History of the National Security Agency



National Security Agency (NSA)

The National Security Agency is the Nation's cryptologic organization. It coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence information. A high technology organization, NSA is on the frontiers of communications and data processing. It is also one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research within the Government.

Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) is a unique discipline with a long and storied past. SIGINT's modern era dates to World War II, when the U.S. broke the Japanese military code and learned of plans to invade Midway Island. This intelligence allowed the U.S. to defeat Japan's superior fleet. The use of SIGINT is believed to have directly contributed to shortening the war by at least one year. Today, SIGINT continues to play an important role in maintaining the superpower status of the United States.

As the world becomes more and more technology-oriented, the Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) mission becomes increasingly challenging. This mission involves protecting all classified and sensitive information that is stored or sent through U.S. Government equipment. INFOSEC professionals go to great lengths to make certain that Government systems remain impenetrable. This support spans from the highest levels of U.S. Government to the individual warfighter in the field.

NSA conducts one of the U.S. Government's leading research and development programs. Some of the Agency's R&D projects have significantly advanced the state of the art in the scientific and business worlds. NSA's early interest in cryptanalytic research led to the first large-scale computer and the first solid-state computer, predecessors to the modern computer. NSA pioneered efforts in flexible storage capabilities, which led to the development of the tape cassette. NSA also made ground-breaking developments in semiconductor technology and remains a world leader in many technological fields.

NSA employs the country's premier codemakers and codebreakers. It is said to be the largest employer of mathematicians in the United States and perhaps the world. Its mathematicians contribute directly to the two missions of the Agency: designing cipher systems that will protect the integrity of U.S. information systems and searching for weaknesses in adversaries' systems and codes.

Technology and the world change rapidly, and great emphasis is placed on staying ahead of these changes with employee training programs. The National Cryptologic School is indicative of the Agency's commitment to professional development. The school not only provides unique training for the NSA workforce, but it also serves as a training resource for the entire Department of Defense. NSA sponsors employees for bachelor and graduate studies at the Nation's top universities and colleges, and selected Agency employees attend the various war colleges of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Most NSA/CSS employees, both civilian and military, are headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, centrally located between Baltimore and Washington, DC. Its workforce represents an unusual combination of specialties: analysts, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, linguists, computer scientists, researchers, as well as customer relations specialists, security officers, data flow experts, managers, administrative and clerical assistants.

NSA was established by Presidential directive in 1952 to provide signals intelligence and communications security activities of the Government. Since then, the NSA has gained the responsibility for information systems security and operations security training.

The Central Security Service (CSS) was established in 1972 to provide cryptologic activities within the military and thereby a more unified DoD cryptologic effort. The NSA/CSS is also a combat support agency of the DoD.

NSA and the Intelligence Community. The Nation's Intelligence Community (IC) is actually a coordinated network of people and organizations, all working together to keep decision makers informed and the country secure. The President, as Commander-in-Chief, has the final authority over all intelligence collection and analysis.

The National Security Council, a group of appointed senior officials, assists the President in formulating foreign policy and intelligence priorities. The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) directs and coordinates the diverse activities of all the U.S. intelligence organizations. The IC has representation from many intelligence agencies, including intelligence functions in the DoD, Departments of Justice, Treasury, Energy, and State, and the CIA. While not a military organization, NSA is one of several elements of the IC administered by the DoD.

Source: National Security Agency (NSA)

NSA Links:

NSA History

50th Anniversary Commemoration

National Cryptologic Museum

National Vigilance Park

Center for Cryptologic History 

National Cryptologic Memorial 

Historical Publications 

Photo Gallery

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