Britain's domestic secret service, MI5, has launched a cunning online recruitment game to get a gauge
on the skills of potential spies as they embark on the rigorous recruitment
process.
The new game - the details of which are, unsurprisingly, being kept quite
secret - is part of a new recruitment drive to enlist and train the best
possible operatives to cope with modern security and surveillance needs.
Addressing the matter in the House of Lords, the security minister, Baroness
Pauline Neville-Jones, said that the new recruits needed to be taken on and
trained up before the government could consider relaxing the control order
regime for people suspected of terrorist offences.
She said that the surveillance capabilities needed to be established to
give the necessary security to the public, before the control order
system is replaced in 2012. She added, That surveillance doesn't exist at
the moment. Individuals have to be recruited. People have to be trained. We
need extra capacity and capability.
Control orders will be replaced with Terrorism Prevention and Investigation
Measures (TPIM), which will be less restrictive means of allowing suspects to
have increased freedom of movement and access to the internet and mobile
phones.
It was reported earlier this year that MI5 is to be given a further £20 million
on its annual budget to help establish measures to cope with the additional
workload of monitoring terrorist suspects on short curfews.
Geoff Newman, recruitment expert at online recruitment agency Recruitment
Genius recognises the importance of online games to aid recruitment.
“We’ve recently seen some great examples of online games
being used to assist in recruitment campaigns. Practically all divisions of the
military have a game such as ‘Start Thinking Soldier’, or Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ) example when working with TMP Worldwide to develop an Xbox
LIVE game. Not only can the games engage a diverse audience, the skills used
can also be used to quantify relevant skills required for the job such as
problem solving and observation.
