Abrupt Changes at the top of the National Security Agency Risk Destabilization

EXCLUSIVE CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING  — The Cipher Brief was the first to report on Thursday in the weekly Dead Drop column that Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), General Timothy Haugh, who also serves as Commander of U.S. Cyber Command (USCC), and NSA Deputy Director Wendy Noble were unexpectedly fired or reassigned.

A source with knowledge of the details around how the leadership changes were communicated, told The Cipher Brief that General Haugh, a four-star general, was called while traveling and was offered the opportunity to either retire or accept a demotion to two-star general and that Noble, a 30-year NSA veteran, was offered reassignment to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, or to retire.

While the NSA offered no immediate comment on the leadership moves, a loyalist to the Trump Administration – described as a far-right activist with no national security background or experience – said she met recently with the president to present her recommendations on the fate of a number of national security leaders, posting on her X account,  “NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump.  That is why they have been fired.”

The abrupt move at the top of the country’s most important signals intelligence agency sent chills down the spines of agency veterans with decades of actual national security experience and a better understanding than most of the secrecy and criticality around NSA missions in particular, at a time when cyber threats are at an all-time high.

A former senior member of the leadership team at NSA told The Cipher Brief on Thursday that the firings, “will adversely affect the intelligence mission of the NSA and USCC because of the unexpected nature of the firings and the disruption it will cause to plans and programs that both were intimately involved in running.  Additionally, it will have a huge impact on morale at both organizations, as it sends a clear message that intellect and expertise don’t matter, only perceived loyalty matters.”

Jon Darby, a longtime NSA veteran who served as director of operations, told The Cipher Brief, “I am very disheartened by this move.  We need an explanation of the underlying rationale.  Whether for a perceived lack of loyalty or as a precursor to splitting the dual hat, summarily dismissing leaders with deep expertise in the very complex world of cyber and signals intelligence is dangerous for the nation.”

Speaking at The Cipher Brief Threat Conference last October, General Haugh said that China’s cyber operatives are “engaged every day in a deliberate campaign to steal our technology and target our national security systems and the defense industrial base.”  

“The scope and sophistication at which the PRC continues to grow its capabilities and extend its global reach is matched only by the sheer scale and speed of which it acts,” Gen. Haugh said. “It’s a reality that it has intensified their actions in cyberspace, where the PRC represents the most daunting of our threats. China has the world’s largest cyberspace operations workforce, engaged every day in a deliberate campaign to steal our technology.”

Gen. Haugh and several other speakers at The Cipher Brief event issued pleas for public-private sector collaboration to counter the China threat – what Gen. Haugh called a “whole of nation response” to the challenge.  

Watch General Timothy Haugh address The Cipher Brief Threat Conference in October 2024 about what the NSA and Cyber Command know about the threat China poses to U.S. national security.

Mark Montgomery, who served as the Executive Director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and who worked closely with former Republican Senator John McCain, described the leadership changes as, “Another own goal by the President,” saying “we are actually harming national security on a daily basis. This goes well beyond disruption and is actually destabilization.” Montgomery added that, “Gen. Haugh is a cyber warrior and a great leader who served his country with distinction and deserves to be treated better than this.” 

The Washington Post reports that Lt. Gen. William J. Hartman, who was the Cyber Command deputy, will serve as acting NSA director and that Sheila Thomas, who previously served as NSA’s executive director, was named acting deputy. No word on whether either were vetted for their loyalty to the president in determining their ability to perform their acting roles.  The Cipher Brief is seeking comment from the NSA.

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