Case Document 20-1 Filed 09 18 18 Page 2 of 4 SECURITY AGENCY won t GEORGE 6 Melanie 5 March 2018 The Honorable George L Russell llI Federal District Court Judge District of Maryland 10 West Lombard Street Baltimore MD 21201 Re United States v NGHIA HOANG Pl-lO Criminal NO GHQ-31631 Dear Judge Russell Thank you for the opportunity to offer input on behalf of the National Security Agency N SA regarding sentencing related to the above captioned matter 1 am the Director of the NSA an intelligence agency within the Department of Defense 1 have held this position since April 2 2014 in addition to serving as the Director of the NSA I serve as the Chief Central Security Service and as the Commander US Cyber Command As the Director of the NSA I am responsible for planning organizing directing and managing all NSA assigned missions and resources By speci c charge of the President and the Director of National Intelligence 1 am ultimately responsible for protecting NSA activities and intelligence sources and methods Mr Pho retained classi ed information outside of properly secured spaces and by doing so caused very signi cant and long lasting harm to the NSA and consequently to the national security oftbe United States While criminal conduct involving matters of national security may come in different forms and some of the hanns may not be immediately apparent the retention ofclassi ed information is no less damaging to the national security of our country and our ability to protect and defend the Nation against our adversaries Mr Pho s illegal conduct violated the fundamental principle that classi ed information must be protected and maintained in properly secured Spaces at all times The welfare of the United States its citizens and its allies depends upon the ability to obtain and utilize reliable actionable intelligence from across the globe Fundamental to this ability is the crucial need to protect our vital secrets including those classi ed secrets that detail our unique capabilities and methods used to collect that intelligence The protection of classi ed information is an essential responsibility of all those working within the intelligence Community as the exposure ofthe United States classi ed information outside of secure spaces may result in the destruction of intelligence gathering efforts used to protect this nation Mr Pho who voluntarily assumed this responsibility ignored his oath to his country and the NSA by taking classi ed information outside of secure spaces thereby placing that information in signi cant jeopardy His exposure of classi ed programs and information by retaining them at his residence and on personal electronic devices resulted in articulable harm to intelligence- gathering initiatives used by NSA to succeed with our mission The NSA is charged to acq uire communications ol t oreign entities signals intelligence whose activities may pose a threat to the national security interests of the Limited States and its Case Document 20-1 Filed 09 18 18 Page 3 of 4 allies Signals intelligence is one of the most important sources of intelligence for determining the intent ol our adversaries and for early detection l activities that may evolve into a threat Signals intelligence is critical for our decision makers when deciding how best to protect us The NSA is the most prolific source ot'predictive actionable and pres-entire intelligence which around the clock provides decisive information to policymakers diplomats and military commanders charged with defending American interests worldwide in many cases it provides real-time to neat real tinie insight to complex evolving threat environments like terrorist actions kidnappings missile launches and military engagements closing critical gaps of uncertainty and allowing for better informed actions which saves lives livery day of the year around the world the women and men of the NSA some operating in harm s way dedicate their public service to gathering intelligence that is essential to the preservation ofour way of life When our ability to acquire and sustain access to this intelligence is put at risk so too is our national security at risk Acquiring signals intelligence is an extraordinarily challenging undertaking Communications options used by foreign intelligence adversaries are enormously varied and complex and function in a volatile environment- llic successful acquisition of'signals intelligence requires a mastery ofcornplex signal processing physics foreign languages and deep target knowledge Our abilities to acquire signals intelligence are among the most closely guarded secrets of the United States government Mr l ho s conduct in improperly and unlawfully retaining national defense infomiation which included highly classified information outside of secure space had significant negative impacts on the NSA mission NSA workforce and the intelligence omrnunity as a whole By taking highly classified material outside of the controlled space Mr Pho placed at risk some ol NSA s most sophisticated hard to achieve and important techniques ot'coilectirtg from sophisticated targets oi'the NSA including collection that is crucial to decision makers when answering some of the Nation s highest-priority questions The particular techniques used to obtain signal intelligence are often the most highly sensitive national tie-tense information we protect The type ol collection techniques put at risk by Mr Pho's conduct are especially valuable because the enable NSA to respond to changes in the communications environment that would otherwise block our insight techniques of the kind Mr l ho was entrusted to protect yet removed from secure space are force multipliers allowing for intelligence collection in a multitude of environments around the globe and spanning a wide range of national security topics Compromise of one technique can place many opportunities For intelligence collection and national security insights at risk By removing such highly classi ed materials outside of secure Space Mr Pho subjected those materials to compromise It is a fundamental mandate in the intelligence ornmunity that classified material must be handled and stored in very speci c and controlled ways lt elassi ed material is not handled or stored according to strict rules then the government cannot be certain that it remains secret Once the government loses positii-e control over classified material the government must often treat the material as compromised and take remedial actions as dictated by the particular circumstances l epending on the type and volume of compromised classi ed material such reactions can be costly time consuming and cause a shift in or abandonment of programs in this case the fact that such a tremendous volume ol'highly classified sophisticated collection tools was removed from secure space and left unprotected especially in digital form Case Document 20-1 Filed 09 18 18 Page 4 of 4 on devices connected to the lotcrnet left the NSA with no choice but to abandon certain important initiatives at great economic and operational cost in addition NSA was faced with the crucial and arduous task of accounting for all of the exposed classified materials including TOP SECRET information the unauthorized disclosure of which by de nition reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionali grave damage to the national security Accounting for all ol the exposed classi ed material was necessary so that NSA could attempt to assess the damage that resulted from the classi ed material being stored in non-secure space 'lhese efforts were tremendously expensive and diverted critical resources away from intelligence-gathering mission including the development of new and innovative ways to conduct signals intelligence The detrimental impacts of Mr l ho s actions are also felt in other less tangible ways including a loss of trust among colleagues and essential partners who count on ASA to conduct its mission NSA trusted Mr Pho a software developer who worked on critical intelligence gathering tools to protect those tools and our nation s security Mr l ho betrayed that trust Trust is an essential component of all oi the work that is done by NSA employees It is af rmed by our sworn oath to uphold and defend the Constitution sealed by our signed obligations to protect national defense information and reinforced by extensive recurring training awareness campaigns and security measures l'here is no doubt about what is or is not permitted in our stewardship of that critical information 'l'hat trust extends to a circle with other US intelligence agencies who share valuable intelligence insights military personnel who share details of their operational plans and international partners who share their sovereign secrets with us all for common objectives When a once trusted colleague of one agency such as Mr Plio violates their obligation to protect national defense information it can fracture that circle of trust through the unlawful actions of a single individual precious resources at one moment focused on a common security outcome must now shift to contemplate the risk and implications oi disclosure it's like interrupting a team of surgeons in the middle ol an operation to determine if the sterility of a tool used in the procedure had been compromised Future decisions about sharing will be weighted with consideration of the breach oi trust by one party 'l hat trust is essential to enable the extensive collaboration and detailed work needed to acquire and sustain access and maintain strong partnerships against the global challenges we face The demands we face on behnllof the American people will not pause while we deal with this breach of trust We have and we will continue to redouble our efforts to recover as best we can from Mr Pho's illegal actions Affirmation by this court oi'thc cost to the women and men who have dedicated their lives to public service and who have maintained trusted stewardship ol nu tional defense information will send them a message of con dence and respect 'l hank you for the opportunity to offer this input MICHAEL ROGERS Admiral US Navy Director KSA