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The National Security Agency is undertaking its most extensive internal restructuring in at least a decade, replacing existing directorates with five mission centers focused on China, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, combat support and global intelligence. NSA Director and U.S. Cyber Command chief Army Gen. Joshua M. Rudd reportedly announced the emerging design to senior leaders and initiated a 30-day implementation period intended to speed delivery of intelligence to operational battlefields.
The agency aims to reach full operational capability by January, but key decisions remain unresolved, including the placement of Tailored Access Operations and implications for the NSA–Cyber Command relationship. Current and former officials have raised concerns that the accelerated transition could disrupt NSA operations and repeat shortcomings associated with the previous NSA21 restructuring.
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Rudd announced a broad NSA restructuring to senior leaders and the workforce, replacing existing directorates with five mission centers focused on China, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, combat support, and global intelligence. The agency began a 30-day implementation timeline intended to accelerate delivery of intelligence to operational battlefields.
Army Gen. Joshua Rudd was confirmed to the dual leadership role overseeing the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command.
An organizational initiative called EVO25 began around the start of the second Trump administration and was ultimately abandoned. It would have consolidated NSA offices and was reportedly viewed as an effort to avoid a reorganization imposed by the U.S. DOGE Service.
The NSA conducted a major restructuring effort known as NSA21, intended to combine its offensive and defensive organizations. Current and former officials reportedly regard the initiative as a failure that increased bureaucratic confusion.
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The National Security Agency (NSA) has undergone significant leadership changes following months of instability at its highest levels. Tim Kosiba, a veteran with over three decades of federal service, has been appointed as the new deputy director of the NSA after the Trump administration removed his predecessor and other top officials, reportedly due to political pressure. Kosiba previously held key roles within the NSA, FBI, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and his appointment was confirmed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard with President Trump's approval. The agency has faced a prolonged period without a Senate-confirmed leader, contributing to uncertainty within both the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command. Simultaneously, the NSA's cybersecurity directorate is also experiencing a transition in leadership. David Imbordino, currently the directorate’s deputy chief, will serve as acting head following the retirement of Greg Smithberger, who had been leading in an interim capacity. Holly Baroody is set to return from the United Kingdom to serve as acting deputy chief. The directorate, established in 2019 to enhance intelligence sharing and collaboration with critical infrastructure, has lacked a permanent chief since early last year. These leadership changes come as the NSA continues to address evolving cyber threats, including recent advisories on malware such as BRICKSTORM, and underscores the agency’s ongoing efforts to stabilize its executive ranks and maintain operational continuity.
Jun 29, 2026
U.S. Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF) removed Air Force Lt. Col. **Jason Gargan**, a joint task force commander focused on operations against **Russia**, after he was “relieved for cause” following disagreements over operations with CNMF leadership, according to people familiar with the matter. Gargan was reassigned elsewhere within CNMF and is expected to retire by the end of 2026; the move was described as unusual for CNMF, where underperforming leaders are typically rotated rather than dismissed. The personnel action occurred amid broader senior-level churn at Cyber Command, which has reportedly been without a Senate-confirmed leader for an extended period, and as CNMF chief Maj. Gen. **Lorna Mahlock** was nominated to become Cyber Command’s next deputy chief. Separately, the **National Security Agency (NSA)** appointed intelligence community veteran **Timothy Kosiba** as deputy director with presidential approval. Reporting highlighted Kosiba’s background in network warfare and offensive cyber roles (including **Tailored Access Operations**-linked positions) and senior leadership posts supporting foreign signals intelligence and cybersecurity missions; Acting NSA and Cyber Command head **William Hartman** publicly endorsed the appointment as supporting NSA’s mission execution.
Jun 29, 2026
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency has overhauled its technology strategy to speed adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging tools, arguing that national security competition requires a less risk-averse approach. Speaking at the AWS Summit in Washington, D.C., Ratcliffe said the CIA will take “smart risks,” experiment, and course-correct rather than wait for risk-free deployment, while warning that frontier AI models could eventually resemble **“digital nuclear weapons”** in strategic impact. The agency has also signaled plans to introduce AI-powered “coworkers” into analysts’ workflows as part of broader operational integration. The restructuring includes elevating the Center for Cyber Intelligence into a standalone mission center and transforming the Directorate of Digital Innovation into the **Directorate of Mission Systems**, which will focus on cybersecurity, advanced data, and infrastructure services instead of offensive cyber or open-source functions. Ratcliffe said the CIA is also pursuing aggressive data modernization, cutting procurement timelines from nearly three years to about six months, completing roughly 400 acquisitions under a new framework, and creating an Office of Corporate Partnerships to streamline work with private industry.
Jun 30, 2026