I'd mistakenly assumed that phrase had filtered into popular culture. Flying a desk is a euphemism for performing tasks of little importance, administrative busy work, pushing paper... while seated behind a desk.
I know what you meant, you're just not understanding what I mean. Powerpoint Ranger is another term for someone in the military flying a desk.
As we all know thanks to Edward Snowden, there are many Powerpoint Rangers in the military invading privacy, operating lethal drones, and killing people from their flying desks.
My point is that you don't have to be in an elite group info sec pros to menace people's privacy and security.
You claimed that "these are the same people that monitor cctv feeds of border fences - it isn't some elite unit of super hackers.", so even if you don't consider those tasks of much importance, and even if they're not some elite unit of super hacker, that doesn't cancel out the fact that they're menacing to everyone's privacy and security that they're invading.
As we all know thanks to Edward Snowden, there are many Powerpoint Rangers in the military invading privacy, operating lethal drones, and killing people from their flying desks.
My point is that you don't have to be in an elite group info sec pros to menace people's privacy and security.
You claimed that "these are the same people that monitor cctv feeds of border fences - it isn't some elite unit of super hackers.", so even if you don't consider those tasks of much importance, and even if they're not some elite unit of super hacker, that doesn't cancel out the fact that they're menacing to everyone's privacy and security that they're invading.