NSA

As U.S. and global telecommunication carriers deploy more and more fifth-generation wireless network infrastructure, or 5G, in America and around the world, U.S. defense officials are examining the use cases for military applications of 5G such as autonomous vehicles; support of deployed warfighters; smart bases, warehouses and logistics; and cloud-related applications.

One feature that may be ideal for Defense Department use is network slicing, experts say. The ability to separate or “slice” a 5G network into subnetworks for designated users at specific security levels could prove to be versatile, explained Neal Ziring, technical director, National Security Agency (NSA), speaking at AFCEA DC’s recent 5G Luncheon.

The need for the United States to not only have digital literacy but also cybersecurity-educated students is prompting the addition of programs into the middle school level. Students in grades 6-8 can benefit greatly from having a foundational understanding of cyber concepts, as can the nation, officials say.

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)/Central Security Service’s National Cryptologic School, which already has a robust offering of cyber education programs across the elementary, high school, college and graduate student levels, is growing its specific offerings to middle schools, teachers and kids age 12-14.

Lessons learned in combating terrorist organizations such as ISIS have proved valuable to tailoring national defense techniques to use against cyber attacks from near-peer adversaries, including China and Russia. Speaking at West 2021, Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, USA, said recent experience demonstrates that the threats to data and networks has changed dramatically in scope, scale and sophistication.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $79,398,158 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Small Diameter Bomb Increment II lot integration and test. This contract effort will deliver all-up round (AUR) test vehicles, perform AUR-level assembly, checkout, testing and systems integration testing; and prepare for production cut-in and fielding for the multiple engineering changes needed, including National Security Agency (NSA) cryptographic modernization, Global Positioning System (GPS) military code, mitigation of part obsolescence, and design changes evolving from production and/or operations. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed April 1, 2023.

The last year presented “unique challenges” to the military combatant command in charge of defending U.S. related interests in cyberspace. The three-year old U.S. Cyber Command, which plans and executes global cyberspace operations, activities and missions in regard to defending and advancing national interests, has spent the last year defending and mitigating against the continuing cyber threats from China, Russia, Iran and nonstate actors and criminals, reported Gen. Paul Nakasone, USA, commander, U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM); director, National Security Agency (NSA); and chief, Central Security Service (CSS); in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

During the pandemic, technology leaders across intelligence agencies have focused not only on supporting the continuity of mission efforts and the connectivity of its work force, but also emerging solutions to drive innovation and efficiencies.

Some of the main tools officials are pursuing include: advanced software delivery, multicloud use, machine learning and data processing tools, said chief information officers (CIOs), who along with moderator Lewis Shepherd of VMware, spoke on September 17 at the Intelligence and National Security Summit, co-hosted virtually by INSA and AFCEA.

Under a joint pilot program, verifying the security of mobile application software for use within the federal government no longer needs to be time consuming or expensive. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working with a partnership within the NSA, automated the process to determine if apps meet the agency’s National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) protection profile.

The National Security Agency (NSA) has created a new Cybersecurity Directorate as a recognition that “the best defense against devastating cyber attacks is to unify as a nation against our threats,” the agency has announced.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is launching its new Cybersecurity Directorate with a promise of “opening the door to partners and customers on a wide variety of cybersecurity efforts,” according to an agency statement. These partners will include established government allies in the cyber domain such as the U.S. Cyber Command, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. The directorate also is promising to share information better with its customers to help them defend against malicious cyber activity.

Personnel working in cyber must continually look for opportunities to learn, say cyber professionals from across government.

During a morning panel discussion on the final day of the AFCEA TechNet Cyber conference in Baltimore, high-ranking officials from the Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency discussed a wide range of issues concerning the cyber workforce today and tomorrow.

The United States faces a “toxic mix of threats,” Dan Coats, the director of National Intelligence, testified today before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence while unveiling the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Millions of times every single day, antagonists search for entry into the U.S. Defense Department’s networks. They come from all over: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran. Some are sponsored by nation-states; others are terrorist groups.

When Alexander Woody was born, his mother knew she needed to forge a new path career-wise. She enrolled in an associate's degree program at her local community college and studied computer programming.

“She hit that program really hard back in the '90s and was able to succeed,” says Woody, who is now an Army specialist working as a counter pursuit operator within the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) Cybersecurity Threat Operations Center.

Spc. Woody ended up with the NSA after finding himself also at a career crossroad. He studied chemistry at North Carolina State University and sometimes tutors high school students struggling with chemistry. But he realized it wasn’t the right career choice for him.

Where some see challenges, others see opportunities. It sounds like a motivational poster, but that is exactly how researchers at the National Security Agency view the Internet of Things, or the IoT.

“We approach IoT a little differently than everybody else. Everybody’s talking about all the security problems. That’s certainly fair, but we look at IoT as an opportunity in terms of the security goals we can accomplish,” says George Coker, chief, Information Assurance Research Group, National Security Agency (NSA).

Officials from across the U.S. intelligence community are calling for reauthorization of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to collect data on non-U.S. citizens on foreign soil, as Congress debates whether to reauthorize, reform or outright reject it.

Multiple officials from multiple agencies touted the benefits of Section 702 during the 2017 Intelligence and National Security Summit, which was held Sept. 6-7 in Washington, D.C.

Solid-state drives store data using flash memory and are becoming common system-level components in military systems. Although they are inexpensive and readily available, commercial off-the-shelf versions often fail to meet military requirements: predictable performance under stressful operating conditions, robust ruggedization, long-term availability from an accredited supplier and trusted security. Drives designed for the commercial market do not provide the flexible security features needed in today’s modern military applications. 

An offshoot of social media, crowdsourcing could hold solutions to some of the biggest cybersecurity problems the U.S. Defense Department faces. The burgeoning field could find fixes for thorny legacy problems as well as emerging cyberthreats. This is exactly what is taking root at the Joint Forces Staff College in a course offered to service members and their Defense Department civilian equivalents learning cyber concepts in joint, interagency and multinational environments.

The ability of warfighters to be mobile and nimble is not a luxury during combat operations. It is an absolute necessity. Staying ahead of the enemy or avoiding attack often means an entire command post must move, and quickly—a mammoth challenge if the command post relies on a wired communications network with cumbersome and costly cables and equipment.

Securing the cyberspace will get worse before it gets any better, warned Adm. Michael Rogers, USN, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and commander of U.S. Cyber Command.

“The very technical foundation of the world we’ve created with the Internet of Things is going to exacerbate [security vulnerabilities], not make it easier,” he said. Now, it’s not that the Internet of Things is bad, he pointed out. “As a private citizen, I love the convenience. But I also acknowledge it brings inherent challenges when we’re trying to defend something.”

Every now and then a poll result pops up that surprises me. Results sometimes are counter-intuitive, or at least counter-narrative from what we're led to believe in major media coverage.

Case in point: An early 2015 poll shows that after nearly two years of a negative spotlight on the U.S. intelligence community, and particularly on the National Security Agency (NSA) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the American people still have a positive view of the NSA and CIA. More startlingly, young Americans have more favorable views of NSA and CIA than older Americans!

General Dynamics C4 Systems, Scottsdale, Arizona, recently received the Defense Mobile Classified Capability (DMCC) contract from the National Security Agency (NSA). As part of the contract, General Dynamics will deliver up to 1,000 Samsung KNOX-enabled Galaxy S4 smartphones provisioned with added GD Protected software for the U.S. government. With these new smartphones, authorized government personnel will be able to make secure phone calls and access classified email. With GD Protected software, the phone operates using only authorized software and applications from a trusted source. The company will provide system updates and upgrades over the air.

The leaders of the U.S. intelligence community stated that the Snowden and Manning revelations of U.S. intelligence collection activities have done serious harm to U.S. national security in several ways. Three agency directors and one acting director stated that the ability to view the threat picture has been hamstrung as it is changing to an increasing degree.

From circuit-switched networks (CSN), to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), to Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), technology has reached the point where it is now feasible to secure mobile communications. Only recent mobile devices-witness the iPhone-can keep up with security demands required for secure communications. The National Security Agency (NSA) is developing a midterm pilot program aiming for the end goal of a mobile platform developed using only commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components.

The National Security Agency (NSA) now has an app for aspiring agents. The free NSA Career Links app for iPhone will keep you up to date about agency jobs, career events, news, and video and employee testimonies. Developed by CACI-CMS Information Systems Inc., the app is meant to attract the best and brightest to join the NSA team. According to NSA officials, this year will be the agency's largest hiring effort in recent memory. Think you have what it takes to carry out some of the nation's most important and sensitive intelligence activities?