David Major on Detecting Spies (NPR interview)

[George W. Maschke]

On Saturday, 12 October, National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" featured an interview with David Major, a retired FBI counterintelligence agent who is currently the vice president of the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, a private consulting firm. Major spoke on polygraph screening, among other counterintelligence issues:
 
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/wesat/20021012.wesat.12.ram
 
Amazingly, Major, who seemingly continues to support polygraph screening, speaks as if the National Academy of Sciences had not just reported that "[polygraph testing's] accuracy in distinguishing actual or potential security violators from innocent test takers is insufficient to justify reliance on its use in employee security screening in federal agencies."

This is perhaps not surprising, considering that Major's professional reputation is heavily invested in his past advocacy for polygraph screening. For related reading, see my commentary on David Major's 22 May 2001 speech on counterintelligence.