The National Security Agency (NSA) has signed a $282 million contract with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of San Diego to help develop a more refined system for culling useful intelligence from a flood of data it collects daily. Officials disclosed the 26-month contract on Monday.
Most details about it are classified, as is most information about the security agency. Analysts said the deal reflects the growing challenge of electronic eavesdropping.
"There's a ton more communications out there and how to sift through that is an increasing problem for the NSA," said Richard A. Best Jr. of the Congressional Research Service.
The advent of e-mail, pagers, cellular phones, fax machines and the growth of international telephone service has left the NSA with "profound 'needle-in-a-haystack' challenges," Best said.
The Sept. 11 attacks underscored the need for such monitoring. Among the millions of communications the NSA intercepted on Sept. 10, 2001, were two Arabic-language messages warning of a major event the next day. The Arabic messages were not translated until Sept. 12.
Two years ago, the Fort Meade, Md.-based security agency launched what it calls the "Trailblazer" program to use commercial technology to help it keep pace with the growth in global communications.
SAIC could be in line for additional lucrative NSA contracts if the agency decides to buy its solution. The company referred all questions on the contract to the NSA.
The NSA, part of the Defense Department, has in recent years been taking advantage of advances in the commercial sector.
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