US National Security Agency set for biggest restructuring in a decade

The US National Security Agency (NSA) is preparing for its largest restructuring in a decade, The Washington Post reports, citing sources familiar with the plans.

The reform was initiated by NSA Director Gen. Joshua Rudd. Under the proposed plan, five new centres would be established at the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, focusing on artificial intelligence, China, cybersecurity, combat support and global intelligence.

Each centre would be headed by a “mission director”. Rudd is reportedly considering candidates from outside the agency for some of the positions.

As part of the restructuring, the Tailored Access Operations (TAO) division, an elite hacking unit, would be incorporated into the global intelligence centre and receive an increased budget.

Rudd “admitted that they don’t know how they are going to do it, so they are going to rush into reversible decisions, in case it is wrong,” former officials familiar with the details of the plan told The Washington Post.

The proposed changes are expected to be presented by the end of September. The new structure is scheduled to be launched in mid-October, with the agency expected to reach full operational capacity by January 2027.

However, experts and NSA personnel have expressed concern that the rushed process could repeat the shortcomings of the agency’s previous restructuring in 2016, which was never fully completed.

By Vugar Khalilov