Sept. 5, 2024

How We Found Bin Laden: The Basics of Foreign Signals Intelligence

Osama bin Laden helped plan the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 which killed nearly 3,000 Americans. To find him, the U.S. government had to put its best people on the job. Along with their counterparts across multiple agencies, experts at the National Security Agency answered the call. NSA generated foreign signals intelligence to help find, and ultimately eliminate, the terrorist leader. In the lead episode of No Such Podcast, learn how NSA helped find bin Laden through foreign signals intelligence (SIGINT), one of the Agency’s two core missions. NSA leaders demystify the foreign SIGINT cycle and how each step applied to the Osama bin Laden case. Learn from a counterterrorism expert who was in the room when the word came in that Osama bin Laden was Killed In Action. NSA’s foreign signals intelligence has informed United States policymakers for over seven decades.
 

Check out the episode wherever you get your podcasts:

June 6, 2024

History Today, June 6: The role of signals intelligence or 'ULTRA' on D-Day

The term D-Day was a shorthand expression first used in World War I to denote the date an operation was to be launched. In the earlier war, officers also used H-HOUR and M-MINUTE, but these were seldom used in World War II. Because of the scope of the 1944 operation and the momentous stakes, in common parlance, “D-Day” has come to refer primarily to the landings in Normandy.

April 3, 2024

New NSA Display at BWI Honors SIGINT Support to Warfighters

The early 1950s saw the dedication of two new organizations headquartered less than 10 miles apart: NSA and the Friendship International Airport — now Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Nearly eight decades later, the partnership between these organizations is expanding in a new way.

Sept. 21, 2023

GEN Nakasone Offers Insight into Future of Cybersecurity and SIGINT

GEN Paul M. Nakasone, Commander of U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), Director of NSA, and Chief of the Central Security Service (CSS), offered insight into what the future of cybersecurity and signals intelligence may look like during a conference in Washington earlier this month.

Dec. 12, 2019

NSA Statement on NSA Inspector General Special Study

FORT MEADE, Md. — NSA Statement on NSA Inspector General Special Study of NSA Controls to Comply with Signals Intelligence Retention Requirements (12 December 2019).

Nov. 19, 2019

History highlight: A living language resource

FORT MEADE, Md. — National Veterans and Military Families month article about World War II linguist Clarence Yamagata.

Nov. 3, 2017

NSA Celebrates 65 Years of Cryptologic Excellence

FORT MEADE, Md. — The National Security Agency is proud to commemorate the contributions made to the defense of our Nation.

Oct. 7, 2014

NSA Releases Second Transparency Report: NSA's Civil Liberties and Privacy Protections for Targeted SIGINT Activities Under Executive Order 12333

FORT MEADE, Md. — Today NSA released to the public its second civil liberties and privacy report.

Dec. 27, 2004

Joint Document Highlights NGA and NSA Collaboration

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) recently signed an historic document that spells out collaborative efforts the agencies have undertaken.

April 10, 2003

New SIGINT Director Announced to Lead Nation's Codebreakers

Lt Gen Michael V. Hayden, Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service (NSA/CSS), USAF, is pleased to announce the selection of Major General Richard J. Quirk III, USA, to fill the recently vacated position of Director for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT).