The National Security Agency recently named Auburn University a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations.
This is the second designation of academic excellence out of a 10-year relationship with the NSA, and despite controversy surrounding the agency, those closest to the relationship say it is a positive one for the University.
Accusations of sweeping domestic surveillance, and spying on nations friendly to the U.S. among other activities, have been documented through internal agency leaks.
The leaks, which began during June of this year, have prompted reviews, inspections and both public, and political debate, aimed at determining the legality of the agency's behavior.
"Auburn folks are not working in direct support of the NSA as we speak. We are not an existential arm of the NSA. I can't state that more definitively. Auburn students are not sitting over there in Shelby Center working for NSA and taking direction from them. That ain't happening," said Retired Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, senior counsel for Auburn cyber security programs.
Burgess also said the interdisciplinary program helps meet the demands of the expanding cyber workforce, and performs the three main functions of a land-grant university: research, education and workforce development.
The Center of Academic Excellence program is a broad-spectrum approach to developing what the agency calls the U.S,'s cyber operations capacity by deepening its involvment with all levels of academic institutions.
Burgess said Auburn's general focus of research in its cyber programs is defensive in nature.
"When you have personal information out there residing someplace, that information is protected and people can't get your data and use it for nefarious purposes. Auburn's engaged in that type of work," Burgess said.
Burgess, who serves as senior counsel for national security programs, cyber programs and military affairs, has an extensive background in the military and intelligence community.
Among his many appointments, he served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from August 2005- May 2007.
"Throughout my career, I have been in and around the NSA. In the latter part of my career, I was a customer of the NSA. I was a user of their information. I tasked the NSA for information as I did any other part of the U.S. Intelligence Community," Burgess said.
He said that he was aware of the agency's activities.
"At the end of the day, I was confident, and still am confident, that, we had the requisite authorities to do what we were doing," Burgess said.
The NSA has been the subject of heated debate because of its intelligence-gathering practices and methods.
Drew Hamilton, assistant vice president for research for Mississippi State University, first applied to the agency in 2002 regarding academic excellence in information assurance.
He recently left his position in the computer science and software engineering department to go to Mississippi State University to help develop its cyber programs.
"We just haven't really engaged in anything that I think would really be considered to be intelligence collection or surveillance, or anything like that. We pretty much work on the technical side and all the work we've done for NSA is publicly available," Hamilton said.
David Umphress, associate director in the department of computer science and software engineering took over as acting director of the Auburn Cyber Research Center after Hamilton left.
"We do it so that we can show that we support the nation to begin with... But what the NSA does for us in return for recognizing us as a center of excellence is that they help with jobs," Umphress said. "For students that go through our program, the NSA will make sure that those students' resumes are looked at, that they are paid close attention to."
The Academic Excellence in Cyber Programs spans across multiple schools within the University.
It uses the capabilities to help development cyber program operations. It is based in a computer science, electrical engineering or computer engineering department.
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