One of the most secretive organizations in the United States, the NSA, or National Security Agency, works under the Department of Defense and plays a critical role in our nation’s defense. While the CIA collects intelligence outside the country, the NSA is responsible for intelligence gathering here at home.
Originally founded during World War II, the NSA as we know it today began operating in 1952 under the order of then-President Harry S. Truman. In addition to intelligence gathering, the NSA protects vital US communication networks and data systems.
20. Gulf of Tonkin
- Source: New York Times
In what has gone on to become a highly controversial moment in the NSA industry, it was a mixup of intelligence signals in 1964 that helped fuel the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which forced the US to get involved in the Vietnam War.
19. Fire Department
- Source: NSA.gov
In the event of any emergency on its campus, the NSA has its own dedicated fire department, which is trained specifically to work with the sensitive equipment used in the facility and to handle chemical threats.
18. Academic Excellence
- Source: NSA.gov
The NSA has established the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity to train the nation’s best and brightest minds. This group, which partners with the CIA, FBI, and other intelligence groups, helps create a “collaborative cybersecurity education program” that colleges and universities can use.
17. Legal Limits
- Source: Wikipedia
Executive Order 12333, signed in 1981, outlines the NSA’s mission to “ collect information that constitutes ‘foreign intelligence or counterintelligence’” and not to gather any information about domestic activities or US citizens.
16. Farmers Market
- Source: NSA.gov
Working at the National Security Agency does have some perks, including a farmers market. Every Friday from April to November at the agency’s Fort Meade headquarters, more than 1,000 employees take a break each day to get outside and browse the different vendors selling their food items.
15. Utah Center
- Source: The Guardian
While many details about the site are unavailable for public consumption, the world knows the NSA has the “Utah Data Center,” built for $1.5 billion and finished in 2014. This location enables the NSA to store exabytes or billions of gigabytes of data for intelligence analysis.
14. Hall of Honor
- Source: NSA.gov
While most of the NSA’s work will never be known to the public, there is a Hall of Honor for employees with more than 15 years of service. While their contributions are not disclosed, their employment is only disclosed after retirement.
13. Polygraph Or Bust
- Source: Wikipedia
As Hollywood movies have shown, the NSA requires all potential employees who might have access to sensitive information to undergo a polygraph test. Failure to take the test or refusal to take it can result in termination from agency employment.
12. Global Reach
- Source: IntelligenceCareers.gov
If you want to work for the NSA but don’t want to move to Maryland, you can look to work at one of the agency’s four cryptologic centers in Texas, Hawaii, Georgia, or Colorado. These centers help the NSA have a more global reach.
11. PRISM Data
- Source: Wikipedia
In one of the worst intelligence public revelations of US cybersecurity, Edward Snowden exposed the existence of a program known as PRISM. This program accounted for 91% of NSA internet traffic and was used to collect data from various US internet companies, including Verizon.
10. NSA Museum
- Source: Politico
If you want to learn more about NSA history, visit the official museum in Fort Meade, Maryland. The museum exhibits some of the earliest supercomputers and secure smartphones. The New York Times called it a “popular stop for tech executives.”
9. No Such Podcast
- Source: NSA.gov
In a unique turn of events, the National Security Agency offers its own official podcast, “No Such Podcast.” This podcast allows people within the agency to discuss the organization’s role in foreign signals intelligence and cybersecurity.
8. 100 Languages
- Source: NSA.gov
According to the National Security Agency, it employs experts in more than 100 languages. Anyone recruited to the agency who speaks a foreign language will undergo a two-year program at the Defense Language Institute before they can begin their work with the NSA.
7. Five Eyes
- Source: The Guardian
Along with intelligence partners in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the NSA is part of the “Five Eyes” alliance, which shares global surveillance data. This group was formed in 1946 following the war’s end to monitor intelligence gathering outside the Soviet Union.
6. Most Mathematicians
- Source: The Bowdoin Orient
According to reports, the National Security Agency employs between 600 and 1,000 mathematicians, making it the largest single employer of mathematicians in the world. These experts work on quantum computing, cryptanalysis, and algorithm development, among other projects.
5. Extreme Secrecy
- Source: Wikipedia
Because of the NSA’s secretive nature, the department’s true name wasn’t known until the 1960s. Employees at the time joked that the agency letters stood for “No Such Agency” or “Never Say Anything,” while Congress denied the NSA budget existed until 1975.
4. Giant Building
- Source: Washington Post
The headquarters of the National Security Facility is one giant building, more than 6.3 million square feet. This includes 18 plus parking garages, one of the largest employee bases in Maryland, and a $2 billion annual utility budget. A 1,300-acre area around the facility is also off limits to the public.
3. Classified Budget
- Source: CNN
Most Americans don’t know the National Security Agency’s budget is classified. This means there isn’t any breakdown as to what the NSA is doing with its budget, which is part of the National Intelligence Program that receives around $76 billion annually.
2. September 11 Attacks
- Source: Politico
According to intelligence information released after the attacks, the NSA had information the summer before 9/11 that “something was imminent,” though the information wasn’t specific. Unfortunately, while credible, the NSA couldn’t act on this information due to its vague details.
1. Harry S. Truman
- Source: Politico
The National Security Agency was officially established in its current form on November 4, 1952, by President Harry S. Truman. At the time, Truman said, “The creation of the NSA allowed the Defense Department to consolidate cryptologic support to military operations and to meet the challenges that the nation would face in the Cold War.”
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