In response to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the National Security Agency revealed some information about its plans for "Perfect Citizen," which it described as a research and engineering effort around vulnerability assessment and capabilities development.
The National Security Agency revealed some information about the
nature of its "Perfect Citizen" cyber-security program after a
report about the agency's plans surfaced in the media.
While the agency is unwilling to confirm or deny
some details of the Wall Street Journal article,
the agency described Perfect Citizen as a
"vulnerabilities-assessment and capabilities-development" effort, and
stressed that there is no monitoring activity involved.
"Specifically, it does not involve the monitoring of communications
or the placement of sensors on utility company systems," NSA
spokesperson Judith Emmel said in a statement. "This contract provides
a set of technical solutions that help the National Security Agency
better understand the threats to national security networks, which is a
critical part of NSA's mission of defending the nation."
Defense contractor Raytheon was reported by the Journal to
have received the contract for the project. According to the Journal,
Perfect Citizen would involve placing sensors across a
variety of computer networks belonging to government agencies and
private sector companies involved in critical infrastructure in order
to protect against cyber-attacks. The focus would be large, typically
older systems designed without Internet connectivity or security in
mind, the Journal reported.
Cyber-security has been a prominent focus of the Obama administration, which backed the creation of the
U.S. Cyber Command activated this year.
The Cyber Command is headed by NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander, and
is charged with coordinating and conducting activities to defend
Department of Defense computer networks and centralizing command of
military cyberspace operations.
Alexander has said the NSA will
work to protect the civil liberties and
privacy of Americans, even as it navigates the sometimes uncharted
legal territories of cyberspace. Sources cited in the Journal article
however suggested that there were concerns about that the program was a
NSA intrusion into domestic affairs.
"Any suggestions that there are illegal or invasive domestic
activities associated with this contracted effort are simply not true,"
Emmel said. "We strictly adhere to both the spirit and the
letter of U.S. laws and regulations."
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