amendment right? I didn't say pack weapons, I said Second Amendment. Please don't put words in my mouth, please don't do that... Do you have to carry a weapon to avail yourself of the Second Amendment the answer is no, you don't have to okay?"

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SCLC calling on blacks to "Exercise Second Amendment Rights"

House approves amended re-homing bill

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The Arkansas House of Representatives gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would make re-homing adopted children illegal.

Legislators approved two amendments from the senate for House Bill 1676, sponsored by Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway, with 89-0 for the first amendment and 88-0 for the second amendment.

The amendments added a co-sponsor from the Senate and added language that would make an international adoption recognized in the foreign country.

The second amendment would also ensure that a police officer acting in an official capacity would not be in violation of the law, such as a police officer posing online as someone willing to accept an adopted minor.

The legislation would make re-homing adopted children a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The bill also encourages adoptive parents who are struggling with those children to return them to the state.

A companion bill filed by Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, has already been sent to Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

HB1648 would require the state Department of Human Services to set post-adoptive rules to make clear what options are available to parents who are struggling with an adopted child and make it illegal for adoptive parents to collect state subsidies if the adopted child has been given to someone else.

These bills were filed after the publication of an Arkansas Times story detailed Rep. Justin Harris' re-homing of two adopted daughters in 2013 to a man who sexual abused the oldest girl.

Harris said at a previous news conference that he and his wife Marsha tried to return the girls, ages 3 and 5 at the time, to DHS because they were too difficult to raise.

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House approves amended re-homing bill

ACLU accuses local school of violating students First Amendment rights

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The Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union says the principal at Walnut Hill Elementary and Middle School violated students First Amendment rights when he sent a letter to parents urging them to pray.

Principal Albert Hardison sent out a March newsletter to parents asking them to pray for students before they took their LEAP and PARCC tests.

Hardison also quoted a Bible verse from Phillipians 4:13 that says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

The First Amendment of the Constitution forbids school-sponsored prayer and says that public school employees can not use their position to impose their personal beliefs on students.

The Louisiana ACLU says Hardison clearly violated his students First Amendment rights.

The Caddo Parish School Board released the following statement:

Caddo Parish Public Schools has commenced an internal investigation into an open letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana. The district will certainly look into it and make certain there is no violation. In this instance, questionable materials subsequently have been removed from district webpages while the investigation continues. If there is a violation, we will make certain we act swiftly to ensure we do not have any further violations. Caddo Parish Public Schools works to ensure no constitutional rights are violated at any school. We take concerns and complaints seriously and make sure to follow the law.

At the same time, the district remains committed to protecting student freedoms. This includes their abilities tolead and participate in prayer and other religious activities, and we will equally continue to work to ensure student freedoms are not inhibited. Staff training will be scheduled in the coming weeks to refresh staff members regarding constitutional freedoms as well as limitations.

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ACLU accuses local school of violating students First Amendment rights

Caddo Parish principal accused of violating First Amendment

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CADDO PARISH, LA (KSLA) - One Caddo Parish school principal is in hot water after a complaint was filed to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding a letter that was sent to parents.

The complaint alleges principal Albert Hardison violated the First Amendment.

Hardison reportedly included a reference to Philippians 4:13 in the March newsletter that went to parents and staff.

The newsletter read:

Dear Parents:

As our students prepare to take the state mandated tests, LEAP, iLEAP and PARCC, please pray that our God will give them the strength and mental fortitude, the patience, the wisdom, and the energy to do their best. Please help our children understand the meaning of Phillippians 4:13...I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

KSLA News 12 was told the person who filed the complaint doesn't have a child at Walnut Hill but is reportedly afraid that if it's happening at one school, it could spread throughout the parish.

On Monday the ACLU of Louisiana's executive director, Marjorie Esman, sent an open letter to Caddo Schools Superintendent Dr. Lamar Goree saying walnut Hill "has engaged in a pattern of religious proselytization by sending messages to parents invoking prayer, and through a lengthy 'Principal's Message' on the school's website."

The letter stated that Hardison's messages "must stop immediately."

"No school employee may tell a student what religion to practice or even to practice religion at all, nor may a school official tell students or their families to teach any religious texts," Esman wrote.

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Caddo Parish principal accused of violating First Amendment