Can You Answer All of These Questions About the NSA?

The NSA was formally founded on Nov. 4,1952. While it was officially created by Harry Truman in 1952, the NSA started as a code-breaking unit in WWII.

The NSA is headquartered at Fort Meade, in Maryland. The NSA's facilities require so much power that, in 2007 at least, they used as much electricity as the city of Annapolis, Maryland.

Project Venona was an NSA project that decoded communications from Soviet intelligence agencies and departments, including the KGB. Information gained from Project Venona was invaluable for demonstrating Soviet spies' basic operating methods.

The Black Chamber was founded in May of 1919. From the beginning, employees were told to maintain an air of secrecy, and only say they translated documents for the War Department. The Black Chamber's first major achievement was cracking a Japanese code in December of that same year.

Herbert Yardley was the founder of the NSA's forerunner. He got his start by writing a "Solution of American Diplomatic Codes," an analysis/takedown of codes currently used by the American government.

Original plans put the NSA at Fort Knox. Civilian employees who lived in the D.C. area objected to moving, however. A site closer to D.C. was found to ensure the civilian employees wouldn't leave the agency.

Lt. Gen.l Ralph Canine was the first director of the NSA. He is called "the Great Unifier" for how he brought disparate code-breakers under his authority. He is also responsible for helping NSA employees make higher salaries, and pay for higher education.

Cryptography is the formal name for writing, and deciphering, codes. The NSA headquarters are actually home to the National Museum of Cryptography. The museum's collections include everything from Civil War era telegraphs to items that deal with Hobo code language.

The NSA is currently experimenting with quantum computing. Quantum computing considers multiple possibilities, rather than the standard two possibilities most computers consider.

Edward Snowden absconded from his NSA job with classified documents copied to flash drives. These documents provided evidence of U.S. surveillance of its own citizens' communications. Snowden was granted asylum by Vladimir Putin, and still lives in Russia.

The NSA Data Center is located near the town of Bluffdale, Utah. The Data Center houses countless servers. The location's computing power is three times greater than the most advanced super computer on earth, according to The Salt Lake City Tribune.

Project Lightning was started in 1957. Its goal was to increase computing speed, which it accomplished 100-fold, by one estimate. The research done as part of Project Lightning found its way into 320 patent applications.

Project Focus created a think tank, whose sole purpose was to help the NSA. The think tank's research would be secret, rather than public.

The NSA Scientific Advisory Board (NASSAB) was created to help NSA cryptographers keep abreast of cutting-edge cryptographic research. The panel consists of 10 people, and meets twice yearly at NSA headquarters.

General Paul Nakasone is the current director of the NSA. He previously served with the U.S. Army's Cyber Command.

Louis Tordella, NSA deputy director from 1958 to 1974, was nicknamed Dr. No. He had an unusually long 16-year tenure as deputy director. Tordella's long time in the job also reassured foreign powers nervous about working with the NSA.

The Defense Special Missile and Astronautics Center (DEFSMAC) is the NSA group tasked with first catching security threats. They focus particularly on missile and satellite launches. DEFSMAC depends heavily on NSA satellites to determine missile launches and trajectories.

The NSA is also known as the "puzzle palace." The term gained notoriety in a 1982 book by James Bamford.

The massive antenna collections were called "elephant cages." Each consisted of nearly 100 13-story antenna towers.

The 1954 indictment of Joseph Petersen for giving information to the Dutch was an early instance where the American public learned of the NSA's existence. For years, Petersen was paid at least $5,000 annually to smuggle information out of NSA headquarters and give it to a Dutch contact.

In 2017, the NSA collected three times as many phone records as it did in 2016. In 2016, the NSA collected roughly 150 million "call detail records." In 2017, that number grew to about 530 million.

Admiral Robert Inman was NSA director from 1977 to 1981. He took office at a time when Congress became more involved in oversight of the NSA.

The Baker Committee's recommendations included making the NSA's cryptographic work a major government priority. The Baker Committee first met in 1957.

Project Shamrock began toward the end of WWII, when an Executive Order removed much of the NSA's ability to monitor American communications. In response, Brigadier General W. Preston Corderman asked major communications companies for access to their telegraphs.

The SR-71 Blackbird was an important source of information for the NSA through the 1970 and 1980s. The plane can fly faster than Mach 3.

The NSA used information from "ferret" satellites, most likely starting in 1962, which picked up signals from foreign countries. The satellites are nicknamed "ferrets" for how they "burrow" into an enemy's radar range, as ferrets burrow after their prey.

Rhyolite satellites could pick up microwave frequencies, which meant they could listen in on phone calls. The satellites picked up so much information that there weren't enough analysts to handle everything that came in. The Rhyolite satellites were later renamed "Acquacade."

The Tracksman 2 station, in rural Iran, provided the NSA with important intelligence on Soviet missiles. This information also helped the U.S. make sure the USSR was following ballistic missile treaties.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 regulated the NSA's ability to collect information. Under FISA, the NSA would have to get the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before they monitored communications.

Sugar Grove, WV, was the site of the planned "Big Ear," a 600-foot satellite dish. While the Big Ear was never constructed, the NSA still found use for the site, again commandeering it in 1975.

Project Echelon is a joint project of "the Five Eyes," which include the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It is suspected that ECHELON is used to listen in on communications satellites.

PRISM is the name for the NSA project that legally collects foreign information collected on the servers of American internet companies. The project became well-known following Edward Snowden's disclosures.

Stellar Wind was an NSA project to monitor domestic communications. Financial data, telephone data and internet data were all collected.

The NSA seal shows an eagle holding a key. The key represents the NSA's attempt to "unlock" encrypted communications.

NSA intercepts provided justification for the bombing of Libya during the 1980s. NSA data showed that Libya was behind the 1986 bombing of a West Berlin nightclub.