The new director of the National Security Agency says the damage done by famed leaker Edward Snowden is manageable and does not lead him to think the “sky is falling,” even if some terrorist groups have tweaked their communication strategies, The New York Times said.
Adm. Michael S. Rogers told the newspaper from his Fort Meade, Md., office that he has taken steps to protect the internal trove of data that Mr. Snowden tapped into before leaking details to the media and fleeing to Russia.
But that doesn’t mean the agency is immune to insider access.
“Am I ever going to sit here and say as the director that with 100 percent certainly no one can compromise our systems from the inside?” he told The Times. “Nope. Because I don’t believe that in the long run.”
Adm. Rogers acknowledged the potential damage done by Mr. Snowden, who told the world about U.S. spy programs that collected bulk phone call data and certain online communications from foreigners.
But he expressed less alarm than his predecessor, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, and signaled that advancing technology and techniques can make up for lost ground.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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