Local Editor

The deputy director of the US National Security Agency [NSA], Richard Ledgett, warned of the increasing danger of destructive cyber-attacks by states.

He told the BBC: "If you are connected to the internet, you are vulnerable to determined nation-state attackers."
He said nations would need to identify red lines that should not be crossed.

He also said agency targets, numbered in "the high hundreds", had discussed leaks by contractor Edward Snowden, with some changing their behavior.

Richard Ledgett's office on the eighth floor of NSA headquarters at Fort Meade is filled with exhibits on the history of code-making and breaking, ranging from American Civil War systems through a German Enigma machine adapted for use with Japan.

There is even an encryption device recovered from the wreckage of the Challenger Space Shuttle.

But it is modern challenges in cyberspace which are now at the heart of the NSA's dual mission of protecting sensitive government communications and collecting intelligence on America's adversaries.

The NSA was once so secret it was known as "No Such Agency" but its former contractor Edward Snowden changed all of that. He revealed the extent of intelligence collection - including America's own cyber-espionage and controversial programs that retained data on Americans.

Ledgett led the team responding to the Snowden revelations, and he maintains that real damage was done. The NSA has kept track of what their "targets" have said about the disclosures, and he asserts that their behavior has changed as a direct result.

"We've seen in the high hundreds of targets who have said, 'hey we are vulnerable to these sorts of detection techniques and we need to change the way that we do that,' and a number of them have."

Supporters of Snowden argue that he performed a valuable public service in beginning a much-needed public debate about the extent of the state's surveillance powers.

When asked about any prospect of a deal for Snowden - who is currently living in Moscow - to return to the US, Ledgett said he was not aware of one and suggested Snowden should not expect to escape prosecution.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team