The National Security Agency's newest employee has her work cut out for her, based on the surveillance information leaked from the organization in the past seven months.
The NSA has hired Rebecca Richards as its first civil liberties and privacy officer, the agency's latest measure to regain the public's trust after months of global debate on government surveillance. Richards comes to the NSA from the Department of Homeland Security, where she held a similar position.
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"NSA continues to take positive actions to ensure we protect both civil liberties and national security," NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander said in a Wednesday statement.
Richards will be responsible for advising the agency's director and senior leadership, as well as developing procedures to ensure the NSA's global surveillance doesn't encroach on peoples' privacy. By law, the NSA is not allowed to spy on Americans. President Barack Obama, in a speech outlining several significant NSA reforms, said the agency would extend surveillance protections to innocent foreign citizens.
Obama first mentioned the NSA would be hiring a privacy officer in an Aug. 9 speech, during which he proposed a number of new transparency measures for the agency.
The NSA posted a job listing for the "completely new role" in September.
Alexander said he expects Richards to work with civil liberties and privacy experts to develop safeguards.
Two of the most outspoken groups on NSA surveillance — the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation — both did not respond to our inquiry by publishing time. We will update this post with their comments if they reply.
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