NSA Struggles to Keep Up With Pace of Technology

Computerworld - The National Security Agency (NSA) is losing the race to keep up with technology, according to its director. And the IT industry may be the only thing that can save it.
More than a year after the NSA's director, Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, announced his "100 Days of Change" to revamp and revitalize the secretive eavesdropping agency, the electronic spy chief went public with warnings of technological obsolescence.
Hayden told a national television audience during the Feb. 13 airing of CBS's 60 Minutes II that the Fort Meade, Md.-based NSA is lagging in IT development.
"We're behind the curve in keeping up with the global telecommunications revolution," Hayden said on the program. "Our adversary communications are now based upon the developmental cycle of a global industry that is literally moving at the speed of light."
The NSA operates the world's largest pool of supercomputers and networks, designed to give senior government leaders real-time intelligence on global hot spots.
However, the NSA claimed that the spread of encryption, fiber-optic cable and the sheer volume of communications to be intercepted and analyzed have overcome its ability to maintain its technical edge.
Private-Sector Approach
The agency's lag behind commercial technology has led some to suggest that it follow the lead of the CIA and form a private-sector research firm.
In the spring of 1999, the CIA chartered Arlington, Va.-based In-Q-Tel Inc., a private, nonprofit firm dedicated to tapping the IT industry's ability to rapidly develop cutting-edge products that can be used for intelligence-processing tasks.
Jim Clapper, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency who is now director of intelligence programs at SRA International Inc. in Fairfax, Va., said that with proper funding, the In-Q-Tel concept should be expanded to the entire intelligence community. "The In-Q-Tel concept is a great one and would serve NSA well," said Clapper.
"It certainly couldn't hurt," said Allen Thomson, a retired CIA scientist. An In-Q-Tel business model for the NSA would "allow innovators to make money without having to deal with the usual government procurement hassles" and would also insulate the innovators from bureaucratic problems, he said.
Gilman Louie, CEO of In-Q-Tel, said his company's business model could help the NSA work with firms that historically haven't been receptive to government contracting.
"In-Q-Tel is not a cure-all for every IT problem but is very useful as a part of a comprehensive portfolio IT strategy," said Louie. "If NSA wants to use an In-Q-Tel model, then they have to articulate their problems in a way that commercial companies