To: cypherpunks@cpunks.org

>We cypherpunks live by the saying "cypherpunks code". But isn't it time
>for more than just coding? We're in a very real digital war for the
>freedom of the Internet, similar to what we faced in the 1990's but with
>even more at stake and a better funded, better equipped enemy.
>Isn't it time for infiltration? The cypherpunk community has some of the
>best tech people (not just programmers) out there. We could easily get
>jobs within government agencies and then help exfiltrate data out of
>them into the hands of the public of civil rights agencies like the ACLU
>in America.
>I understand how distasteful working in the belly of the beast might be
>but isn't it one of the most needed things cyperpunks can do right now?

Obviously, this is a well-meaning idea.  However, I wonder how 'efficient' such a tactic would be.  It might take years for a person to get into a position to be able to obtain and leak information.  And, the longer a 'mole' stays, the more he will become dependant on that government.  And, let's not fall into the trap of assuming that everyone who works for a government agrees with the policies and practices of that government.  If we guesstimate that 1% of (current) government employees would be sufficiently unhappy to do such leaks, the main thing that's necessary to do is to somehow add additional inducement:  To reward them for exposing that government.  If Snowden or Manning, or both, get a well-publicized $5 million reward, that would invigorate a lot of similar people to do similar things.  What's desirable would be a kind of anonymous reward system to allow ordinary people to reward the leakers.  I haven't read enough about the origins of Wikileaks to know whether such a system was ever contemplated.
         Jim Bell