NSA Unmasking of Americans Triples in 2023 Due to Foreign Hacker Threat

According to the latest report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, there has been a significant surge in the number of times the National Security Agency identified Americans or U.S. entities in intelligence reports compared to the previous year. The government disclosed that the number of identifications nearly tripled from the previous year, reaching over 31,300 times in the past year. This sharp increase in so-called unmaskings was attributed to attempts by foreign hackers to infiltrate critical infrastructure computer systems, rather than individual people, as confirmed by officials.

Focus on Critical Infrastructure

Notably, a single intelligence report last year detailed a “large number” of potential American entities targeted by a hacker seeking to breach critical infrastructure. This underscores the heightened focus on protecting vital systems from cyber threats.

The report, which is part of the annual spring release, offers valuable transparency into how intelligence agencies employ their electronic spying capabilities. It serves as an essential measure to understand the usage of surveillance-related statistics by the authorities.