I don't know how the NSA plans to fight its public image of wiretaps and general malfeasance. It might be in their interest to cordon off a particular area for unclassified work and invite hackers over to get a sense of what they actually do.
we shouldn't underestimate the number of hackers (job applicants) who think wiretaps and general malfeasance are okay.
Disgree. The NSA's public image is that of an all-powerful Big Brother style agency since nobody knows anything about them publicly. There's nothing in that public image that has anything to do with 'general malfeasance' though.