| VIEW FROM THE NSA — Rob Joyce, the departing director of the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Directorate, is keeping a close eye on Russia ahead of the U.S. elections this year, amid mounting concerns of foreign interference. Joyce, who is set to retire from the position at the end of March, told Maggie and other reporters during a roundtable at NSA’s Fort Meade headquarters on Friday that the NSA sees evidence that Moscow “is very motivated to make sure that the focus on support to Ukraine is disrupted” as the conflict continues. The NSA cyber director said this was likely to inform any Russian interference in U.S. elections this year, warning that Moscow is “dangerous.” He warned that “we’re going to see that steady build” of election interference efforts, and also warned of Chinese hacking efforts to burrow into U.S. critical infrastructure. The director’s comments came days after the U.S. intelligence community released its annual Worldwide Threats Assessment, which this year concluded that the governments of Russia, China and Iran are all likely to attempt some form of interference in November’s elections. — Cyber warfare: Joyce noted that Russian-linked cyberattacks in Ukraine have remained at a “steady state,” but stressed that the activity was still “significant.” In the Middle East, Joyce said the NSA is seeing efforts by Iranian government hackers to masquerade as hacktivists to target Israeli infrastructure. And in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels are looking to gain the upper hand, Joyce said there is evidence of “intelligence gathering” by nation states around “shipping entities” in the region. — Into the future: Joyce is set to be succeeded by David Luber, the current deputy director of the NSA’s cybersecurity directorate. Luber briefly appeared at the same event on Friday, and said his three top priorities were the recruitment and retention of the workforce, technology innovation and strengthening NSA partnerships. As for what comes next for Joyce? The departing director told reporters he’s going to “sleep more,” but teased that he will “be in the cybersecurity community.” So basically, stay tuned. CLASSIFIED SPY SATS — Elon Musk's SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. intelligence agency, under a classified $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021, Reuters has learned from five sources familiar with the program. The spy satellite network, known as Starshield, looks to significantly advance the U.S. government's ability to quickly detect potential targets almost anywhere on the globe and represents deepening ties between SpaceX and national security agencies. The program is also intended to help the U.S. government with remote-sensing capabilities that are more resilient to attacks from adversaries with advanced space weapons. — What’s the deal: The Starshield program aims to develop a powerful new spy system with hundreds of Earth-imaging satellites operating as a "swarm" in low orbits. If successful, it would enable continuous imagery of activities on the ground nearly anywhere, aiding intelligence and military operations. Here’s what’s been reported so far:
- Roughly a dozen prototypes have already been launched since 2020 on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets.
- The network is separate from SpaceX’s Starlink broadband internet constellation.
- Starshield is part of intensifying competition with adversarial tech rivals like China to dominate military power in space.
— Between the lines: The classified contract, first reported by The Wall Street Journal in February without disclosing details, signals growing trust in SpaceX by the intelligence community despite tensions over Musk’s control of Starlink in Ukraine. It also shows the Pentagon’s investment in vast, low-Earth orbiting satellite systems aimed at supporting ground forces — a move away from bigger and more expensive spacecraft. As one source told Reuters: "No one can hide" from the system's potential reach. — What’s next: The timing for when the full Starshield network would come online remains unclear, as does the involvement of other companies beyond SpaceX in the ambitious program. See also: Why Taiwan is building a satellite network without Elon Musk (The New York Times)
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