National Security Agency

#StoriesofNSA - I have degrees in Political Science and International Politics but that isn’t actually what landed me at NSA. The purchase of a new home is what really caused it. I don’t like long commutes to work and I saw that NSA was close by. A few internet searches later and I discovered that there were several Communications positions open, so I applied. Long story short, here I am working in our Media Relations Office. My parents have always said they knew I was going to do big things. As immigrants with high school educations, they’re always dreaming big for me. They’ve been my biggest cheerleaders throughout every step of my career – from undergrad, to grad school, to my first job in local government, and now to my first job in the federal government. They may not be familiar with the Agency, but they’ve said they can rest easy knowing I’m working a reliable, well-paying job that’s close to home. I can agree with them there. That’s all I can ask for. Now that I’m here, NSA reminds me a lot of a college campus. I may not know everyone, but I feel like I get a glimpse into my colleagues’ lives on my morning walk through our parking lots. I often wonder about the owners of cars I recognize, like that one flaunting all of the cool mountains this person has hiked. Or the one with the anime bumper stickers. We may have different interests or work in different buildings, but we’re all supporting the NSA mission together. I recently went to a training conference for work and something really interesting happened. The conference was full of local and federal government attendees. As someone who’s worked in both worlds, it was fun bridging the gap and making connections with people on both sides. My favorite part of the conference was when a fellow Latina came up to me and started asking questions about how I transitioned from working in local government to working for the federal government. She said she was so happy to see someone just like her start in the same line of work and take those skills to work for the federal government. She wanted to say in contact and eventually do what I had done. That was such an amazing feeling! I still look back on that conference fondly. I made some great connections with like-minded communicators and afterwards, I even spent an extra day riding trams around the city. Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to get invited to a local bookstore’s cheese and wine book club and pet their adorable dogs but that was a fun evening I’ll never forget. These are the kinds of experiences I am having now and I'm excited to see where my career will take me. #nationalhispanicheritagemonth

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. If you’re looking for a workplace that works for everyone, you’ll find it at NSA, according to Amy S., a program manager, who has two disabilities.

Iranian cyber actors are targeting critical infrastructure networks using brute force techniques, allowing them to obtain credentials and enable persistent access to critical infrastructure networks, including in the healthcare, government, IT, engineering, and energy sectors. NSA is joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and others in releasing the Joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) “Iranian Cyber Actors’ Brute Force and Credential Access Activity Compromises Critical Infrastructure Organizations” to help network defenders identify indications of compromise and mitigate damage. Read our report now: https://lnkd.in/eDxmZzHN

#StoriesofNSA - Originally, I came in to NSA because of the High School Work Study program and because my sisters had gone through that experience. I mean, obviously, I had to follow in their footsteps, that's what younger sisters do! I left NSA after my high school year and then came back after college because I really loved the mission. My older sister had told me about a social media position that was being advertised and I was intrigued. I did some research on the NSA social media and it looked so bad, I thought “Surely, I can’t do any worse.” I’ve been at NSA ever since. My favorite memory of being at the agency so far is being able to be here with my sister and getting to collaborate with her, grow beside her. I’m no longer following in her footsteps, I am making my own way. I was surprised that NSA would want to be on social media because I knew the ‘No Such Agency’ stories. When I came back to the agency, I was even more surprised that so many people at the agency were willing to lean forward and share our stories with the world. Of course, we can’t tell everything, we have to protect sources and methods. But there is a detectable balance between letting people know about our mission and still keeping people safe. NSA is a mysterious but welcoming safe space - and I say that because it's the place where I actually came out for the first time. My family members found out that I was non-binary here because I felt safe enough to talk about my identity openly here. It happened naturally one day when my colleagues in Communications were talking about writing an article about pronoun usage/being non-binary but they didn’t have someone to interview - so I just volunteered myself. At that time, the only person that knew was my girlfriend (who is now my wife). Little did I know that this tiny action would be the most important career decision I’ve made thus far. I found that once I was able to embrace my full identity as a non-binary individual, and have my identity respected, I was able to approach mission more fully. Once I told the truth, and allowed others to really know me, I worried less about how I was representing myself and how things could be misconstrued and I could really focus on tackling the mission priorities laid in front of me. I think a lot of times when the subject of pronouns, or really diversity pops up, it's always followed by the statement 'Why are we talking about this?” and “Why does it matter?” What I’ve learned is that when we can show up as our truest self in this life, in this job, in the Intelligence Community; we can support our mission to the truest potential. We all have unique identities. Those diverse, varying, and unique perspectives are all necessary because they lead to better problem-solving and decision making. New and innovative ideas are crucial for our work here. And by being our truest self, we are also being true representations of the nation that we vowed to protect. #InternationalPronounsDay

Balancing family and a career is possible, and NSA provides the flexibility to make it work. From generous paid time off to flexible schedules and wellness programs, our benefits are designed to support a healthy work-life balance. At NSA, we believe that a rewarding career shouldn’t come at the cost of family time. https://bit.ly/40jFnlr #workandfamilymonth

"You have to have the mindset to continuously learn new things, but there is a lot of mentorship to help create a culture of learning and teaching," Christen S. NSA is proud to offer a variety of agency-wide mentoring and coaching programs to create an environment of continual support, direction, and motivation. Interested in joining our team? Check out https://lnkd.in/gYRhy5J

If you’re attending the oSTEM Conference this week, stop by and speak with one of our recruiters at Booths #620 or #622 about how NSA promotes and supports diversity. https://lnkd.in/giPvyi7C

By 1940, efforts to centralize decryption efforts between the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy cryptologic units were still unsuccessful. In the matter of processing Japanese diplomatic traffic, each service would rush to the White House to impress the President, who controlled the budget process. Eventually, General Joseph a. Mauborgne, Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army, proposed a compromise – the two services would alternate daily in the decryption and translation of diplomatic traffic. The “odd-even day” agreement allowed each service to retain visibility with the White House, but cryptanalytically, it increased the risk of error and destroyed the element of continuity. After the war, the Army and Navy agreed to appoint a “Coordinator of Joint Operations” to encourage voluntary cooperation between cryptologic services from 1946-1949. Learn more in pages 6-9: https://lnkd.in/eMixzcgY

The National Security Operations Center (NSOC) is an integral part of NSA. This 24/7 watch floor ensures that we can accomplish our mission every day without fail. Be sure to check out the latest episode of No Such Podcast to learn more about the NSOC and what it’s like to work a 24/7 mission – available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Known as the heartbeat of NSA, the National Security Operations Center (NSOC) is a 24/7 facility, ensuring we can accomplish our missions around the clock. Learn more about the importance of the NSOC in our latest episode of No Such Podcast, available now wherever you get your podcasts.