NSA Director Alexander Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote: Gallery

At leading security conference Black Hat USA 2013 Gen. Keith Alexander, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and Director of the NSA told attendees in the event's opening keynote that "the same people who uphold the Constitution are the same people that run these programs"

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.

Alexander explained that he wanted to, "give attendees an insider’s look into the U.S. Cyber Command and the interworking of offensive cyber strategy" and he did, showing slides with prepared information about some of the surveillance programs used by the NSA.

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.

The main thrust of the NSA Director's speech was that the NSA's surveillance programs were to protect Americans and combat foreign threats.

He told Black Hat in regard to the NSA's data collection requests, "these are not rubber stamped."

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.

When NSA Director General Keith Alexander told the attendees of Black Hat USA 2013 that, speaking as the NSA, "we stand for freedom" - a member of the audience immediately shouted, "Bullshit!"

The vociferous crowd did not hesitate to talk back. One attendee shouted, "what I'm saying is that we don't trust you." Another accused the General of lying to Congress and shouted, "How do we know you're not lying to us right now?"

Near the talk's end, an attendee shouted that General Alexander should read the Constitution.

He responded saying, "I have. You should, too."

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.

The General's speech stressed that the NSA's focus was on terrorism suspects, and minimized the scope of the surveillance programs.

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.

Today's keynote comes during the NSA's most turbulent time in history - under Alexander's watch - when it has been rocked by Wikileaks, the Manning trial, former contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden and the Prism leaks, and widespread outrage at the revealed extent of the NSA's domestic and global surveillance programs.

The NSA Director told attendees of North America's leading security conference that he was at Black Hat to ask for the help of the security professionals in attendance for their help, most especially if they felt the programs were wrong.

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.

Americans, US politicians and the over 7,000 attendees of Black Hat USA 2013 are currently struggling with revelations and further, previous allegations that the NSA has been surveilling them and spying on their digital communications far more than was previously believed, known or even understood.

Last year, the Director controversially delivered a keynote at DEF CON, the hacker conference after Black Hat. He was not invited back this year.

Only two weeks ago, Federal agents were openly disinvited to DEF CON by the organizer, in a blog post saying that the conference needed "time off" in its bizarre relationship with "Feds."

Read the full report in: NSA Director accused of lying to Congress in Black Hat USA 2013 Keynote.