Welcome to the National Security Agency - NSA/CSS

The NSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) maintains a hotline to facilitate the reporting of allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in NSA programs and operations and violations of law, rules, and regulations by NSA employees and contractors, and assigned military. If you wish to report such allegations, you may call, send a letter, or e-mail the OIG Hotline as identified at the left.

The NSA OIG hotline is staffed by the OIG Ombudsmen, who work in the OIG Investigations Division at Ft. Meade, MD. The ombudsmen review hotline complaints and contact appropriate NSA organizations that can provide information and assistance to the person who has lodged the complaint.

What Happens to a Hotline Complaint:

Upon receipt of an allegation of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement, the OIG may take any one of the following actions:

• open an OIG investigation;
• open an ombudsman inquiry to attempt to resolve the matter without an OIG investigation;
• refer the matter to an NSA organizational manager for appropriate review and action; or
• refer the allegation to another federal agency’s OIG (e.g., DoD).

All significant matters are monitored until the action to resolve the complaint is planned or taken. Allegations with limited specificity or merit may be held in abeyance until specific details have been reported.

Callers May Remain Anonymous

Individuals who contact the Hotline are not required to provide their identities. However, persons who report allegations are encouraged to identify themselves in the event that additional questions arise as the OIG evaluates or pursues the allegation.

The NSA OIG will protect the identity of complainants to the maximum extent possible by law. Confidentiality is established by Section 7(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, which precludes the IG from disclosing the identity of an employee who reports an allegation or provides information, without the employee’s consent, unless the IG determines that disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation.

What to Report to the OIG Hotline:

• Gross mismanagement, waste of resources (money, time, people), abuse of authority
• Allegations of criminal activity and serious work-related misconduct involving NSA employees
• Contract and Procurement Fraud
• Environmental, Health, and Safety Violations
• Computer Crimes
• Product Substitution and Suspect/Counterfeit Parts
• Bribery, Kickbacks, and Gratuities
• False statements and false claims
• Conflicts of Interest and Ethics Violations
• Travel Fraud
• Theft and Abuse of Government Property

Individuals must provide relevant and specific details in their complaints. This includes the identity of the person, company, or organization alleged to have engaged in wrongdoing; a description of the alleged impropriety; the NSA facility and/or organization or program affected by the alleged misconduct; any contract numbers or contractor names; date(s) of alleged wrongdoing; how the caller is aware of the alleged impropriety; the identity of potential witnesses; and the identity and location of supporting documentation. Failure to provide sufficient details will hamper our ability to investigate the complaint.

Contractor Business Ethics Compliance Program Disclosure Requirements:

Under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), contractors shall timely disclose, in writing, to the Office of the Inspector General, with a copy to the Contracting Officer, whenever the contractor has credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, or subcontractor of the contractor has committed a violation of the civil False Claims Act or of federal criminal law involving fraud, conflict of interest, bribery, or gratuity violations in connection with the award, performance, or closeout of a contract or any related subcontract. The individual making the disclosure must be an officer or manager empowered to speak for the company. Additional information regarding these reporting requirements can be found in the December 12, 2008, FAR Amendment at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-26953.html.

How to File A Complaint:

Mail:
National Security Agency
ATTN: Office of the Inspector General Hotline
9800 Savage Rd.
Ft. George G. Meade, MD 20755
Suite 6247

Submit a Complaint On-line Now

What to Expect After Submitting a Hotline Complaint:

• We cannot provide information regarding action(s) that have been taken on any allegation reported to our office. The information you provide will be processed according to our internal policies and guidelines, and appropriate action will be taken.
• Unless you are contacted directly by one of our investigators or ombudsmen, there will be no communication from our office, outside of correspondence which may advise you that your matter has been referred to another federal Agency if your submitted allegations do not fall under the jurisdiction or cognizance of the National Security Agency.