Keith B. Alexander

Alexander was born on 2 December 1951, in Syracuse, New York, the son of Charlotte L. (Colvin) and Donald Henry Alexander.{{Cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/alexander.htm |title=Gen. Keith alexander |access-date=June 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118101536/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/alexander.htm |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |url-status=dead }} He was raised in Onondaga Hill, New York, a suburb of Syracuse. He was a paperboy for The Post-Standard and attended Westhill Senior High School, where he ran track.{{cite magazine|author=Bamford, James|title=The Secret War|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/general-keith-alexander-cyberwar/all/|date=June 12, 2013|magazine=Wired|publisher=Condé Nast|access-date=June 12, 2013}}

Alexander attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, and in his class were three other future four-star generals: David Petraeus, Martin Dempsey and Walter L. Sharp. In April 1974,{{Dubious |reason=West Point cadets are prohibited from being married so he couldn't have married before graduation. |date=November 2014}} Alexander married Deborah Lynn Douglas, who was a classmate in high school and who grew up near his family in Onondaga Hill. They had four daughters.{{cite web|title=2013 Aspen Institute Security Forum|url=http://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/2013/07/17/2013-aspen-security-forum/transcript-clear-present-danger-cyber-crime-cyber|work="Clear and Present Danger" Transcript of interview with GEN Keith Alexander, NSA director|access-date=11 November 2013 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021022248/http://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/2013/07/17/2013-aspen-security-forum/transcript-clear-present-danger-cyber-crime-cyber | archivedate=2013-10-21}}

Alexander entered active duty at West Point, intending to serve for only five years.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gen-keith-b-alexander/gIQA7gFTKP_topic.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612203540/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gen-keith-b-alexander/gIQA7gFTKP_topic.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 12, 2013 |title=Gen. Keith B. Alexander |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 21, 2012 |date=July 23, 2012}} Alexander's military education includes the Armor Officer Basic Course, the Military Intelligence Officer Advanced Course, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and the National War College.

Alexander worked on signals intelligence at a number of secret National Security Agency bases in the United States and Germany. He earned a Master of Science in business administration in 1978 from Boston University, a Master of Science in systems technology (electronic warfare) and a Master in Science in physics in 1983 from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Science in national security strategy from the National Defense University.{{cite web | title=Biography — Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service|url=http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/bio_alexander.shtml|publisher=National Security Agency}} He rose quickly up the military ranks, due to his expertise in advanced technology and his competency at administration.

File:NSA Director Gen. Alexander and Cybersecurity.webm

Alexander's assignments include the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS, G-2), Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C., from 2003 to 2005; Commanding General of the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, from 2001 to 2003; Director of Intelligence (J-2), United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from 1998 to 2001; and Deputy Director for Intelligence (J-2) for the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 1998. Alexander served in a variety of command assignments in Germany and the United States. These include tours as Commander of Border Field Office, 511th MI Battalion, 66th MI Group; 336th Army Security Agency Company, 525th MI Group; 204th MI Battalion; and 525th Military Intelligence Brigade.

Additionally, Alexander held key staff assignments as Deputy Director and Operations Officer, Executive Officer, 522nd MI Battalion, 2nd Armored Division; G-2 for the 1st Armored Division both in Germany and during the Gulf War, in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, in Saudi Arabia. He also served in Afghanistan on a peace keeping mission for the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence.

Alexander headed the Army Intelligence and Security Command, where in 2001 he was in charge of 10,700 spies and eavesdroppers worldwide. In the words of James Bamford, who wrote his biography for Wired, "Alexander and the rest of the American intelligence community suffered a devastating defeat when they were surprised by the attacks on 9/11." Alexander's reaction was to order his intercept operators to begin to monitor the email and phone calls of American citizens who were unrelated to terrorist threats, including the personal calls of journalists.

In 2003, Alexander was named deputy chief of staff for intelligence for the United States Army. The 205th MI Brigade involved in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse in Baghdad, Iraq was part of V Corps (US) and not under Alexander's command. Testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Alexander called the abuse "totally reprehensible" and described the perpetrators as a "group of undisciplined MP soldiers".{{cite news|author=Banusiewicz, John D.|title=More Specifics Needed to Find Source of Abuse, Intel Chief Says|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/ID/26491/|date=May 11, 2004|work=American Forces Press Service|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|access-date=June 12, 2013}} Mary Louise Kelly, who interviewed him later for NPR, said that because he was "outside the chain of command that oversaw interrogations in Iraq", Alexander was able to survive with his "reputation intact".{{cite news|title=New NSA Chief Sees Tough Choices Ahead|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4803140|author=Kelly, Mary Louise|date=August 17, 2005|work=NPR Morning Edition|publisher=National Public Radio|access-date=June 13, 2013}}

In 2004, along with Alberto Gonzales and others in the George W. Bush administration, Alexander presented a memorandum that sought to justify the treatment of those who were deemed "unlawful enemy combatants".[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=66011 The American Presidency Project: "Press Briefing by White House Counsel Judge Alberto Gonzales, DoD General Counsel William Haynes, DoD Deputy General Counsel Daniel Dell'Orto and Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence General Keith Alexander June 22, 2004"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818165830/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=66011 |date=August 18, 2018 }}, accessed 2018-02-28

In June 2013, the National Security Agency was revealed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden to be secretly spying on the American people with FISA-approved surveillance programs, such as PRISM and XKeyscore.

On 16 October 2013, it was publicly announced that Alexander and his deputy, Chris Inglis were leaving the NSA.[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nsa-transition-idUSBRE99F12W20131016 U.S. eavesdropping agency chief, top deputy expected to depart soon, Reuters, 16 October 2013]

On 13 April 2016, President Obama announced Alexander as a member of his Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-obama/obama-names-cyber-experts-from-business-academia-to-new-panel-idUSKCN0XA2O1|title=Obama names cyber experts from business, academia to new panel|date=April 13, 2016|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-11-28}}

File:Defense.gov News Photo 120604-D-NI589-372 - Commander U.S. Cyber Command and Director National Security Agency Gen. Keith Alexander left talks to Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter.jpg, June 2012]]

In 2005, secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld named Alexander, then a three-star general, as Director of the National Security Agency. There, according to Bamford, Alexander deceived the House Intelligence Committee when his agency was involved in warrantless wiretapping. Also during this period, Alexander oversaw the implementation of the Real Time Regional Gateway in Iraq, an NSA data collection program that consisted of gathering all electronic communication, storing it, and then searching and otherwise analyzing it. A former senior U.S. intelligence agent described Alexander's program: "Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, 'Let's collect the whole haystack. Collect it all, tag it, store it ... And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it."

By 2008, the Regional Gateway was effective in providing information about Iraqi insurgents who had eluded less comprehensive techniques.{{cite news|title=For NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to 'collect it all,' observers say|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/for-nsa-chief-terrorist-threat-drives-passion-to-collect-it-all/2013/07/14/3d26ef80-ea49-11e2-a301-ea5a8116d211_story.html|access-date=July 15, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 14, 2013|author=Ellen Nakashima|author2=Joby Warrick|quote=Collect it all, tag it, store it ... And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it.}} This "collect it all" strategy introduced by Keith Alexander is believed by Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian to be the model for the comprehensive world-wide mass archiving of communications which NSA had become engaged in by 2013.{{cite news|title=The crux of the NSA story in one phrase: 'collect it all': The actual story that matters is not hard to see: the NSA is attempting to collect, monitor and store all forms of human communication|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/15/crux-nsa-collect-it-all|access-date=July 16, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=July 15, 2013|author=Glenn Greenwald|location=London}}

According to Siobhan Gorman of The Wall Street Journal, a government official stated that Alexander offered to resign after the 2013 global surveillance disclosures first broke out in June 2013, but that the Obama administration asked him not to."[https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579214673029584730 Shaken NSA Grapples With an Overhaul]." The Wall Street Journal. November 24, 2013. Retrieved on November 28, 2013.

Alexander was confirmed by the United States Senate for appointment to the rank of general on May 7, 2010,[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/noms_confn.htm U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Nominations Confirmed (Non-Civilian)]. Senate.gov. Retrieved on June 30, 2013. and was officially promoted to that rank in a ceremony on 21 May 2010. Alexander assumed command of United States Cyber Command in the same ceremony that made him a four-star general.[https://www.af.mil/News/story/id/123205791/ Gates establishes U.S. Cyber Command, names first commander]. Af.mil. Retrieved on June 30, 2013.

Alexander delivered the keynote address at Black Hat USA in July 2013. The organizers describe Alexander as an advocate of "battlefield visualization and 'data fusion' for more useful intelligence". He provided them with this quote:

{{quote|As our dependence on information networks increases, it will take a team to eliminate vulnerabilities and counter the ever-growing threats to the network. We can succeed in securing it by building strong partnerships between and within the private and public sectors, encouraging information sharing and collaboration, and creating and leveraging the technology that affords us the opportunity to secure cyberspace ...{{cite press release|title=Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency Director, General Keith Alexander, To Keynote Day One of Black Hat USA 2013 |url=http://www.nbc12.com/story/22245849/commander-of-us-cyber-command-and-national-security-agency-director-general-keith-alexander-to-keynote-day-one-of-black-hat-usa-2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615162630/http://www.nbc12.com/story/22245849/commander-of-us-cyber-command-and-national-security-agency-director-general-keith-alexander-to-keynote-day-one-of-black-hat-usa-2013 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |date=May 14, 2013 |publisher=WWBT-TV NBC 12, WorldNow (Gannaway) |access-date=June 13, 2013}}}}

File:Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, center, shares a laugh with other guests before a retirement ceremony for U.S. Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander March 28, 2014, at the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort George 140328-D-EV637-372.jpg and DNI James Clapper at Alexander's retirement ceremony in 2014]] Alexander gave the most comprehensive interview of his career, which spanned around 17,000 words, on 8 May 2014 to the Australian Financial Review journalist Christopher Joye, which was subsequently cited by Edward Snowden.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/edward-snowden-interview/traitor-or-patriot-edward-snowden-sits-down-brian-williams-n117006 | author=Williams, Brian|title=Traitor or Patriot |work=NBC News |date=29 May 2014 |access-date=29 May 2014}} The full transcript, which covers NSA operations, Snowden, the metadata debates, encryption controversies, and Chinese and Russian spying, has been published online. On Snowden, Alexander told Joye: "I suspect Russian intelligence are driving what he does. Understand as well that they're only going to let him do those things that benefit Russia, or stand to help improve Snowden's credibility".{{cite news |url=http://www.afr.com/p/technology/interview_transcript_former_head_51yP0Cu1AQGUCs7WAC9ZVN|author=Joye, Christopher |title=Interview transcript with NSA boss |work=The Australian Financial Review |date=8 May 2014 |access-date=9 May 2014}} Wired magazine said that the AFR interview with Alexander showed that he was defending the stockpiling of zero-days, while The Wall Street Journal and other media focused upon Alexander's claims about Snowden working for Russian intelligence.{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/05/alexander-defends-use-of-zero-days/|author=Greenberg, Andy|title=FOLLOW WIRED Twitter Facebook RSS Former NSA Chief Defends Stockpiling Software Flaws for Spying |work=Wired Magazine |date=8 May 2014 |access-date=9 May 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/05/08/former-nsa-head-talks-huawei-stuxnet-and-arnold/ | author=Yadron, Danny|title=Former NSA Head Talks Huawei, Stuxnet and Arnold |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=8 May 2014 |access-date=9 May 2014}} In July 2012, in response to a question from Jeff Moss, the founder of the DEF CON hacker convention, "... does the NSA really keep a file on everyone?", Alexander replied, "No, we don't. Absolutely no. And anybody who would tell you that we're keeping files or dossiers on the American people knows that's not true."{{cite magazine| url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/nsa-chief-denies-dossiers/ | magazine=Wired | first=Kim | last=Zetter | title=NSA Chief Tells Hackers His Agency Doesn't Create Dossiers on All Americans | date=July 27, 2012}}

In March 2012, in response to questions from Representative Hank Johnson during a United States Congress hearing about allegations made by former NSA officials that the NSA engages in collection of voice and digital information of U.S. citizens, Alexander said that, despite the allegations of "James Bashford" {{sic}} in Wired magazine, the NSA does not collect that data.Greenberg, Andy. "[https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/06/06/watch-top-u-s-intelligence-officials-repeatedly-deny-nsa-spying-on-americans-over-the-last-year-videos/ Watch Top U.S. Intelligence Officials Repeatedly Deny NSA Spying On Americans Over The Last Year (Videos)]." Forbes. June 6, 2013. Retrieved on June 11, 2013.

On 9 July 2012, when asked by a member of the press if a large data center in Utah was used to store data on American citizens, Alexander stated, "No. While I can't go into all the details on the Utah Data Center, we don't hold data on U.S. citizens."[http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/ThreatstotheU Cyber Security And American Power, see 50:50]. C-spanvideo.org (July 9, 2012). Retrieved on June 30, 2013.

At DEF CON 2012, Alexander was the keynote speaker; during the question and answers session, in response to the question "Does the NSA really keep a file on everyone, and if so, how can I see mine?" Alexander replied "Our job is foreign intelligence" and that "Those who would want to weave the story that we have millions or hundreds of millions of dossiers on people, is absolutely false ... From my perspective, this is absolute nonsense."

On 6 June 2013, the day after Snowden's revelations, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released a statement admitting the NSA collects telephony metadata on millions of Americans telephone calls.{{cite web |title=DNI Statement on Recent Unauthorized Disclosures of Classified Information |url=http://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/191-press-releases-2013/868-dni-statement-on-recent-unauthorized-disclosures-of-classified-information |date=June 6, 2013 |access-date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607220644/http://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/191-press-releases-2013/868-dni-statement-on-recent-unauthorized-disclosures-of-classified-information |archivedate=June 7, 2013 |df=mdy-all}} This metadata information included originating and terminating telephone number, telephone calling card number, IMEI number, time and duration of phone calls.In Re: Application of the FBI For an Order Requiring the Production of Tangible Things From Verizon Business Network Services. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/jun/06/verizon-telephone-data-court-order Verizon forced to hand over telephone data — full court ruling]. guardian.co.uk (June 6, 2013)

Andy Greenberg of Forbes said that NSA officials, including Alexander, in the years 2012 and 2013 "publicly denied—often with carefully hedged words—participating in the kind of snooping on Americans that has since become nearly undeniable." In September 2013, Alexander was asked by Senator Mark Udall if it is the goal of the NSA to "collect the phone records of all Americans", to which Alexander replied:{{cite web|title=Senators: Limit NSA snooping into US phone records |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/senators-limit-nsa-snooping-us-phone-records |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029003314/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/senators-limit-nsa-snooping-us-phone-records |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 October 2013 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=15 October 2013}}

{{quote|Yes, I believe it is in the nation's best interest to put all the phone records into a lockbox that we could search.}}

Alexander announced his retirement on October 16, 2013. His retirement date was March 28, 2014, and his replacement was U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers.

In May 2014, after his retirement from NSA, Alexander founded IronNet Cybersecurity. IronNet provides cybersecurity coverage for private-sector companies using its IronDefense program and a team of cybersecurity analysts and experts. The company is headquartered in Fulton, Maryland, with offices in Frederick, Maryland, McLean, Virginia, and New York City. In October 2015, IronNet received $32.5 million in funding from Trident Capital Cybersecurity (now ForgePoint Capital) and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in a Series A investment.{{Cite web|url=https://ironnetcyber.com/press-release/2015-10-25-IronNet-Cybersecurity-Raises-Series-A|title=IronNet Cybersecurity|website=ironnetcyber.com|language=en|access-date=2017-11-28|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043759/https://ironnetcyber.com/press-release/2015-10-25-IronNet-Cybersecurity-Raises-Series-A|url-status=dead}} In May 2018, IronNet raised an additional $78 million in a round led by C5 Capital alongside existing investors ForgePoint Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-energy/ex-nsa-chiefs-startup-raises-78-million-helps-defend-us-power-grid-idUSKBN1I32ZG|title=Ex-NSA chief's startup raises $78 million, helps defend U.S. Power grid|newspaper=Reuters|date=May 2, 2018|last1=Volz|first1=Dustin}} In August 2021, IronNet went public on the New York Stock Exchange via a SPAC merger with LGL Systems Acquisition Corp.{{Cite web |title=EX-99.1 |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1777946/000119312521258132/d215843dex991.htm |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=www.sec.gov}} Alexander was later replaced by Linda Zecher on 12 July 2023, as CEO of IronNet.{{Cite web |title=EX-99.1 |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1777946/000095017023032607/irnt-ex99_1.htm |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=www.sec.gov}} After two years of going public, IronNet announced it will be delisted from the NYSE in August 2023 leaving all retail investors with worthless shares.{{Cite web |title=EX-99.1 |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1777946/000095017023033205/irnt-ex99_1.htm |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=www.sec.gov}}

In early October 2024 the AP reported that an investment bank had approached over 100 prospective buyers for the company, citing federal records, but none of them made an offer.

Alexander joined Amazon's board of directors, as revealed in an SEC filing on 9 September 2020.{{Cite web|last=SEC|title=Amazon Com Inc 2020 Current Report 8-K|url=https://sec.report/Document/0001018724-20-000026/|access-date=2020-09-09|website=SEC.report|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Brandom|first=Russell|date=2020-09-09|title=Former NSA chief Keith Alexander has joined Amazon's board of directors|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/9/21429635/amazon-keith-alexander-board-of-directors-nsa-cyber-command|access-date=2020-09-09|website=The Verge|language=en}}

Alexander was inducted into the NPS Hall of Fame in 2013.

In the fall of 2014, Alexander told a public forum that someone else had claimed a $9,000 IRS refund in his name, and that the thieves used his identity to apply for about 20 credit cards.{{Cite web|url=http://www.freep.com/story/money/personal-finance/2014/12/22/identity-theft-victims-personal-information/20612747/|title=Pain of identity theft on victim is palpable}}

{{portal|Biography}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/bio_alexander.shtml NSA biography]
• [http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/press_room/2005/welcome_LTG_Alexander_USA.shtml Press Release, NSA/CSS Welcomes LTG Keith B. Alexander, USA]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100315092946/http://publicintelligence.net/?p=1006 Public Intelligence profile]
• [https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/noms_confn.htm Senate Confirmation of promotion to rank of General]
• {{cite magazine |author=Bamford, James |title=The Secret War |url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/general-keith-alexander-cyberwar/all/ |date=12 June 2013 |magazine=Wired |publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=12 June 2013}}
• [https://ironnet.com IronNet website]
• {{C-SPAN|1009829}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Director of the National Security Agency|years=2005–2014}}

{{s-aft|after=Michael S. Rogers}}

{{s-mil}}

{{s-new|command}}

{{s-ttl|title=Commander of the United States Cyber Command|years=2010–2014}}

{{s-aft|after=Michael S. Rogers}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Keith B.}}

Category:1951 births

Category:Boston University School of Management alumni

Category:Directors of the National Security Agency

Category:Living people

Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni

Category:Recipients of the Air Medal

Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal

Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)

Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit

Category:United States Army generals

Category:United States Military Academy alumni

Category:Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal

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Category:Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal