Definition: NCSC

(1) (National Counterintelligence and Security Center of the U.S.) The NCSC was established in 2014 by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to integrate and align counterintelligence and security missions and their responsibilities under one organization. Among other functions, the NCSC monitors cyber threats to the security of the United States. The NCSC works with the U.S. government cyber and intelligence communities to circumvent malicious actors both foreign and domestic, and it coordinates operations among the six largest federal cyber centers, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis and private sector partners. See NCCIC.

(2) (National Computer Security Center of the U.S.) The NCSC was formed in 1981 as the DOD Computer Security Center, which was part of the NSA. The NCSC's key function was to support standards and evaluation of computing technology for secure applications by government agencies. Reduced in staff in the late 1980s and terminated in the mid-1990s, the NCSC was replaced by other agencies.

Known for sponsoring the Rainbow Series of papers summarizing minimum requirements for secure data storage and communications, the agency was also responsible for organizing the National Information Systems Security Conferences which ended with the 23rd conference in 2000. See Rainbow Series and NCSC security levels.

(3) (National Cyber Security Centre) The equivalent of the U.S. NCSC in the U.K. and Ireland, which were established in 2016 and 2015 respectively. See GCHQ.