In the case of hiring "hackers", the NSA (and whatever other Double Secret TLA is out there, that we're not supposed to know about) should hire people who very literally think outside the box. The NSA has the problem of what to do with disruptive ideas, or they have the problem of no disruptive ideas. Maybe the "hackers" they hire write Stuxnet NT, or maybe they develop algorithms that solve the Traveling Salesman Problem and open a bigger can of worms than thought possible.
Or maybe the NSA gets nothing from their "hackers" because 9-to-5 regular day jobs in a building with no windows, except fake ones on the fake building around the real building, causes a near-total physiological and psychological block on new ideas. Net loss to society, since some of the "hackers" could be writing code for the next Pets.com .
Or maybe the NSA can't hire any real "hackers" since they almost universally have showstopping blots on their records: sampling illicit drugs, committing minor fraud, getting expelled from school, undergoing psychiatric treatment, nominal homelessness, participating in OWS, whatever, you'd be surprised at what prohibits someone from getting an exotic clearance, which you certainly need to have to work at the NSA. What if the NSA can only hire poseurs and lamers?
