The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense,under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring,collection,and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes,specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission,the majority of which are clandestine. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees.
Arlington Hall is a historic building in Arlington,Virginia,originally a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during World War II. The site presently houses the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center,and the Army National Guard's Herbert R. Temple Jr. Readiness Center. It is located on Arlington Boulevard between S. Glebe Road and S. George Mason Drive.
Martin Edward Hellman is an American cryptologist and mathematician,best known for his invention of public-key cryptography in cooperation with Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle. Hellman is a longtime contributor to the computer privacy debate,and has applied risk analysis to a potential failure of nuclear deterrence.
Bailey Whitfield 'Whit' Diffie ForMemRS is an American cryptographer and mathematician and one of the pioneers of public-key cryptography along with Martin Hellman and Ralph Merkle. Diffie and Hellman's 1976 paper New Directions in Cryptography introduced a radically new method of distributing cryptographic keys,that helped solve key distribution—a fundamental problem in cryptography. Their technique became known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange. The article stimulated the almost immediate public development of a new class of encryption algorithms,the asymmetric key algorithms.
William Oliver Studeman is a retired admiral of the United States Navy and former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency,with two extended periods as acting Director of Central Intelligence. As deputy director of Central Intelligence,he served in the administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton under three directors of Central Intelligence,Robert Gates,R. James Woolsey Jr.,and John M. Deutch. Studeman retired from the navy in 1995 after almost 35 years of service. Between 1988 and 1992 he was director of the National Security Agency;he was the Director of Naval Intelligence,from September 1985 to July 1988.
J. Michael "Mike" McConnell is a former vice admiral in the United States Navy. He served as Director of the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996 and as the United States Director of National Intelligence from February 2007 to January 2009 during the Bush administration and first week of the Obama administration. As of January 2024,he is the Vice Chairman at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Louis William Tordella was the longest serving deputy director of the National Security Agency.
David Kahn was an American historian,journalist,and writer. He wrote extensively on the history of cryptography and military intelligence.
International Signal and Control (ISC) was a U.S. defense contractor based in Lancaster,Pennsylvania that was involved in the manufacture of electronic missile subassemblies,navigation components,fuses,power supplies for proximity fuzes,and grenade technology.
Over-the-air rekeying (OTAR) refers to transmitting or updating encryption keys (rekeying) in secure information systems by conveying the keys via encrypted electronic communication channels. It is also referred to as over-the-air transfer (OTAT),or over-the-air distribution (OTAD),depending on the specific type,use,and transmission means of the key being changed. Although the acronym refers specifically to radio transmission,the technology is also employed via wire,cable,or optical fiber.
Keith Brian Alexander is a retired four-star general of the United States Army,who served as director of the National Security Agency,chief of the Central Security Service,and commander of the United States Cyber Command. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff,G-2 (Intelligence),United States Army from 2003 to 2005. He assumed the positions of Director of the National Security Agency and Chief of the Central Security Service on August 1,2005,and the additional duties as Commander United States Cyber Command on May 21,2010.
Project MINARET was a domestic espionage project operated by the National Security Agency (NSA),which,after intercepting electronic communications that contained the names of predesignated US citizens,passed them to other government law enforcement and intelligence organizations. Intercepted messages were disseminated to the FBI,CIA,Secret Service,Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD),and the Department of Defense. The project was a sister project to Project SHAMROCK.
Project SHAMROCK was the sister project to Project MINARET,an espionage exercise started in August 1945. Project MINARET involved the accumulation of all telegraphic data that entered or exited the United States. The Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) and its successor,the National Security Agency (NSA),were given direct access to daily microfilm copies of all incoming,outgoing,and transiting telegrams via the Western Union and its associates RCA and ITT. NSA did the operational interception,and,if there was information that would be of interest to other intelligence agencies,the material was passed to them. Intercepted messages were disseminated to the FBI,CIA,Secret Service,Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD),and the Department of Defense. No court authorized the operation and there were no warrants.
The Director of the National Security Agency (DIRNSA) is the highest-ranking official of the National Security Agency,which is a defense agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. The director of the NSA also concurrently serves as the chief of the Central Security Service (CHCSS) and as the commander of U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). As the director of the NSA and the chief of the CSC,the officeholder reports to the under secretary of defense for intelligence,and as the commander of U.S. Cyber Command,the officeholder reports directly to the secretary of defense.
James Robert Clapper Jr. is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and former Director of National Intelligence. Clapper has held several key positions within the United States Intelligence Community. He served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 1992 until 1995. He was the first director of defense intelligence within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and simultaneously the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. He served as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from September 2001 until June 2006.
Joseph Numa Wenger was a Rear-Admiral of the United States Navy who served as the first Deputy Director of the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA),and later as the first Vice Director of the National Security Agency,from December 1952 to November 1953,after the separate divisions of the AFSA merged into the NSA. Wenger was one of the leaders responsible for the development of the NSA. He was a native of Patterson,Louisiana.
Mineola High School is a public high school located in Mineola,Texas in southern Wood County and classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Mineola Independent School District and serves the city of Mineola and portions of unincorporated Wood County. Notable alumni include retired Admiral Bobby Inman and country music singer Kacey Musgraves. In 2015,the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
The National Cyber Security Hall of Fame, founded by Larry Letow and Rick Geritz,was established in 2012 to recognize the contributions of key individuals in the field of cyber security;its mission statement is,Respect the Past - Protect the Future. According to its website,it is designed to honor the innovative individuals and organizations which had the vision and leadership to create the fundamental building blocks for the cybersecurity Industry. The organization also highlights major milestones in the industry's 40-year history through a timeline representation,which includes inductees and their corresponding accomplishments.
Michael S. Rogers is a retired four-star admiral of the United States Navy. Rogers served as the second commander of the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) from April 2014 to May 2018 while concurrently serving as the 17th director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and as chief of the Central Security Service (CSS). During his tenure,he helped transform and elevate U.S. Cyber Command into a unified combatant command. Rogers relinquished command to General Paul M. Nakasone on May 4,2018 and retired from the Navy a few weeks later on June 1,2018.
Attempts,unofficially dubbed the "Crypto Wars",have been made by the United States (US) and allied governments to limit the public's and foreign nations' access to cryptography strong enough to thwart decryption by national intelligence agencies,especially the National Security Agency (NSA).
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