Leaked NSA documents shed little light on cybersecurity spending

Leaked budget documents provide some clues about hard-to-track spending within the National Intelligence Program’s “black budget,” according to FCW, a Defense Systems sister publication. The figures in the $52.2 billion classified budget cover a wide range of accounts, including cyber funding.

The leaked documents were originally reported by the Washington Post.

Cybersecurity spending is tucked away in many DOD budget line items and programs are not always labeled clearly, according to the article. The Defense Department is expected to receive nearly $5 billion in cyber funding this year, an increase of $3.4 billion, but those funds are scattered across four services and a multitude of agencies and offices.

FCW also reported that the National Security Agency received $1 billion for “computer network operations,” while the Department of Homeland Security will receive almost the same amount in fiscal 2014 for “the protection of federal computer and networks against malicious cyber activity.

NSA’s Consolidated Cryptologic Program saw a decrease of $7.3 million from fiscal in 2013. However, a separate account under the CCP, cyber cryptanalysis, received a $4 million boost over the same time period.