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(U) Touching the Future
FROM:
Data Acquisition Staff (S3)
Run Date: 12/21/2005
(U//FOUO) An intern program trains the next generation of Global Network Analysts...
(U//FOUO)
and
have two of the best jobs in the Agency and they
are the first to admit it. They are respectively the Program Executive and Program Manager of
the GNEVA (Global Network Exploitation and Vulnerability Analyst) Development Program
(GDP). GDP is NSA's three-year technical development program that transforms recent college
graduates with technical degrees into confident and competent NSA professionals, armed with
the skills and experience needed to handle the challenges associated with Computer Network
Operations (CNO).
(S//SI) Established in July 2004 with 16 young men and women, holding computer-related,
mathematics, or electrical engineering degrees from diverse colleges, including the University of
Maryland, UMBC, Carnegie Mellon, and Purdue, the first GDP class is scheduled to graduate in
July 2007. The program begins with three months of mandatory core training and the selection
of a mentor, who helps the intern create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) that guides the
next phase of the program, 30 months of office touring.
(S//SI) Interns have participated in tours that have brought them, for example, to GCHQ, the
FBI and CIA. Two of these interns recently returned from a three-month tour in Iraq, where their
skills were tested in the vital area of media forensics, analyzing information retrieved from
confiscated computers.
(U//FOUO) The capstone activity of the program is a three-month class project where the
interns are presented with an interdisciplinary problem and work as a team to find the solution.
After they arrive at the solution, they brief their findings to senior personnel.
(U//FOUO) Working with these interns and watching them progress in their knowledge is "fun,
exciting, and very fulfilling," states
. This sentiment is shared by coworker,
, who decided to put off the retirement she is just now eligible for, proving that
statement is more than just pleasant rhetoric. It appears that the GDP has proven to be a
learning experience for administrators and interns alike, as well as a source for tomorrow's
Intelligence Community's technical leaders.
(U//FOUO) To learn more about GDP and the similar SNIP program, type, " Go CNODP ."
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108