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FAQ: NSA/CSS Cybersecurity Directorate

By Natalie Pittore NSA

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                            “NSA will establish a Cybersecurity Directorate that redefines its cybersecurity mission.”                                                                                                                – General Nakasone

FAQs
Q: What is NSA’s Cybersecurity Directorate and what is its mission?
A: NSA’s Cybersecurity Directorate is a major organization that unifies NSA’s foreign intelligence and cyber defense missions and is charged with preventing and eradicating threats to National Security Systems and the Defense Industrial Base. 

Q: Who is leading NSA’s Cybersecurity Directorate?
A: Ms. Anne Neuberger is the Director of Cybersecurity and reports directly to General Nakasone. Her previous positions include but are not limited to NSA’s first Chief Risk Officer, Deputy Director of Operations, and Lead of NSA’s Russia Small Group. 

Q: When will this new directorate be in effect?
A: The Cybersecurity Directorate will be in its initial operating capability as of 1 October 2019. 

Q: Does this new directorate change NSA’s cybersecurity mission?
The Cybersecurity Directorate will reinvigorate our white hat mission opening the door to partners and customers on a wide variety of cybersecurity efforts. 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. 

Q: What contributions does the Cybersecurity Directorate bring to the cybersecurity effort? 
A: This new approach to cybersecurity will better position NSA to collaborate with key partners across the U.S. government like U.S. Cyber Command, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will also enable us to better share information with our customers so they are equipped to defend against malicious cyber activity.

                               “What I’m trying to get to in a space like cyberspace is speed, agility, and unity of effort.”                                                                                                                                                                                  –General Nakasone