National Security Agency

We continue to focus on the U.S. Navy and Captain Laurance Safford in this week’s edition of NSA History. He attracted brilliant minds like his own, including Agnes Meyer Driscoll, Joseph Rochefort, and Joseph Wenger, to the cryptologic effort in OP-20-G. Once these new recruits were trained, they performed cryptanalysis on messages obtained by intercepting communications intelligence (COMINT) of Japanese naval maneuvers, passing information from the decrypted messages to American naval and civilian policymakers. Practice during the interwar period prepared them to become the nucleus of the team that broke Japanese naval codes during WWII. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ewxieAxC

Rear Adm. Grace Hopper was a trailblazer in the field of computer science who broke barriers as a woman working on early computers. She visited NSA in 1982 to give a lecture on the future of computing and we are proud to release the digital recording of that lecture for the first time. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eyVD-Fht

#StoriesofNSA - I began my career working for Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services as a Parole and Probation Agent, but when a colleague there went to work for NSA, they recruited me as well! Before that, I didn’t know anything about NSA at all. Then boom – new agency. I started at NSA as a Special Agent, then took a Joint Duty Assignment (JDA) to the Pentagon and ODNI. The JDA was great, it was really cool to see how other agencies in the IC worked. Now I work in cybersecurity. An unexpected highlight here is our focus on DEIA. We are always working to improve and it’s good to see leaders prioritizing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility. I’m also glad that I don’t have to code-switch between work and home. I can speak freely and bring my whole self to work. A few years ago, I started a new job. It had an acronym in the name that I had trouble remembering. On my first day, I left the office in search of a restroom and got a bit lost. While wandering the hallways, I bumped into someone I recognized talking to another person and stopped to say hello. Just as I stopped to chat, I realized that the person my friend was talking to was the Director of NSA! He asked me what office I was working in, and much to my horror, I had again forgotten what my organization’s acronym was. I ended up just describing the kind of work the office did instead of stumbling through an acronym that I could not recall and that seemed to work. Lesson learned: fake it until you make it but also, go with what you know!

Living off the land (LOTL) techniques pervade today’s cyber environment – are your networks resilient? Along with co-authors, led by the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre, NSA is releasing a best practices guide designed to help network defenders combat the LOTL threat. Read our report now for more information on event logging and threat detection: https://lnkd.in/e8WpNCht

A few weeks ago, we hosted an NSA in Focus panel discussion about how the agency welcomes new employees. Watch the full recording to learn more about our orientation and buddy programs, plus mentorship programs and more! https://bit.ly/3M5LsMB

NSA recruiters are visiting University of Maryland this week. If you have the opportunity, stop by to learn about our internship and development programs available for many different career fields, including foreign language, computer science, business, engineering and more!

As we continue our journey through NSA history, we move through the end of WWI and into the interwar period. In 1924, then-Lieutenant Laurance Safford was assigned as officer in charge of the new communications intelligence “Research Desk” of the Code and Signal Section of the Office of Naval Communications, designated OP-20-G. Safford’s initial mission was to build out radio intercept capabilities, enable cryptanalysis, and establish COMINT training programs. Later promoted to Captain in 1942, Safford is known as the father of U.S. Naval cryptology. Learn more about Captain Safford and the beginnings of OP-20-G at this link: https://lnkd.in/epkDETyY

#StoriesofNSA - My Cyberpatriots coach is the reason I landed at NSA. I was homeschooled, really into photography and not aware of the opportunity to be in the High School Work Study (HSWS) program. But he used to be a DoD employee for a while so he knew. He said it was an amazing opportunity, that you get the security clearance and it opens all these doors for you. It was a really long process getting in though. The extensive background information needed, some information my parents didn’t even know at the time – and finding references as a young kid felt like a lot. But I stuck with it and it worked. I didn't know too much about the agency, I didn't know there was a site in Hawaii – the only thing I understood was that it was super secretive. But after coming into it, I learned that they do more than just SIGINT. They also do software development – and it’s pretty corporate in a sense. For me, my organization was Capabilities and they were very family oriented, they made things fun. I was surprised by how interesting the people here are. There are a wide variety of characters and everybody is willing to sit down and talk about their jobs. Maybe it was because of me being so curious and being a HSWS (and then a college intern), but they were always willing to give me advice. They recommended that I get my Masters degree too. Also, you do hear NSA stories. You hear stories from different people - funny quirks that people like. There is a guy who wears capes a lot at one of our locations. There is a guy who likes a lot of different chairs - like he knows the history of chairs, which is the most comfortable. If I was going to describe NSA to a friend, I'd say they do more than just what people talk about in the media. It’s not just foreign SIGINT, there are lots of developmental of tools, lots of networking. It’s a very self-sustaining agency and they have a really interesting relationship with the military. You wouldn't necessary think that we would work with so much military but it's very advantageous. I met DIRNSA once when I was a HSWS, he was just strolling around talking to people. We were all in a conference room. I actually took off school so I could be there. He wanted to hear from people who had been interns and then transferred into full time billets. It was a very interesting, eye-opening experience to be speaking to the man in charge of the entire agency. And I still talk to my Cyber Patriots coach sometimes. Recently, I got to tell him about my future with the military. That was a pretty cool experience.

At NSA, we understand the importance of flexibility. That’s why we have schedules that support our mission and your life. Watch to learn more. https://lnkd.in/eBG6CsZW

Today, we honor the Navajo Code Talkers during World War II. The creation of a code based off of their spoken language directly impacted the U.S.'s victory at Iwo Jima, and additionally for every major Marine operation in the Pacific Theater. We thank them for not only their service to the Nation, but utilizing their culture to aid the U.S. military.