Cipher Clerks

The following is an excerpt of a dossier from the Office of the Chair of the United Commonwealth Security and Intelligence Committee, and has been partially Declassified under Section-2 of the United Commonwealth Security Act. Reproduction and distribution are authorised for any parties with Security Clearance higher than Delta 1.

To Chairman A. C. Everest
It has come to my attention that many of our colleagues within our organisations have had a tendency to overlook the importance of those individuals known by the term 'Cipher clerk'. I write to you in the hopes that you would assist me in changing such peoples minds regarding this matter.

Cipher Clerks

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I am using this term in reference to those, be they in foreign stations, or working from various offices, who provide technical support to our collective agencies operations, in the from of a secure method of transferring information across large distances, to various assets across the 12 Worlds. Since the turn of the century, as the development of both communication satellites and the tightening of the borders of our various opponents have made such duties ever more relevant, the number of such individuals in the employ of the various intelligence and security organisations of member states, as well as their governments, has ballooned.

Issues

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However, despite their number and obvious importance, I know that many of the 'proper' employees of our organisations have a poor opinion of them. From the use of the word 'Clerk', which many see as being diminutive to their profession, to the common belief that they are all either very old pensioners, or young idiots who don't make the cut for 'actual' intelligence or security work, the rest of our community appears to have aligned to bully those who enable these operators to send out and receive any information not within speaking distance or line of sight. I have also been told that this issue is present among similar roles in the Navy and Army.

Effects

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Aside from the obvious issue with such bullying in the workplace, especially in government office, especially in the Security and Intelligence community, the rampant discrimination against Cipher Clerks has had real, measurable consequences for the Community. As you recall, we recently had a defector from the Vostokyan's, who turned out to be one of their own Cipher Clerks, and who provided us, over the course of a 3 week debrief, a vast amount of information regarding Vostokyan Security, Intelligence and Special Operation assets across the Commonwealth, leading to mass arrests. Of course, this calamity was a great boon to us, but it should serve as a warning to our colleagues of how important Cipher Clerks are. In fact, 2 weeks ago, the Kaiserlicher Geheimdienst caught a attempted contact between one of their Clerks and an Augustian agent.
All of this should prove to you that the current situation regarding Cipher Clerks is tenuous, and before something like the aforementioned spy bust happens to us, it should be reformed.

Career

Qualifications

Minimum of post-Secondary education, knowledge in the technical aspects of electronic communication, and must have no link to groups suspected of being security threats

Perception

Purpose

Facilitate communication between segments of the Security and Intelligence community

Type

Intelligence Gathering

Demand

Considerable, due to increase in use and sophistication of communication equipment