The NSA

Directors

2005–Present Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, USA
1999–2005 Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, USAF
1996–1999 Lt. Gen. Kenneth A. Minihan, USAF
1992–1996 V. Adm. John M. McConnell, USN
1988–1992 V. Adm. William O. Studeman, USN

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The National Security Agency / Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is believed to be the largest United States government intelligence gathering agency. It is responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and for the security of U.S. government communications against similar agencies elsewhere. Officially established on November 4, 1952, the NSA is a component of the Department of Defense and has always been directed by a three-star flag or general officer. NSA is a key component of the United States Intelligence Community headed by the Director of National Intelligence.

Its 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 [1], the owner of the single largest group of supercomputers, it has had a remarkably low profile until the break of the 21st century. For a long time 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, DC. NSA has its own exit off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway labeled "NSA Employees Only" which is usually guarded by two Maryland State Police vehicles. 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$21 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 total workforce at around double the number cited worldwide.

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 (there is a chip fabrication plant at Ft. Meade), and advanced cryptography research. The agency contracts with the private sector in the fields of research and equipment.

History

The origins of the National Security Agency can be traced to an organization originally established within the Department of Defense, under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA), on May 20, 1949. The AFSA was to be responsible for directing the communications and electronic intelligence activities of the military intelligence units - the Army Security Agency, Naval Security Group and the Air Force Security Service. However, the agency had little power and lacked a centralized coordination mechanism. The creation of 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. 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.

Patent

The NSA has the ability to file for a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office under gag order. Unlike a normal patent, the NSA's is never revealed to the public and never expires. 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.