A WORLD ON WATCH
Tim Cook '82
important principles outlined in the Constitution are addressed as we’re dealing with this incredibly complicated world in which—good and bad—we’re all out there driving on the same information highways.
“ Hey, Tim, we come at this problem set from very different perspectives sometimes. I realize we have different roles, but I value your perspective. Tell me what you see.” GEN.BURGESS: You got your start in cryptology when you started in this field?
ADM.ROGERS: That dream I had when I was 10 or 11 of being in the Navy? I did it for about six years and then I decided to try something else. So I decided cryptology, this specialized field of intelligence, is what I would get into.
GEN.BURGESS: So how do you, as the director, keep an agency abreast of or, actually ahead of, technological changes?
ADM.ROGERS: We spend a lot of time partnering with other organizations in the private sector to talk about what they see coming in technology. What are you working on now that we won’t see in the marketplace for another two to five years? What are the broader trends that we think are going to shape the digital world we’re all living in five years from now? How do we, the NSA, try to get ahead of that, realizing that most of the technology we are trying to deal with is not developed by the government but by the private sector? Relationships with the private sector are incredibly important. This is one area where I appreciate that, hey, we’ve got an Auburn grad in the form of [Apple CEO and 1982 graduate] Tim Cook. I’ve had conversations with him where I say, “Hey, Tim, we come at this problem set from very different perspectives sometimes. I realize we have different roles, but I value your perspective. Tell me what you see. What do you think is shaping the world in terms of the digital communications that we’re dealing with? What does the future look like?” And I try to do that with a variety of individuals. It’s not unique to NSA. I would argue that at United States Cyber Command, my other primary responsibility, we try to do the same thing. Cyber Command’s mission is a little different.
FA L L 2016
Auburn Magazine
33