Aug. 6, 2024

Headline Puzzle: August 2024

The Headline Puzzle is a monthly feature that was started in 1964 by Paul Derthick, a longtime research analyst in NSA’s Operations Organization, as an interesting way to keep his mind sharp outside of his cryptanalytic work. Each Headline Puzzle contains five headlines from recent daily newspapers. Each of the five is a different monoalphabetic substitution, and all five are derived from the same mixed alphabet at different settings against itself. A complete solution includes recovering the plaintext of each HEADLINE and three key words, the SETTING, the KEY and the HAT.

July 30, 2024

NSA Publishes Enduring Security Framework Document Providing Recommendations for U.S. Government, Industry, and Academia to Engage Standards Development Organizations

FORT MEADE, Md. – As technology continues to develop at an increasingly rapid pace, the U.S. needs to participate in and position itself as the leader in the creation of global standards, according to an Enduring Security Framework (ESF) report released today by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

July 25, 2024

NSA Joins FBI and Others to Warn of North Korea Cyber Espionage Campaign

FORT MEADE, Md. – The National Security Agency (NSA) joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and others in releasing the joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), “North Korea Cyber Group Conducts Global Espionage Campaign to Advance Regime’s Military and Nuclear Programs.” The CSA includes detection methods and mitigation measures to help counter the malicious activity.

July 20, 2024

No Such Puzzle: Red, white, and blue clues

In honor of Independence Day, we give you sentences that contain parts which hint at three two-word phrases. One phrase starts with the word "red," one phrase starts with the word "white," and one phrase starts with the word "blue." We provide the number of letters of each second word. Find the three two-word phrases in each sentence.

July 10, 2024

NSA’s Final Zero Trust Pillar Report Outlines How to Achieve Faster Threat Response Time

FORT MEADE, Md. – The National Security Agency (NSA) is releasing the Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) “Advancing Zero Trust Maturity Throughout the Automation and Orchestration Pillar” to help organizations better detect cyber threats and respond to common threats faster.

July 8, 2024

NSA Joins in Releasing Case Studies Showing PRC Tradecraft in Action

FORT MEADE, Md. – The National Security Agency (NSA) is joining the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and other agencies to publish a Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) detailing the tradecraft used by a cyber actor group associated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of State Security (MSS). “PRC MSS Tradecraft in Action” helps cybersecurity practitioners prevent, identify, and remediate intrusions against their own networks by sharing significant case studies of the adversary’s tactics and techniques.

June 20, 2024

“Remember Why You’re Here”: Mother of 9/11 Victim Visits Morrison Center Memorial

“It shows you how fragile life is,” mother of Flight 93’s youngest victim said with tear-filled eyes at the sight of her 20-year old daughter’s photo and purse on display at the 9/11 memorial in the lobby of the Morrison Center on NSA/CSS Washington’s East Campus.

June 13, 2024

NSA Announces Kristina Walter as the new Chief of Cybersecurity Collaboration Center

FORT MEADE, Md. – Kristina Walter has been named Chief of the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center (CCC), effective June 13. Walter previously served as the lead for NSA’s Future Ready Workforce Initiative, which plays a critical role in ensuring that NSA is a premier workplace that combines a fulfilling mission, engaged leadership, and a positive, healthy, and supportive work environment.

June 6, 2024

History Today, June 6: The role of signals intelligence or 'ULTRA' on D-Day

The term D-Day was a shorthand expression first used in World War I to denote the date an operation was to be launched. In the earlier war, officers also used H-HOUR and M-MINUTE, but these were seldom used in World War II. Because of the scope of the 1944 operation and the momentous stakes, in common parlance, “D-Day” has come to refer primarily to the landings in Normandy.

June 4, 2024

NSA and Universities Partnering to Advance Cybersecurity Research

NSA Research invited leading university research institutions across the country to the National Cryptologic Museum for a day-long event to tackle the ongoing challenge of securing critical cyber systems.