“NSA” redirects here. For other uses, see NSA (disambiguation).
National Security Agency

NSA seal—there are legal restrictions to the use of the seal
Established: 4 November 1952
Director: Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, United States Army
Deputy Director: John C. (Chris) Inglis
Budget: Classified[1]
Employees: approx. 30,000[1]
Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, 16th and current director of the NSA (2005–).
Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, 16th and current director of the NSA (2005–).

The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is the United States government's cryptologic organization that was officially established on November 4, 1952. Responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications, it coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to produce foreign signals intelligence information, which involves a significant amount of cryptanalysis. It is also responsible for protecting U.S. government communications and information systems from similar agencies elsewhere, which involves a significant amount of cryptography.

A component of the Department of Defense, the NSA has always been directed by a three-star flag officer. The NSA is a key component of the U.S. Intelligence Community, which is headed by the Director of National Intelligence.


Organization

[edit] Role
NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland
NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland

The NSA's eavesdropping mission includes radio broadcasting, both from various organizations and individuals, the Internet, telephone calls, and other intercepted forms of communication. Its secure communications mission includes military, diplomatic, and all other sensitive, confidential or secret government communications. Despite having been described as the world's largest single employer of mathematicians,[2] and the owner of the single largest group of supercomputers, it has tried to keep a low profile. For many years its existence was not even acknowledged by the U.S. government. It was often said, half-jokingly, that "NSA" stood for "No Such Agency", and also, as "Never Say Anything", primarily for its employees.

Because of its listening task, the NSA/CSS has been heavily involved in cryptanalytic research, continuing the work of its predecessor agencies which had been responsible for breaking many World War II codes and ciphers (see, for instance, Purple code, Venona, and JN-25).

Headquarters for the National Security Agency is at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, approximately ten miles (16 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. NSA has its own exit off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway labeled "NSA Employees Only". The scale of the operations at the NSA is hard to determine from unclassified data, but one clue is the electricity usage of NSA's headquarters. NSA's budget for electricity exceeds US$31 million per year[citation needed], making it the second largest electricity consumer in the entire state of Maryland. Photos have shown there to be 18,000 parking spaces at the site, although most guesses[citation needed] have put the NSA's worldwide workforce at around double that number. In 2006, the Baltimore Sun reported that the NSA was at risk of electrical overload because of insufficient internal electrical infrastructure at Fort Meade to support the amount of equipment being installed. This problem was apparently recognized in the 1990s but not made a priority, and "now the agency's ability to keep its operations going is threatened".[3] Its secure government communications work has involved NSA in numerous technology areas, including the design of specialized communications hardware and software, production of dedicated semiconductors (at the Ft. Meade chip fabrication plant), and advanced cryptography research. The agency contracts with the private sector in the fields of research and equipment.

The NSA has facilities besides its Ft. Meade headquarters, such as the Texas Cryptology Center in San Antonio, Texas.

[edit] Strategy

The NSA increased its reliance on American industry for the purposes of domestic spying, through a project code-named Project GROUNDBREAKER.[4] It is linked to the DOD doctrines called "Fight the net" and "Information Operations Roadmap".[5] Ex-director Michael Hayden has said, "As the director, I was the one responsible to ensure that this program was limited in its scope and disciplined in its application".[6] Two examples of relying on American industry for the purposes of domestic spying are the use of CALEA[7][8] on US telecommunication companies, and NarusInsight. Under CALEA, all US telecommunication companies were forced to install hardware capable of monitoring data and voice by May 14, 2007. The act also forced US telecommunication companies to build national technology standards to support CALEA. NarusInsight is one type of spying hardware, capable of monitoring an OC-192 network line in real-time, and gives AT&T the power to monitor all 7,432,000 DSL lines it owns. According to Narus, after data capture its software can replay "streaming media (for example, VoIP), rendering of Web pages, examination of e-mails and the ability to analyze the payload/attachments of e-mail or file transfer protocols".

[edit] History

The origins of the National Security Agency can be traced to the May 20, 1949 creation of the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA). This organization was originally established within the US Department of Defense under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The AFSA was to be responsible for directing the communications and electronic intelligence activities of the US military intelligence units—the Army Security Agency, the Naval Security Group, and the United States Air Force Security Service however, the agency had little power and lacked a centralized coordination mechanism. The creation of the NSA resulted from a December 10, 1951, memo sent by CIA Director Walter Bedell Smith to James B. Lay, Executive Secretary of the National Security Council[citation needed]. The memo observed that "control over, and coordination of, the collection and processing of Communications Intelligence had proved ineffective" and recommended a survey of communications intelligence activities. The proposal was approved on December 13, 1951, and the study authorized on December 28, 1951. The report was completed by June 13, 1952. Generally known as the "Brownell Committee Report," after committee chairman Herbert Brownell, it surveyed the history of U.S. communications intelligence activities and suggested the need for a much greater degree of coordination and direction at the national level. As the change in the security agency's name indicated, the role of the NSA was extended beyond the armed forces.

The creation of the NSA was authorized in a letter written by President Harry S. Truman in June of 1952. The agency was formally established through a revision of National Security Council Intelligence Directive (NSCID) 9 on October 24, 1952, and officially came into existence on November 4, 1952. President Truman's letter was itself classified and remained unknown to the public for more than a generation.

[edit] Insignia

The heraldic insignia of NSA consists of a bald eagle facing its right, a symbol of peace, grasping a key in its talons, representing NSA's clutch on security as well as the mission to protect and gain access to secrets. The eagle is set on a background of blue and its breast features a blue shield supported by thirteen bands of red and white. The surrounding white circular border features "National Security Agency" around the top and "United States of America" underneath, with two five-pointed silver stars between the two phrases. The current NSA insignia has been in use since 1965, when then-DIRNSA, LTG Marshall S. Carter directed for the creation of a device to represent NSA.[9]

[edit] Involvement with non-government cryptography

NSA has been involved in debates about public policy, both as a behind-the-scenes adviser to other departments, and directly during and after Vice Admiral Bobby Ray Inman's directorship.

The NSA was embroiled in controversy concerning its involvement in the creation of the Data Encryption Standard (DES), a standard and public block cipher used by the US government. During development by IBM in the 1970s, the NSA recommended changes to the algorithm. There was suspicion the agency had deliberately weakened the algorithm sufficiently to enable it to eavesdrop if required. The suspicions were that a critical component — the so-called S-boxes — had been altered to insert a "backdoor"; and that the key length had been reduced, making it easier for the NSA to discover the key using massive computing power, although it has been suggested by some, posibbly within the NSA, that this in actual fact strengthened the algorithm when attacked with differential cryptanalysis. This has never been proven.

Because of concerns that widespread use of strong cryptography would hamper government use of wiretaps, the NSA proposed the concept of key escrow in 1993 and introduced the Clipper chip that would offer stronger protection than DES but would allow access to encrypted data by authorized law enforcement officials. The proposal was strongly opposed and went nowhere.

Possibly because of previous controversy, the involvement of NSA in the selection of a successor to DES, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), was limited to hardware performance testing (see AES competition).

NSA was a major player in the debates of the 1990s regarding the export of cryptography. Cryptographic software and hardware had long been classed with fighter planes, tanks, cannons, and atomic bombs as controllable munitions. Restrictions on export were reduced but not eliminated in 1996.

The NSA/CSS has, at times, attempted to restrict the publication of academic research into cryptography; for example, the Khufu and Khafre block ciphers were voluntarily withheld in response to an NSA request to do so.

[edit] Patents

The NSA has the ability to file for a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office under gag order. Unlike normal patents, the NSA's are not revealed to the public and do not expire. However, if the Patent Office receives an application for an identical patent from a third party, they will reveal the NSA's patent and officially grant it to the NSA for the full term on that date.[10]

[edit] ECHELON

Main article: ECHELON

NSA/CSS, in combination with the equivalent agencies in the United Kingdom (Government Communications Headquarters), Canada (Communications Security Establishment), Australia (Defence Signals Directorate), and New Zealand (Government Communications Security Bureau), and otherwise known as the UKUSA group, is believed to be in command of the operation of the so-called ECHELON system. Its capabilities are suspected to include the ability to monitor a large proportion of the world's transmitted civilian telephone, fax and data traffic, according to a December 16, 2005 article in the New York Times.[11]

Technically, almost all modern telephone, internet, fax and satellite communications are exploitable due to recent advances in technology and the 'open air' nature of much of the radio communications around the world. The NSA's presumed collection operations have generated much criticism, possibly stemming from the assumption that the NSA/CSS represents an infringement of Americans' privacy. However, the NSA's United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18 (USSID 18) strictly prohibits the interception or collection of information about "...US persons, entities, corporations or organizations..." without explicit written legal permission from the Attorney General of the United States [12]. The Supreme Court has ruled that intelligence agencies cannot conduct surveillance against American citizens. There are of course a few extreme circumstances where collecting on a US entity would be allowed without a USSID 18 waiver, such as with civilian distress signals, or sudden emergencies (such as 9/11; however, the USA PATRIOT Act has significantly changed privacy legality). This, of course, does not extend to non-naturalised citizens on American soil, American citizens on internation soil nor citizens of friendly nations. Due to the fact the NSA is not required to submit evidence of its dealings or activities, it is questionable whether the NSA would have need to pay heed to these laws.

There have been alleged violations of USSID 18 that occurred in violation of the NSA's strict charter prohibiting such acts. In addition, ECHELON is considered with indignation by citizens of countries outside the UKUSA alliance, with widespread suspicion that the United States government uses it for motives other than its national security, including political and industrial espionage.[3] The chartered purpose of the NSA/CSS is solely to acquire significant foreign intelligence information pertaining to National Security or ongoing military intelligence operations.

[edit] Domestic Activity

The NSA's mission, as set forth in Executive Order 12333, is to collect information that constitutes "foreign intelligence or counterintelligence" while not "acquiring information concerning the domestic activities of United States persons". The NSA has declared that it relies on the FBI to collect information on foreign intelligence activities within the borders of the USA, while confining its own activities within the USA to the embassies and missions of foreign nations.

The NSA's domestic surveillance activities are limited by the requirements imposed by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; however, these protections do not apply to non-U.S. persons located outside of U.S. borders, so the NSA's foreign surveillance efforts are subject to far fewer limitations under U.S. law.[13] The specific requirements for domestic surveillance operations are contained in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), which does not extend protection to non-U.S. citizens located outside of U.S. territory.[13]

The activities described below, especially the publicly acknowledged 'Domestic Phone' tapping and Domestic Call Database programs, have prompted questions about the extent of the NSA's activities and concerns about threats to privacy and the rule of law.

[edit] ThinThread

Main article: ThinThread

A wiretapping program named ThinThread was tested in the late 1990s, according to information obtained by the Baltimore Sun in 2006. This program may have contributed to the underlying technology used in later systems, but its safeguards on privacy were abandoned after the 9/11 attacks.[14]

[edit] Phone taps

Main article: NSA warrantless surveillance controversy

On December 16, 2005, the New York Times reported that, under White House pressure and with an executive order from President George W. Bush, the National Security Agency, in an attempt to thwart terrorism, had been conducting phone-taps on individuals in the U.S. calling persons outside the country, without obtaining warrants from a secret court as required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).[15]

Proponents of the warrantless surveillance claim that the President has the authority to order such action, arguing that the President has powers under the Constitution that trump laws such as FISA. In addition, some argued that FISA was implicitly overridden by a subsequent statute, the Authorization for Use of Military Force, although most concede this argument is untenable after the Supreme Court's ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The only judge to rule on the matter thus far, in the case ACLU v. NSA, concluded that such surveillance is illegal and unconstitutional; her decision is stayed pending appeal. Third party legal authorities agree that the surveillance is illegal or probably illegal, although there is more disagreement as to whether it is unconstitutional. See NSA warrantless surveillance controversy for details.

[edit] Previous NSA tapping of US citizens

Further information: Church Committee

In the years after President Nixon resigned, there were several investigations of suspected misuse of CIA and NSA facilities. Senator Frank Church headed a Senate investigating committee called the Church Committee which uncovered previously unknown activity, such as a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro by the CIA, which had been ordered by President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. During the investigation, it was also found that the NSA was actively tapping the phones of targeted American citizens. After the Church Committee hearings, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 became law, limiting circumstances under which domestic surveillance was allowed.

[edit] Staff

Directors

Main article: Director of the National Security Agency

* 1952–1956 Lt. Gen. Ralph J. Canine, USA
* 1956–1960 Lt. Gen. John A. Samford, USAF
* 1960–1962 V. Adm. Laurence H. Frost, USN
* 1962–1965 Lt. Gen. Gordon A. Blake, USAF
* 1965–1969 Lt. Gen. Marshall S. Carter, USA
* 1969–1972 V. Adm. Noel A. M. Gaylor, USN
* 1972–1973 Lt. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips, USAF
* 1973–1977 Lt. Gen. Lew Allen, Jr., USAF
* 1977–1981 V. Adm. Bobby Ray Inman, USN
* 1981–1985 Lt. Gen. Lincoln D. Faurer, USAF
* 1985–1988 Lt. Gen. William E. Odom, USA
* 1988–1992 V. Adm. William O. Studeman, USN
* 1992–1996 V. Adm. John M. McConnell, USN
* 1996–1999 Lt. Gen. Kenneth A. Minihan, USAF
* 1999–2005 Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, USAF
* 2005–Present Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, USA

USA, USAF, and USN are the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Navy, respectively.

Deputy Directors

* Dec. 1952 – Nov. 1953 R. Adm. Joseph Wenger, USN
* Nov. 1953 – June 1956 Brig. Gen. John Ackerman, USAF
* Jun. 1956 – Aug. 1956 Maj. Gen. John A. Samford, USAF
* Aug. 1956 – Sep. 1957 Mr. Joseph H. Ream
* Oct. 1957 – Jul. 1958 Dr. H. T. Engstrom
* Aug. 1958 – Apr. 1974 Dr. Louis W. Tordella, USN
* Apr. 1974 – May 1978 Mr. Benson K. Buffham
* May 1978 – Apr. 1980 Mr. Robert E. Drake
* Apr. 1980 – Jul. 1982 Ms. Ann Z. Caracristi
* Jul. 1982 – Jun. 1985 Mr. Robert E. Rich
* Jun. 1985 – Mar. 1988 Mr. Charles R. Lord
* Mar. 1988 – Jul. 1990 Mr. Gerald R. Young
* Jul. 1990 – Feb. 1994 Mr. Robert L. Prestel
* Feb. 1994 – Oct. 1997 Mr. William P. Crowell
* Oct. 1997 – June 2000 Ms. Barbara A. McNamara
* Jun. 2000 – Aug. 2006 Mr. William B. Black, Jr.
* Aug. 2006 – present Mr. John C. (Chris) Inglis

Notable cryptanalysts

* Lambros D. Callimahos
* Agnes Meyer Driscoll
* William F. Friedman
* Solomon Kullback
* Frank Rowlett
* Abraham Sinkov
* Louis W. Tordella

[edit] NSA encryption systems

Main article: NSA encryption systems

STU-III secure telephones on display at the National Cryptologic Museum
STU-III secure telephones on display at the National Cryptologic Museum

NSA is responsible for the encryption-related components in these systems:

* EKMS Electronic Key Management System
* FNBDT Future Narrow Band Digital Terminal
* Fortezza encryption based on portable crypto token in PC Card format
* KL-7 ADONIS off-line rotor encryption machine (post-WW II to 1980s)
* KW-26 ROMULUS electronic in-line teletype encryptor (1960s–1980s)
* KW-37 JASON fleet broadcast encryptor (1960s–1990s)
* KY-57 VINSON tactical radio voice encryptor
* KG-84 Dedicated Data Encryption/Decryption
* SINCGARS tactical radio with cryptographically controlled frequency hopping
* STE secure telephone equipment
* STU-III secure telephone unit, currently being phased out by the STE
* TACLANE product line by General Dynamics

[edit] In fiction

Main article: NSA in fiction

Since the existence of the NSA has become more widely known in the last few decades, and particularly since the 1990s, the agency has regularly been portrayed in spy fiction. Most such portrayals probably grossly exaggerate the organization's involvement in the more sensational activities of intelligence agencies. An indication of the agency's increased "fame" is its named appearance in the Bond franchise in 2002's Die Another Day; a Bond girl portrayed by Halle Berry worked for them. The NSA has been featured in many other films, television shows, books, roleplaying games and video games.