How to become a double agent

In the context of the hilarious spy comedy playing out in Germany over the past days, we learned a few things.

A recap of the news: a German BND (like their CIA & NSA rolled into one) was arrested under suspicion of spying for an American service, apparently the CIA.

The very fundamental question of the life of a spy is: how do you become one?

These days, you have two options:
1) Go to the web site of your government and apply.
2) Do nothing, just wait.

Option 1 may work if you have the very specific skills and knowledge that prompts a spy agency to advertise an opening in the first place. Their enthusiasm to take to Monster Inc. or Twitter is limited, and they'll make you work hard to get in.

Option 2 is the traditional and much preferred avenue of recruitment. Going to a school where spy recruiters thrive, working in a "friendly" non-spy job, keeping the frat network alive, or simply growing up in a family of dedicated spies, all are better ways to become a spy. The little dirty secret of "all in the family" is a certain incestuous quality, good for security, not so good for the demands of a complex world.
Incidentally, meta data make a nice way to build Option 2 graphs. And the polygraph thing? Totally overrated.

Once you are a spy, work for a while, then set the wheels in motion for becoming a double agent.
The process is quite simple, nothing but a variant of Options 1 or 2.

Option 1 was taken by the German, if we can believe the press. He sent an email to a U.S. rep, a consulate or the embassy, done.
It is an obvious mistake to send such an email to an adversary representative. He tried the Russian consulate, and his mail was intercepted.
If you must make contact in this manner, send a mail with nothing but a PGP key from an email address you create for this purpose.
Still: Option 1 is not recommended.

Option 2 is much better, although the recruiter may not be truthful. Yes, many recruiters in any field are not truthful but the consequences tend to be less dire. If someone claims to recruit you for the U.S., try to figure out if that's correct. One of the more famous episodes in the 1960s was a person in Egypt going around and recruiting people to spy for the Germans - turns out he was an Israeli spy.
You can help this along by hanging out in bars, but unless she is gorgeous, don't go. 

A somewhat disconcerting fact of modern life is that there are so many people volunteering a spy past on Twitter that the glamor of the James Bond days simply isn't there any more.

The last big news about James Bond?

A developer wants to build on the James Bond Beach, spoiling the view.

One skill you will want to maintain in the days of an all digital world is how to read a paper book.
You will need this skill if you get busted. eBook readers are not issued in prisons. For that matter, regular books seem to be, well, phased out in UK jails but that's not the main point.

One twist of the German - American spy story may not be emphasized much as the English speaking world spreads the story. As a matter of fact, the German spin machine is already casting his arrest as a great success.

So, we list the main steps as published:
1) German domestic spies BfV intercept an email to the Russians offering service
2) They impersonate the Russians and respond to the Gmail sender.
3) No response by "spy"
4) The Germans ask the US for help in unmasking a presumed Russian spy.
5) The Gmail account of the spy disappears.
6) The Germans figure out who the guy is and bust him.