Patrick Gallagher, an electrical engineer, laid the foundations for what are now the Cybersecurity Directorate (CSD) and the Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research. Additionally, he established NSA’s relationship with the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which is as critical today as it was in his time.
Early in his career, during the Vietnam War era, Gallagher was assigned responsibility for production of Communications Security (COMSEC) equipment for field use. As Deputy Chief of COMSEC Systems, Gallagher supported initial fielding of multiple encrypted communication systems, including remotely keyed equipment that reduced risk to radiomen. These tactical systems saved countless lives, in addition to enhancing the protection of information.
In 1981, Gallagher was appointed Chief of COMSEC Research and Development, responsible for next generation COMSEC and Computer Security (COMPUSEC) solutions. He initiated research on the first public key systems. Additionally, he led final stages of development on the Secure Telephone Unit (STU-III), which was fielded across the US government for decades. Gallagher always focused on increasing user friendliness, while lowering product costs.
In 1986, Lt Gen Lincoln Faurer, DIRNSA, hand-picked Gallagher as Director of the National Computer Security Center (NCSC). Over the next nine years, Gallagher hired the largest cadre of COMPUSEC experts at that time. He aggressively built cooperative alliances with the services, other government departments, and businesses.
That same year, Gallagher formed a solid relationship with Dr. James Burrows, Director of Computer Sciences and Technology at NIST. This relationship was critical in creating an atmosphere in which both staffs provided tools to meet a spectrum of user protection needs. When Congress passed the Computer Security Act of 1987, Gallagher and Burrows worked jointly to apply its provisions, and they generated a compendium of technical and administrative criteria to support US computer security, now known as the “Rainbow Series.”
Gallagher guided both the Trusted Product Evaluation Program (TPEP) and the Commercial COMSEC Endorsement Program (CCEP). These programs were the foundation of cryptographic evaluation for decades, and the underlying security principles established within them are applied to this day.
Patrick R. Gallagher, Jr. was inducted into NSA's Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2024. The Cryptologic Hall of Honor was created in 1999 to pay special tribute to the pioneers and heroes who rendered distinguished service to American cryptology.