DOCID_6857218_SEALED_OK.PDF

Doc ID: 6857218                                   Doc Ref ID: A3570180
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;;;c ~a;'. Hayden, us~:";;,ec;or, National Security Agency 
AddreVs~~ Kennedy Political Union of American University 
17 February 2000 
Good evening and thanks for coming. I'm excited to be here and at the same time 
a little apprehensive. It seemed natural to ask my staff to learn about the Political Union 
and its speakers in order to gauge my remarks towards your interests. After all, we're in 
the information gathering and assessment business so it should be easy for us to …

Doc ID: 6857218
Doc Ref ID: A3570180
"Collection of such information is a priority objective and will be pursued in a 
vigorous, innovative and responsible manner that is consistent with the constitution and 
applicable law and respectful of the principles updn which the United States was 
founded." 
Let me give you an example of the tenacity required to produce signals 
intelligence. The VENO NA Project was a program to examine and if possible, exploit 
encrypted Soviet diplomatic communications. 
Three years after a 1944 cryptanalytic breakthrough, Meredith Gardner, one of the 
VENONA analys…

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We are an agency in change. In this new era, the global environment is no longer 
defined using a map. You of all people are aware that we're right in the middle of a 
technological revolution and it's that revolution which has made what I say true. To 
illustrate: 
Twenty years ago, how many people outside of government or research used a 
computer-much less had one at home? Forty years ago there were 5,000 stand-alone 
computers, no fax machines and not one cellular phone. Today, there are over 180 
million computers -…

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have also been referred to as, "a global spying network that can eavesd~op on every 
single phone call, fax, or e-mail, anywhere on the planet." 
Those of us who have been around awhile recall hearing about the Church and 
Pike investigations of the mid- l 970's. After lengthy investigations, the House and Senate 
committees concluded that NSA had not given appropriate weight to privacy 
considerations in conducting its signals intelligence mission. 
As a result, Congress passed a law called the Foreign Intelligence Surv…

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say, "NSA, you may only keep and disseminate such information under a very limited set 
of circumstances." Circumstances like when the life of the U.S. person is in danger; they 
are the target of a foreign power or the agent of a foreign power. 
So, contrary to some articles written about the Agency, there are rules governing 
NSA activities. The Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the 
Congressional committees all participate in their formulation and oversight. 
But the question remains, how can the A…

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I 
they will collect and exploit. We are driven by requirements levied upon us by national 
level military and civilian decision-makers. Put yourself in their place ... 
- Do you want to understand the intentions of terrorist groups? 
. 
- Do you want to know these groups have an interest in gaining knowledge of the United 
States communications and utility infrastructure? 
- Do you want to know the status of a rogue state's military capabilities? 
- Do you want to guarantee our military command authorities secure com…

Doc ID: 6857218                                      Doc Ref ID: A3570180
Isaac Asimov said, "it is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the 
dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without 
taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be." He was 
right-to be successful, we have to be visionary, opportunistic and willing to manage risk 
• as opposed to avoid it. 
We need fresh, innovative and creative viewpoints. Viewpoints from people like 
you -- you all are part of the future for America. As you move into p…