Spies are us

Austerity?  What?  Not when it comes to the intelligence services.  The Times reports:

MI6 is recruiting almost a thousand spies to fight global terrorism and exploit the potential of the digital age.

The recruits will increase the size of the force from 2,500 intelligence officers and analysts to nearly 3,500 by the end of the decade.

...

Details of the recruitment drive emerged as Alex Younger, head of MI6, described the digital age as an “existential threat and a golden opportunity”. In rare public comments, he predicted that within five years the intelligence services would have to learn to combine information from data analysis, the internet and other forms of digital technology with traditional human intelligence — or face failure.

In my naivety, I had rather assumed that the services had already learned to combine information in the manner suggested.  But I suppose the internet has only been around for 20 years or so ...