Insider Threat Special Report: Contracting at the NSA

By Steven Bay

Steven Bay left Booz Allen Hamilton earlier this year after nine years with the management consulting firm.  He joined BAH in 2007 to work on a contract for the National Security Agency, and in 2011 was transferred to Hawaii to run its local NSA team.  Bay started his career in the Air Force as a Persian Farsi linguist.  He was stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland where he translated Persian documents and later became a digital network intelligence analyst.  He has launched a cyber consulting firm at ssbaygroup.com.

Steven Bay was a contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton for nine years.  He was working on an NSA contract in Hawaii when he hired Edward Snowden.  You can read more about Bay’s experience with Snowden here. He is currently the Founder and CEO of S.S. Bay Group.

The latest allegations against former National Security Agency contractor Harold Martin have increased the concern about contractor access at NSA and in other highly sensitive classified environments. These are very valid concerns, and what to do about it is complicated, as there are legitimate cases for and against contractor access.  Assuming the government continues to use contractors in the intelligence sector, there needs to be a consideration of how the government maintains oversight and control of the contractors.

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