Key senior administration officials have advocated splitting the leadership of the largest U.S. spy agency from that of the military's cyberwarfare command as a final White House decision nears, according to individuals briefed on the discussions.
At a White House meeting of senior national security officials last week, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said he was in favor of ending the current policy of having one official in charge of both the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command, said the individuals, who were not authorized to speak for attribution.
Also, officials appear inclined to install a civilian as director of the NSA for the first time in the agency's 61-year history. Among those said to be potential successors to the current director, Gen. Keith Alexander, is his deputy, John "Chris" Inglis.