NSA to Launch Cybersecurity Directorate in October


Anne Neuberger, shown in an official government portrait, has been chosen to lead the National Security Agency's first-ever cybersecurity directorate. Photo courtesy of the NSA.

The National Security Agency’s first-ever cybersecurity directorate, charged with bringing its cyber and foreign-intelligence taskings under a single umbrella and combating risks to America’s defense-industrial base and national security systems, will go operational on October 1.

Anne Neuberger, who previously served as the NSA’s deputy operations director and its inaugural chief risk officer, will head the directorate and report directly to agency boss and US Cyber Command boss Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, the agency said in a release.

The agency said the new directorate is meant to breathe new life into the agency’s “white hat mission,” which will, in turn, create opportunities for new cybersecurity partnerships and clients.

“It will also build on our past successes, such as Russia Small Group, to operationalize our threat intelligence, vulnerability assessments, and cyber defense expertise to defeat our adversaries in cyberspace,” the release said.

Additionally, the directorate is expected to foster better collaboration with the agency’s intragovernmental partners, including CYBERCOM, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.