NSA chief defends surveillance programs
National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander jousted with a few hecklers as he defended the US spy agency’s surveillance programs at the Black Hat security conference on Wednesday, but largely kept the crowd of cybersecurity experts and hackers on his side.
“Read the Constitution!” one heckler shouted at the 61-year-old four-star general as he responded to polite but tough questions selected in advance by conference organizers.
“I have. So should you,” Alexander shot back, triggering sustained applause. The four-star general, who wore uniform shirt sleeves, was the opening keynote speaker at the annual convention in Las Vegas, which drew about 7,000 cybersecurity experts and hackers from the private and public sectors. Alexander has been under fire from many civil liberties advocates and lawmakers since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing previously secret telephone and internet surveillance programs run by the US government.
