Category: National Security Agency NSA

Source: National Security Agency NSA

The National Security Agency (NSA) Research Directorate recently selected “Decoding Trust: Comprehensive Assessment of Trustworthiness in GPT Models,” as the winner of its 12th Annual Best Scientific Cybersecurity Paper Competition.

The winning paper, authored by 19 researchers including professors Dawn Song, University of California at Berkeley; Bo Li, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and Sanmi Koyejo, Stanford University, evaluated the framework for large language models (LLMs) and proposed a comprehensive trustworthiness evaluation for them, with a focus on generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) models. 

“The value of this paper to the foundational research community is the proposed evaluation framework for large language models,” said Dr. Adam Tagert, Technical Director of NSA’s Science of Security program. “This framework is a noteworthy foundational advancement in that other people can use it to rigorously evaluate future LLMs and scientifically compare them. It is essentially providing much needed metrics in this community.” 

NSA’s Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research established the competition in 2013 to encourage the development of scientific foundations in cybersecurity, and to support enhancement of cybersecurity within devices, computers, and systems through rigorous research, solid scientific methodology, documentation, and publishing. 

NSA’s Research Director Gil Herrera, along with NSA cybersecurity experts and external authorities in the field, selected this year’s winning entry from 42 papers nominated by the public.
The winning researchers considered diverse perspectives in their evaluation, including toxicity, stereotype bias, adversarial robustness, out-of-distribution robustness, robustness on adversarial demonstrations, privacy, machine ethics, and fairness. 

They discovered previously unpublished vulnerabilities to trustworthiness threats, such as that GPT models can be easily misled to generate toxic and biased outputs and leak private information in training data and conversation history. The paper uncovers vulnerabilities to trustworthiness threats and sheds light on trustworthiness gaps.
 
“This paper has high impact,” Tagert said. “A generative AI company has already adopted its research results and created a leaderboard on the framework.” 

According to Tagert, because of the high quality of papers nominated this year, two were selected for honorable mentions.

The first went to “Ethical Frameworks and Computer Security Trolley Problems: Foundations for Conversations,” by professors Tadayoshi Kohno, University of Washington; Yasemin Acar, Paderborn University (Germany)/Georgetown; and Wulf Loh, University of Tübingen (Germany). 

The second honorable mention was awarded for “SoK: I Have the (Developer) Power! Sample Size Estimation for Fisher’s Exact, Chi-Squared, McNemar’s, Wilcoxon Rank-Sum, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank and t-Tests in Developer-Centered Usable Security,” by PhD student Anna-Marie Ortloff, researcher Christian Tiefenau, and professor Matthew Smith, all of the University of Bonn in Germany. 
Nominations for the 13th annual Best Scientific Cybersecurity Paper Competition open on 15 January. NSA welcomes nominations of papers published in 2024 in peer-reviewed journals and technical conferences that show an outstanding contribution to cybersecurity science. Winners will be announced at the end of 2025.

Visit the Best Scientific Cybersecurity Paper Competition webpage for more information on the competition and to nominate a paper.

Source: National Security Agency NSA

Feelings of pride, accomplishment, and excitement came over West Point cadets in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Nov. 15, 2024 as The Honorable Harry Coker Jr., National Cyber Director, stepped to the podium.
 
“Good afternoon and welcome to the White House” said Coker, kicking off an event to celebrate cadets from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) for winning the National Security Agency’s (NSA) 2024 Cyber Exercise (NCX). The NCX is a three-day cyber competition that showcases the talent of future military and civilian leaders.

After Director Coker welcomed everyone, a video was presented highlighting the NCX and the three-day competition, which featured participants from the U.S. military academies, senior military colleges, and NSA development programs.
Continuing with his remarks, Director Coker shared a story about receiving a phone call from then-Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director Daniel “Rags” Ragdale. “If the White House thanks sports teams, why not also thank America’s future cyber leaders,” Ragdale asked. Director Coker laughed when recalling the exchange and mentioned that this event was not only thanking the participants for the hard work they had already done, but the work he knew that they would be doing in the future for the nation. Highlighting the ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ motto of West Point, he ended his speech saying, “I could not be prouder to welcome you all to the White House. Thank you for your hard work.”
Next Maj Gen Matteo Martemucci, Deputy Chief of the Central Security Service, shared his gratitude to all the teams that put together the event and shared his belief that “Cybersecurity is National Security.” He also mentioned that the significance of the room the event was happening in wasn’t lost on him as it was once the State, War and Navy Building. Highlighting how important the cyber mission is today, he shared that anyone in the audience could simply look up Volt Typhoon to understand the importance of cybersecurity and understand what a crucial skill all the competitors have. He finished his speech by saying that he was very proud of all the future cyber warriors in the room.
Next up in the distinguished list of speakers was Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), who stepped up to share her appreciation of her own West Point experience and how she never quite imagined being the Director of CISA. She shared her belief that NSA is the most technically exquisite agency in the U.S. government and that she was proud of all of the cadets and students who participated in the NCX. Easterly also underscored Maj. Gen. Martemucci’s earlier comments about Volt Typhoon and the importance of the cyber mission. She ended her speech saying, “Cyber is a team sport and it’s the best thing to be a part of.”

The ceremony ended with Director Coker calling out the individual teams that made up USMA’s NCX contingent, each named after the academy colors of black, gold and grey, that won different events during the competition. Highlighting the critical skill and team development also provided from the West Point teachers, Director Coker shared that the NCX made him humbled and enthusiastic for the future.

After the ceremony was over, the cadets and participants were able to take tours of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building led by White House interns. Following the tour, there was a reception held on the patio overlooking the West Wing where cookies with the White House logo were served to top off the 2024 NCX with a sweet seal of approval.

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Visit here for more information on the NCX. If you are an aspiring academy cadet, midshipman, or attending one of the 6 Senior Military Colleges and you would like to participate in NCX, contact the respective cyber departments to learn more about their cybersecurity programs and how to participate.

Source: National Security Agency NSA

As a combat support agency for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) has centers across the country to provide support to the DoD and U.S. military personnel around the world.

Source: National Security Agency NSA

The National Security Agency’s (NSA) Center for Cryptologic History is pleased to announce the induction of five major cryptologic figures into the Cryptologic Hall of Honor.
 
The 2024 inductees are:

• Francis N. Allen – NSA’s analytic achievements against the Soviet target in the 1980s would not have been possible without the development work performed by Frank Allen. Allen provided key knowledge not only to analysis and reporting, but to development of sophisticated collection and processing systems. He created the series of Soviet Telecommunications Handbooks, guidebooks of the parameters of the wide variety of Soviet systems that were used worldwide by collectors and analysts alike.
• ​Joanne B. Perriens – Perriens was a groundbreaking analyst, leader, and glass-ceiling-shattering pioneer. She began her career at Arlington Hall, then moved with NSA to Fort Meade in the mid-1950s. From her earliest assignments she worked Soviet and Eastern Bloc targets, and did so for decades in myriad positions. Perriens was a strong advocate for personnel and their career development, and aggressively supported the promotion of women into the Agency’s higher ranks. She sent official memos to three successive DIRNSAs, challenging them to increase the number of women in senior positions. Mrs. Perriens’ actions resulted in great strides forward in diversity issues.
• James R. Child – The accomplishments of James Child, a Senior Language Research Analyst at the National Cryptologic School, have arguably affected every single government linguist since the 1970s. Child’s lasting contribution to NSA—already recognized by government and academia—was the revolution he launched in language instruction and testing, as well as the specific tools to maintain proficiency standards. 
• ​Patrick R. Gallagher, Jr. – Gallagher, an electrical engineer, laid the foundations for what are now the Cybersecurity Directorate and the Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research. Additionally, he established NSA’s relationship with the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which is as critical today as it was in his time. Gallagher guided both the Trusted Product Evaluation Program (TPEP) and the Commercial COMSEC Endorsement Program (CCEP). These programs were the foundation of cryptographic evaluation for decades, and the underlying security principles established within them are applied to this day.
• Theodore Eric Nave, CAPT, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Navy, OBE – CAPT Nave contributed significantly to the safety and security of Allied countries throughout a career spanning the period 1917 to 1949. His foundational work unravelling Japanese Naval telegraphy and breaking Imperial Japanese Naval codes was instrumental in supporting Allied operational forces in the South West Pacific Area, led by General Douglas MacArthur. Throughout a career in both the Australian and British navies, Nave played a foundational role in training Allied analysts, which was just as critical to allied codebreaking success as his individual achievements. A passionate advocate for an Australian peacetime SIGINT capability, Nave was closely involved in establishing the Defense Signals Bureau at the end of World War II (now the Australian Signals Directorate). In 1946, he led the delegation that ensured Australia’s inclusion in the Five Eyes signals intelligence arrangements, which continue to this day.

​The next call for nominations will be issued in early 2025, but any individual or group can make a nomination at any time.
 
Individuals or groups nominated for the Cryptologic Hall of Honor must have made a significant contribution through cryptology to America’s national security. This may have been through a single event or a lifetime of superior achievements in cryptology. Individuals who worked for the government must have departed government cryptologic service at least 10 years prior to the nomination. Non-U.S. individuals or groups are also eligible for consideration, and their achievements, too, must have occurred at least 10 years prior to the nomination.

Source: National Security Agency NSA

From psychics to extraterrestrial communication, new temporary and permanent exhibits at the National Cryptologic Museum will have you scratching your head.

With exhibit labels like “Mind over Matter” and “What the What?”—museum visitors will go from, “What in the world?” to “What if?” The exhibits explore the extraordinary practice of using psychics to gain information from the enemy.

New Temporary Exhibits

 

Project Star Gate was used by the U.S. Government during the Cold War. Many of the psychic spies were at Ft. Meade, tasked with collecting intelligence, locating enemy agents and determining American vulnerabilities by using “remote viewing.” Remote viewing is mentally viewing a distant location they have never visited to gather insights on a person, site, or specific information. As outrageous as it sounds, the secret program was very successful and was in use until 1995.

A standout in the remote viewing field, Agent 001 of Project Star Gate Joe McMoneagle has been involved in over 200 intelligence missions utilizing his unique set of skills. His distinct collection of drawings (as a result of his remote viewing missions) were used to assist in combat and are a part of the current exhibit.

The exhibit even explores the brief moments in history that the U.S and Russia’s relationship wasn’t quite as contentious. See astounding sketches and the landscapes they match up to!

Plus, see the machine, altered by the mind to change its output! Don’t believe us? Come see for yourself, only at the NCM!

Psychics aren’t the only twilight zoneish content this fall.

SETI (The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) also makes its debut at the NCM. The museum created a theatre room for guests to watch a video about the search for alien life and how researchers go under the sea to make connections.

Using anticryptography methods (a cryptographic message that is easy to decipher), the scientists detail their use of radio signals in their search for intelligent life in the universe. See a circuit board that digitized cosmic signals and more in the quest to communicate with alien life.

Be sure to plan your next visit soon as these temporary exhibits will only be on display through mid-December!

New Permanent Exhibits

 

The Museum has also added several permanent new exhibits as well.

The Language Whiteboard is a linguists’ delight!  It’s a compilation of all the languages we make use of at the agency. It came from the National Cryptologic University’s College of Language and Area Studies, where instructors created the artwork to use a teaching tool. It hung in a language classroom for many years before being “retired” to the National Cryptologic Museum.

While the museum has had several pieces of the Berlin Wall in its collection, the “You Are Leaving the American Sector” sign is a new addition. It was acquired by an American after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The iconic symbol of the Cold War is on display now.

The National Cryptologic Museum is open Mon-Sat from 10am-4pm. Admission is free, reservations are not required.  For more information on scheduling a visit or a field trip visit nsa.gov/museum/

Source: National Security Agency NSA

National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) affiliates across the Enterprise helped raise 136,472 pounds of food in this year’s Feds Feed Families (FFF) Summer Food Drive.

“The success of this year’s campaign is a testament to those who gave generously to help their community,” said Gen Tim Haugh, Commander, USCYBERCOM, Director, NSA/Chief, CSS.

The drive concluded in August, with NSA/CSS Washington’s portion going to a local food bank, which provides more than 41 million meals to families in need every year.

“It’s incredible to see firsthand the impact that this Agency has on the local community,” said FFF Program Manager Veronica Maylish Beckenstrater. “I witnessed so much generosity — from folks dropping food off to online donations, including those who donated to enter the cutest pet photo contest.”

“I was so pleased to see employees getting involved with the events and contests this year,” said Marlisa Smith, NSA Chief of Staff and senior advocate for the 2024 FFF campaign. “Giving back is such a wonderful way for our employees to make a difference.”

The overall FFF campaign, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is an annual government-wide campaign that encourages Federal Government employees to donate food, money, or volunteer hours. It occurs during the summer months to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during a period when donations usually decline and the need increases.

 “Some affiliates may not realize how empty local food banks can get during the summer months,” said NSA’s volunteer program manager. “It’s actually been hard to schedule volunteer morale building activities at food banks in the NSA Washington area this spring and summer because some of their shelves have been bare.”

The generosity of NSA/CSS employees helped to fill this gap, according to Maylish Beckenstrater.

“The FFF team and workforce’s dedication was vital to the success of the campaign and will provide food to many families and their pets in our community,” said State and Local Affairs Chief Barry Boseman.

When combined with NSA/CSS’s contributions to the Combined Federal Campaign that were given to charities focused on food and nutrition, NSA has donated 1,417,631 pounds so far this calendar year.

“This makes NSA/CSS the second highest food donor in the Department of Defense so far this year, which is pretty incredible,” said Maylish Beckenstrater.

Source: National Security Agency NSA

As construction continues on NSA/CSS Washington’s (NSAW) East Campus, hundreds of native trees have been planted as part of the agency’s reforestation effort.

Reforestation is the process of planting new trees in areas that have been disturbed by construction, or where there were few trees initially. The construction of East Campus required the removal of many trees that had been part of the site, in order to construct the utility infrastructure, as well as the new buildings on site.

This reforestation effort is driven by NSA’s Environmental Management System Policy, which states that the Agency is committed to the establishment and maintenance of world-class environmental, safety, and occupational health programs, and that these programs are designed to protect the environment and health of the workforce, customers, and communities.

“We believe it is important to be a good neighbor, so we worked to incorporate the requirements of the Fort Meade forest policy into our site layout and construction,” said Matthew Boren, chief of the Military Construction (MILCON) office within NSA’s Installation and Logistics (I&L) organization.

Reforestation has benefits to both the environment and to the workforce.

Environmentally, it improves and expands the natural habitat of birds and animals. A large portion of the reforestation occurred along the Midway Branch, where the reforestation trees expand the stream buffer and ensure that development does not encroach on the stream. Additionally, the trees help reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from the site, as well as improve the quality of stormwater that does leave. In turn, that protects the Little Patuxent and the Chesapeake Bay and the quality of those waters.

Reforestation replants trees in a more natural environment and in larger numbers. This is different from landscape trees, which are standalone and singular in nature and do not provide the same habitat features, or quantity of stormwater support.

To grow these reforestation areas, MILCON office partners with Occupational Health and Well-Being Services to enhance the NSAW campus, adding shade, storm water management, and improving the well-being of the workforce by creating a more relaxed atmosphere, according to Williams.

Both the reforestation areas and landscape trees require care and maintenance, from normal mulching to evaluation by an arborist. Whether it is a new tree that does not thrive or an established tree that is causing issues for the surrounding forestation, they may need to be trimmed or replaced.

I&L tries to plant a new tree somewhere close to the original spot, but in a better location, whenever one is removed.

“Our goal is to be a great place for the next generations of Agency employees,” Boren added.

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Interested in learning more about joining NSA’s mission? Visit NSA.gov/Careers for more information. 

Source: National Security Agency NSA

The early 1950s saw the dedication of two new organizations headquartered less than 10 miles apart: NSA and the Friendship International Airport — now Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Nearly eight decades later, the partnership between these organizations is expanding in a new way.

Earlier this week, Agency leaders traveled to BWI for a first look at a newly installed wall display illustrating NSA’s unique support to the Armed Forces through declassified archival imagery. This first-of-its-kind exhibit highlights the SIGINT work of the Agency and its predecessors during WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

“My grandfather served in WWII on the Red Ball Express, I had an uncle who served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and as a combat contingency deployer of 14 times throughout my 27 years in the military, it’s always good to see representation on the wall,” CMSgt Kenneth Bruce, Command Senior Enlisted Leader of USCYBERCOM and Senior Enlisted Advisor of NSA/CSS, said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Located in BWI’s Honor Flights corridor, the display welcomes and honors active-duty military and veterans arriving at the airport. According to Bruce, it’s important to increase awareness of NSA’s history as a combat support agency providing SIGINT and cybersecurity insights to military operations around the world.

“We’re very appreciative of what this represents and what NSA has represented to our Nation,” Chief Bruce said on behalf of the nearly 17,000 members of the Central Security Service, who ensure the warfighter is integrated into what NSA does on a daily basis. “As these honor flights come in to BWI and thousands of service members walk through these hallways, they’ll always have a reminder of what they do and why they do it.”

A team representing organizations across the Engagement & Policy Directorate worked for five years collaborating to ensure the design, content, and delivery was as impactful as possible in demonstrating NSA’s long-standing support to the U.S. Military, according to Stephanie Bartolowits, chief of Information Management and the project originator. The display supports the Director of National Intelligence’s Transparency Initiative and fulfills NSA’s responsibility to declassify and disseminate materials to the public.

“We try to do a transparency project every year as an Agency to be forward-leaning, to share with the public what we do,” Bartolowits said. “We’re hoping some of these service members will be able to walk by here, recognize themselves and see these things, and know that we really appreciate them.”

This exhibit opened less than two years after NSA launched its first-ever recruitment display at the airport, which is home to the Nation’s largest USO lounge and sees more military members traveling through than any other airport, according to Bartolowits.

Maryland Aviation Administration CEO Ricky Smith said the partnership between BWI and NSA represents a “rich family” of Maryland-based institutions that serve the American people. “To have you present at this airport and to be able to showcase the value you bring to the community is a pleasure,” he said.

According to Engagement & Policy Director Sheila Thomas, the NSA-BWI partnership is natural.

“Support to military is in our core, our ethos. I can’t tell you how much it means to see this in a public arena,” she said. “This will continue on well past us, and that’s really something that’s remarkable, something we can be so proud of.”
 

Source: National Security Agency NSA

The life and legacy of one of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Hall of Honor cryptanalysts was recently recognized at the National Cryptologic Museum (NCM). Nearly 70 current and former NSA employees along with NSA organizers, gathered for an afternoon of reflection and fellowship to honor cryptologic giant, Minnie Kenny.
 
Kenny started at the NSA’s predecessor agency in 1952 as a Communications Clerk. At the time, there were very few African Americans in that role. Kenny quickly excelled in language, traffic analysis and cryptanalysis. She rose through the ranks at the Agency, working at an elite “think tank” studying the future of cryptanalysis. Kenny served as Deputy Commandant of the National Cryptologic School and made her mark as a leader along the way.
 
The NCM was the backdrop for fellowship amongst the Phoenix Society members and the current workforce. Organizers say the event, “preserves the connection between former and current cultural influencers with an eye on the path laid for future generations at NSA.”
 
Kenny was known for leaving a red carnation on the desks of managers and employees she felt were doing a good job. So it was only fitting that organizers of the memorial event wore red as a representation.
 
Kenny’s impact is still felt within the agency. She influenced the career of NSA Chief of Staff, Marlisa Smith who said, “Her name speaks for itself. When you say Ms. Kenny’s name you are just in awe of her.” During the event, Smith told the story of being a very young person at the agency and being scared to approach Minnie Kenny. “When you did approach her, you got that warmth and you knew she really cared about the workforce”.
 
Former NSA Chief of Staff Ernie Green was also in attendance. He recalled walking in the halls of NSA and getting bumped by a woman who said, “I don’t know you.” That woman was Minnie Kenny. Green said from that point on, Kenny took him under her wing, taking him to Washington D.C., introducing him to influential lawmakers. Green talked about Kenny’s passion of furthering the mission to help elevate African Americans in the agency.
 
Another Cryptologic Pioneer, Lillian “Lil” Berry said, “The thing that impressed me most about Minnie Kenny was how she pushed us to do our best. How she encouraged us to get our education. She pushed us. The best thing is, she encouraged you to bring your families in, and we have three generations of my family here today.”
 
Other attendees, including Kenny’s former receptionist told the crowd funny anecdotes about Kenny, from how she liked her coffee to that overseas trip where her luggage was lost…twice.
 
Those in attendance had the opportunity to view the grounds of the future building named the Kenny Center, in her honor. The 700,000-square-foot building is expected to be completed in 2028. The Kenny Center will provide a modern platform to support Information & Intelligence Analysis (IIA) for NSA and the Intelligence Community (IC).
 
Guests concluded the afternoon with a tour of the National Cryptologic Museum, given by NSA Historian Dave Hatch. Attendees toured the tribute to Minnie Kenny and other Women in Cryptology, who were ahead of their time.
 
The overall theme of the day was honoring Minnie Kenny, the contributions she made, the influence she had and the legacy she left.
 
Guests left with red carnations, a fitting end to honor a life well lived.

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The National Cryptologic Museum is the only fully public museum in the Intelligence Community and is now open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and no reservations are required — click here for more information about the museum or to start planning your visit!