Intellectual Property Law

NSA Chief: 'We Do Not Want to Run Cyber Security'

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

NSA Director Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, speaking at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, told the audience of security professionals on Tuesday that the NSA does "not want to run cyber security for the United States government."

Aiming to dispel news reports -- and counter previous intelligence agency statements -- that the National Security Agency is angling to grab the top spot in the government's cyber security initiative, Alexander said it's a job that's bigger than one agency and that the NSA isn't looking to control but rather to partner with DHS, other defense departments, industry and law enforcement.

Alexander's statement seemed to belie statements made two months ago by Director of National Intelligence Admiral Dennis Blair, who told the House intelligence committee that the NSA, rather than the Department of Homeland Security which currently oversees cyber security, should take over securing cyberspace.

"The National Security Agency has the greatest repository of cyber talent," Blair said. "[T]here are some wizards out there at Fort Meade who can do stuff."

Blair added that "because of the offensive mission that they have, they?re the ones who know best about what?s coming back at us and it?s defenses against those sorts of things that we need to be able to build into wider and wider circles."

But Alexander said the NSA does not want to take over DHS's role.

"DHS has a really tough job," he said. "They've got to operate and secure the rest of the .gov networks. That's really hard work. We don't want to do that hard work. We want them to do that. We'll provide them with technical support."

See also:

• NSA Chief Continues Bid to Take Over Cyber Security
• NSA Dominance of Cybersecurity Would Lead to 'Grave Peril', Ex-Cyber Chief Tells Congress
• NSA Should Oversee Cybersecurity, Intel Chief Says
• Cybersecurity Czar Quits Amid Fears of NSA Takeover
• Outgoing DHS Cyber Chief Expands on Why He Resigned
• Computer Malware the New 'Weapon of Mass Destruction'

Full post as published by Threat Level on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).