NSA’s
Information Assurance (IA) Directorate provides the solutions,
products, and services that protect all classified and sensitive
information infrastructures critical to U.S. national security.
The Information Assurance gallery highlights the many fronts
on which the IA mission has strengthened and enhanced the
protection of U.S. information systems from the early twentieth
century to the present day.
Exhibits show the march of technology and how it was pushed, in many ways, by NSA’s communications security (COMSEC) developments. Artifacts include early 20th-century prototypes of COMSEC devices, never-before-exhibited equipment from the World War II era through 1990, and equipment still in use today or just ready to be fielded. Visitors to the gallery can hear the evolution of secure voice telephone communications with SIGSALY and see first-hand the use of biometrics and how measurements of fingerprints are made and used to verify identity.
In today’s post-Cold War environment, there are many new concerns to U.S. communication and information systems. From traditional methods of intercept to ever-changing network viruses and intrusions, the Information Assurance Directorate (IAD) has kept pace with its adversaries’ attempts. Working with private industry, NSA ensures the security of vital information and communications for the future.
