An explosion of data theft and other computer-related crimes has prompted the US government to create a senior-level position for a computer scientist at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the bureau announced in a press release.
"The addition of a senior-level position within the Cyber Division is unprecedented, and we are eagerly anticipating the ways it will contribute to our mission to identify, pursue, and defeat cyber adversaries," the release, issued on Thursday, explained.
FBI and other US government agencies have cited high salaries in the technology industry as one reason it has difficulty recruiting top-level talent amid a global explosion of cybercrime.
Recently, the FBI was widely criticized for seeking a court order forcing Apple to unlock an iPhone belonging to a criminal suspect because no one in the bureau knew how to access the data.
The issue became moot because the FBI found and hired a private company to perform the task. Nevertheless, the episode illustrated the difficulty for US agencies in attracting and retaining top computer talent.
FBI hires first-ever senior computer scientist to fight cybercrime
29 July 2016
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The US government created a senior-level position for a computer scientist at FBI.
