Page 5 - My FlipBook

in an article about tween buying habits. He told the reporter about
his dream bedroom: “I would love my own computer, a TV, and a
Nintendo 64 in my room. And a soft armchair to read in.”
In high school at Sidwell Friends School in Bethesda, Maryland,
Sands-Ramshaw loved math and science. He was a member of
Sidwell’s mathematics team, which competed against teams from
other high schools to solve difficult math problems. After high school
he attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He
graduated magna cum laude (with great distinction) with a bachelor’s
degree in computer science. His honors thesis was about how
terrorists might use the internet to attack the US power grid—the
network of wires and equipment used to transmit electricity and other
kinds of power across the nation.
After graduation, he was offered a job by the National Security
Agency (NSA), part of the US Department of Defense (DOD). The
NSA monitors, collects, and processes intelligence, or information
about potential threats to the United States, from around the globe.
It’s a spy agency, and it wanted Sands-Ramshaw to join its team of US
government cyberspies.
The NSA often works online. Its agents frequently hack
computers, smartphones, and online networks to gather data.
Sands-Ramshaw’s background in math and computers made him an
ideal candidate for the agency, which wanted to expand its base
of tech-savvy employees. The agency was especially interested in
people with a knowledge of malware (malicious software, including
computer viruses), cryptography (breaking secret codes), and

SPIES LIkE US: InSIdE thE WoRLd of CYBERIntELLIgEnCE 5