Wanted in Israel: Top geeks to aid state security

Chicago Tribune
Sep. 07, 2006

JERUSALEM -- Israel's shadowy security service is looking for a few good geeks.

Normally shrouded in secrecy, the Shin Bet launched its first public recruitment drive Tuesday, unveiling a Web site and buying online ads in Israel and abroad in a bid to attract top computer programmers to its cutting-edge tech division.

Though widely associated with undercover espionage and tough interrogation tactics, the security service, whose main task is to prevent attacks by Palestinian militants, is actually a funky, intellectually challenging place to work, according to the campaign.

"Have you ever thought of how to stop a suicide bomber on his way to an attack? Have you ever wondered how to locate a `ticking bomb' in the sea of information surrounding us?" reads a slogan on the Web site. "If you thought the only way to fight terror was through interrogation in Arabic, think again."

The Shin Bet is trying to woo engineers and computer programmers away from high-tech start-up ventures by offering competitive salaries and a chance to develop the latest technologies, all for the sake of their country's security, it says.

Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, only the third head of the agency to appear in public while in office, is featured prominently on the new Web site. Shown in a video giving a speech, Diskin said the computer geeks were as vital to weeding out suicide bombers as undercover agents and interrogators.

The Mossad, the Shin Bet's counterpart for international intelligence, already runs an Internet site aimed at recruiting agents.