The
National Security Agency (NSA) was
established by
Presidential directive in
1952 by
President Truman. As a separately organized agency within the
Department of Defense (DOD),
NSA plans,
coordinates,
directs, and
performs
foreign signals intelligence (SIGINT) and
information security (INFOSEC) functions.
Under a 1986 law, NSA became a combat support agency of the DOD to ensure an informed, alert and secure environment for US war fighters and policymakers.
The fundamental mission and core competency of NSA is cryptology. The NSA strives to maintain a global advantage which requires preservation of a healthy cryptologic capability in the face of technical challenges.
The SIGINT mission strives for an effective, unified organization and control of all the foreign signals collection and processing activities of the United States. In its SIGINT role, NSA intercepts and analyzes foreign electromagnetic signals, deciphers the ciphers and produces intelligence information for decision makers and military commanders.
The INFOSEC mission is driven to guarantee vital information by being the preferred provider of leadership, products, and services for NSA's customers and also to be innovative in seeking the technological advantages needed to succeed.