The National Security Agency (NSA) under the U.S. Department of War will carry out a sweeping reorganization. The core is to create five new units focused on artificial intelligence (AI), China, cybersecurity, combat support or warfighting, and global intelligence.
On the 13th, the Washington Post (WP), citing former and current officials, reported this about a reorganization plan devised by Joshua Rudd, the NSA Director General (Army general).
The NSA is a cyber defense intelligence agency headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland. It is known to employ more than 30,000 people, including military personnel and civilians. It largely collects signals intelligence on a massive scale, including communications and other electronic information, and manages encryption systems and maintains security to prevent foreign actors from infiltrating encrypted U.S. government communications and networks.
The newly created units will be led by newly elevated mission directors. According to a former NSA official, they will have de facto authority on par with the NSA deputy director.
Rudd, the Director General, was also said to have mentioned the possibility of selecting the heads of the five new units from outside. However, it remains unclear who has been chosen to lead each unit. WP reported it is not immediately clear whether the five new units will replace existing divisions or be layered on top of the current structure.
Officials said the Special Access Operations (TAO; Tailored Access Operations), an elite hacking unit that Rudd, the Director General, reconstituted in recent months, will be placed under the global directorate. TAO is expected to receive a significantly increased budget when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
TAO, established in 1997, is one of the most secretive parts of the NSA. It has focused on compromising—or at times attacking—the hardest-to-reach digital targets around the world. WP noted, "The unit's name was retired in 2016, and its members were dispersed to other parts of the NSA."
The NSA reorganization timeline is set to move quickly. According to a former official, the new mission directors must submit their restructuring plans to Rudd, the Director General, by the end of this month. The reorganization is slated to be announced in mid-October, with full operations expected by mid-January next year, former and current officials said.