The strangest thing about the NSA is how dependent they have become on contractors (just like the rest of the military, and government), especially for IT/ops stuff. The actual cryptographers and cryptanalysts are GS employees, but most of the computer systems used by the NSA seem to now be run by contractors.
I trust GS employees a lot more, in the long run, to have US national interest as the highest goal. Sure, they're less efficient in a lot of ways, and get great benefits, but I think that's an acceptable price to pay.
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The strangest thing about the NSA is how dependent they have become on contractors (just like the rest of the military, and government), especially for IT/ops stuff. The actual cryptographers and cryptanalysts are GS employees, but most of the computer systems used by the NSA seem to now be run by contractors.
I trust GS employees a lot more, in the long run, to have US national interest as the highest goal. Sure, they're less efficient in a lot of ways, and get great benefits, but I think that's an acceptable price to pay.