Career Watch

Computerworld - Hacking for the Home Team

Jason Larsen, 31, is a hacker for the good guys. According to Reuters News Service, Larsen's job is to find the weaknesses in the security of America's pipelines, railroads, utilities and other infrastructure as part of a project backed by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) in Idaho Falls.

The lab, sponsored by the Department of Energy, hires expert hackers to test vulnerabilities. "I am confident that there is no system connected to the Internet that can't be hacked into," Laurin Dodd, who oversees the INEEL's national security programs, told Reuters.

To demonstrate, Larsen recently hacked into the controls of a nearby chemical plant and found an online video camera inside that confirmed that he had pumped up a pressure value.

"It's the challenge," Larsen explained. "It's you against the defenders.''

INEEL officials recalled a recent visit by an Idaho utility executive who was convinced that his system had no problems. After a demonstration, the shaken executive requested a comprehensive review of his company.

Larsen and his employers are closemouthed about his background. "I learned my hacking back when it was a cool thing," he told Reuters. INEEL officials added that their hackers need security clearances and can't have criminal records.

The lab is part of the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to boost defenses against possible attacks of all kinds. The challenge, the INEEL told Reuters, is to encourage cybersecurity without inspiring nefarious acts. "What you don't want to do is increase the threat by advertising what you can do," Dodd said.

Tough Times For Contractors

Of firms using offshore outsourcing, 48% have cut back on the number of contractors they employ, according to Forrester Research Inc. Even with demand for IT professionals up slightly this year, the market has been unable to absorb excess contractor talent. Most hard-hit are contractors with skills in PeopleSoft and Siebel implementations. As a result, billing rates for contractors have fallen dramatically, Forrester says.

Wait, Wait, I'm Not Finished!

The average tenure of a CIO in the federal government is about two years. But many current and former federal CIOs say that they really need three to five years to become effective, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. "According to some current CIOs, high turnover is a problem because it can limit CIOs' ability to put their agendas in place," the GAO says. For one thing, it takes time for a CIO's plans to show up in an agency's budget request and then in congressional appropriations. The high turnover rate is a result of the political nature of the job and lower pay relative to the private sector.