Tailored Access Operations

Tailored Access Operations
AbbreviationTAO
Formationc. 1997–2001[1]
TypeAdvanced persistent threat
PurposeCyberespionage, cyberwarfare
HeadquartersFort Meade
Region
United States
MethodsZero-days, spyware
Official language
English
Parent organization
S3 Data Acquisition
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A reference to Tailored Access Operations in an XKeyscore slide

The Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO), now Computer Network Operations, and structured as S32,[1] is a cyber-warfare intelligence-gathering unit of the National Security Agency (NSA).[2] It has been active since at least 1998, possibly 1997, but was not named or structured as TAO until "the last days of 2000," according to General Michael Hayden.[3][4][5]

TAO identifies, monitors, infiltrates, and gathers intelligence on computer systems being used by entities foreign to the United States.[6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (1 December 2017). "NSA employee who worked on hacking tools at home pleads guilty to spy charge". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  2. ^ Loleski, Steven (2018-10-18). "From cold to cyber warriors: the origins and expansion of NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) to Shadow Brokers". Intelligence and National Security. 34 (1): 112–128. doi:10.1080/02684527.2018.1532627. ISSN 0268-4527. S2CID 158068358.
  3. ^ Hayden, Michael V. (23 February 2016). Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1594206566. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. ^ Aid, Matthew M. (10 June 2013). "Inside the NSA's Ultra-Secret China Hacking Group". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  5. ^ Paterson, Andrea (30 August 2013). "The NSA has its own team of elite hackers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  6. ^ Kingsbury, Alex (June 19, 2009). "The Secret History of the National Security Agency". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  7. ^ Kingsbury, Alex; Mulrine, Anna (November 18, 2009). "U.S. is Striking Back in the Global Cyberwar". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  8. ^ Riley, Michael (May 23, 2013). "How the U.S. Government Hacks the World". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  9. ^ Aid, Matthew M. (8 June 2010). The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency. Bloomsbury USA. p. 311. ISBN 978-1-60819-096-6. Retrieved 22 May 2013.

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