President Obama pick pledges transparency at NSA

President Barack Obama’s pick to lead the National Security Agency (NSA) pledged to protect privacy rights while at the helm of the spy agency.

Appearing before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Vice Adm. Michael Rogers, who would also be taking the reins as the head of the US Cyber Command, said that he would work to make the embattled agency’s surveillance efforts more transparent. If he takes office, Vice Adm Rogers said he would be “ever-mindful” that the agency needs to work “in a manner which protects the civil liberties and privacy of our citizens.”

“I will be an active partner in implementing the changes directed by the president with respect to aspects of the National Security Agency mission and my intent is to be as transparent as possible in doing so, and in the broader execution of my duties, if confirmed.”

Rogers has spent more than 30 years in the Navy, and has been in charge of the branch’s cyber command since 2011. He has also been the director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US Pacific Command. As a cryptology expert, he is a relative unknown to privacy and civil liberties advocates, though he will be taking over the NSA amid turmoil unlike any the agency has ever seen.

[March 11]