AntiPolygraph.org Talk at HOPE 2020 Conference: Polygraph "Tests" and How to Beat Them

[George W. Maschke]

I am pleased to announce that AntiPolygraph.org's talk proposal for the Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) 2020 conference has been accepted. Here is our submitted abstract:

Polygraph "Tests" and How to Beat Them

Polygraph, or "lie detector" testing, has long been discredited from a scientific standpoint. Yet it has been embraced by the United States government for decades, and in 2020 it is the centerpiece of American counterintelligence policy.

Employees and contractors of such agencies as the CIA, NSA, FBI (and numerous others) are required to undergo pre-employment and recurring polygraph screening. Yet there is no documented instance of the polygraph ever catching a spy.

In this talk, AntiPolygraph.org co-founder George Maschke will address how this state of affairs came to be. The talk will address polygraphy's scientific shortcomings, why it poses a threat to innocent test takers, and will explain proven strategies for passing (or beating) a polygraph "test."

The talk will also address the U.S. government's recent efforts to suppress the teaching of methods for fooling the polygraph.

This topic will be of particular interest to the hacker community because many IT jobs with the U.S. government and its contractors require that the applicant submit to polygraph screening.

The conference, which was originally to be held at St. John's University in Queens, New York, will instead be held online from 25 July to 2 August 2020.

[George W. Maschke]

My presentation at HOPE 2020 will be streamed on Monday, 31 July 2020 from 9-10 AM Eastern time:

https://scheduler.hope.net/hope2020/talk/JECFTM/

[George W. Maschke]

My HOPE 2020 presentation, "Polygraph 'Tests' and How to Beat Them" will be streamed at 9:00 Eastern tomorrow, Friday, 31 July at the following link:

https://www.hope.net/stream.html

[George W. Maschke]

Thank you, Byron! When I mentioned how a failed CIA polygraph can affect one's application with another federal agency, such as the State Department, I was thinking of the sad case of James Schneider. His polygraph occurred during the midst of the CIA's post-Ames polygraph jihad, so it's possible, as your personal experience suggests, that the impact of a failed CIA polygraph is less deleterious now than then.

[George W. Maschke]

I very much enjoyed speaking at HOPE 2020! My talk, which runs 51 minutes and 14 seconds, may be viewed online here:

https://youtu.be/nDDMXsfclIA