The National Security Agency said Tuesday it is standing up a new cyber security office aimed at consolidating intelligence and cyber defense mission efforts, as well as preventing digital threats to the defense industrial base.
The Cybersecurity Directorate will be led by Anne Neuberger, who served as the NSA’s first chief risk officer, and is set to reach initial operational capability on Oct. 1.
“This new approach to cyber security 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,” NSA officials wrote in a statement. “It will also enable us to better share information with our customers so they are equipped to defend against malicious cyber activity.”
Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, the director of NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, is set to discuss the office’s new role at the International Conference on Cyber Security in New York.
“The Cybersecurity Directorate will reinvigorate our white hat mission opening the door to partners and customers on a wide variety of cyber security efforts,” officials wrote. “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.”
Neuberger previously led NSA’s Russia Small Group task force, which was set up to specifically take on Moscow’s information operations and cyber campaigns. NSA made the task force permanent and renamed it the Election Security Group.
The new office is tasked with improving cyber defense coordination among government agencies, as well as the agency’s outreach with private industry to raise awareness of malware and cyber security concerns.