Geheimdienst / Nachrichtendienst (2024)

FAQs

What does the NSA do in simple terms? ›

NSA provides foreign signals intelligence (SIGINT) to our nation's policymakers and military forces. SIGINT plays a vital role in our national security by providing America's leaders with critical information they need to defend our country, save lives, and advance U.S. goals and alliances globally.

Eight years after that videotape aired, the NGA remains by far the most shadowy member of the Big Five spy agencies, which include the CIA and the National Security Agency. On a heavily protected military base some 15 miles south of Washington, D.C., sits the massive headquarters of a spy agency few know exists.

Unlike the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), both of which specialize primarily in foreign human espionage, the NSA does not publicly conduct human intelligence gathering.

As a Defense Agency, NSA operates under the authority of the Department of Defense. As a member of the Intelligence Community, NSA also operates under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. NSA/CSS activities are subject to strict scrutiny and oversight both from outside and from within.

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) gives the NSA almost unchecked power to monitor Americans' international phone calls, text messages, and emails — under the guise of targeting foreigners abroad.

The NSA can get records of your phone calls

The NSA is authorized under Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect phone metadata in bulk, including information about call times, durations, phone numbers, and other information that could be used to identify individuals.

The DCI's title now is "Director of the Central Intelligence Agency" (DCIA), serving as head of the CIA. Currently, the Central Intelligence Agency answers directly to the Director of National Intelligence, although the CIA Director may brief the President directly.

How much does a Cia Agents make? As of May 19, 2024, the average annual pay for a Cia Agents in the United States is $76,185 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $36.63 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,465/week or $6,348/month.

Once so secret it was referred to as “No Such Agency,” the NSA is the largest and perhaps most technologically sophisticated of all the intelligence agencies.

Why can't the CIA operate on US soil? ›

By law, CIA is specifically prohibited from collecting foreign intelligence concerning the domestic activities of US citizens. Its mission is to collect information related to foreign intelligence and foreign counterintelligence.

Responsibility for coverage of the activities within the U.S. lies with the FBI, as an internal security function. CIA's responsibility and authority are limited to the foreign intelligence aspect of the problem, and any action of a law enforce- ment or internal security nature lies with the FBI or local police forces.

NSA, like almost all the different DoD units, has a police department. They are called a civilian police departments. They are only in uniform. They, like most DoD departments, carry a Berretta 92 series handgun for a sidearm.

Certainly, you may tell your family and friends that you are employed at or assigned to the National Security Agency. There is no valid reason to deny them this information. However, you may not disclose to them any information concerning specific aspects of the Agency's mission, activities, and organization.

Under the Fourth Amendment, the government, with rare exceptions, must get a court-approved warrant based on "probable cause" before wiretapping or using other forms of electronic surveillance on a U.S. citizen.

We provide intelligence support to military operations through our signals intelligence activities, while our cybersecurity personnel, products and services ensure that military communications and data remain secure, and out of the hands of our adversaries.

The FBI's mission is law enforcement, and its investigators are called special agents. They can make arrests in every jurisdiction in the country. CIA and NSA are federal agencies that collect and analyze foreign human and signals intelligence, respectively. Personnel of the two agencies are known as officers.

Aside from staffing the president in his personal foreign policy role—by making sure he gets the necessary information and is briefed prior to meetings, visits, and negotiations—the most important role of the national security adviser is to manage the decision-making process effectively.

A security agency is a governmental organization that conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation. They are the domestic cousins of foreign intelligence agencies, and typically conduct counterintelligence to thwart other countries' foreign intelligence efforts.