Nerd Patrol

Reuters reports that the Department of Defense and the Federal Trade Commission have dispatched recruiters to the annual Las Vegas Defcon summit of computer hackers. Knowing how to manipulate the attendees’ addiction to intrigue, the recruiter-infiltrators cunningly assembled at a panel called “Meet the Feds.” FTC panelist Don Blumenthal says that his participation serves a dual purpose: “I’m learning while I’m here but I’m also getting the names of people I can maybe call on later so we have a better understanding as cases go along.” One such potential contact: a young man who “waved a pages-long manifesto before the panel” and demanded to know “why the federal government, and especially some of the law enforcement agencies, are destroying this country.”

We understand he’s now preparing to serve as undersecretary to John Bolton.—HOLLY MARTINS

Feds Recruiting Hackers at Defcon [via CNN]

READ MORE: Department of Defense, Federal Trade Commission, computers, hackers