WASHINGTON—The National Security Agency has announced plans to form a cybersecurity directorate later this year as part of a larger initiative to fuse its offensive and defensive operations.
As the NSA has undergone reorganizations in recent years, it has lost its emphasis on cybersecurity, said General Paul Nakasone, who heads the NSA.
The new directorate is intended to once again make security a priority by combining it with the NSA's foreign intelligence projects and increasing its focus on both national security networks and the defense industrial base, Dark Reading reported.
Anne Neuberger has been appointed head of the new directorate, which will reportedly leverage more signals intelligence from operations against U.S. adversaries. Its goal is to strengthen national security by sharing intel with other federal agencies and private companies. The directorate will take the place of the NSA's current information assurance directorate, Dark Reading said.
Neuberger, who currently sits on the NSA board of directors, was its first chief risk officer.