kids encyclopedia robot

National Security Agency facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
National Security Agency, 2013
National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, 2013

The National Security Agency (NSA) is a part of the United States government. It was started in 1952, and the main office is in Maryland, USA.

Their stated goal is to protect the US people. They do this by

  • Round the world "eavesdropping". This means that they listen to what people are saying in other countries, without letting them know that they are listening. They monitor, collect, decode, translate and analyse information and data. This is known as signals intelligence (SIGINT).
  • NSA also protects the U.S. from evesdropping and SIGINT spying by foreign governments and agencies. This is protection against "penetration and network warfare". The agency does this by clandestine means, among which are bugging electronic systems, and sabotaging their computer networks with viral software.

Other pages

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Agencia de Seguridad Nacional para niños

kids search engine
National Security Agency Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.