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Former NSA Director Joins Amazon's Board

Keith Alexander's appointment to Amazon's board does not sit well with privacy advocates like Edward Snowden, who exposed the NSA's surveillance programs in 2013.

Michael Kan
 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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Amazon has a new hire that's raising eyebrows among privacy advocates. The e-commerce giant has appointed Keith Alexander, the former head of the US National Security Agency (NSA), to its board of directors. 

Alexander, a retired four-star general, was named to the 11-person board on Wednesday, according to an SEC filing from Amazon. He served as the director of the NSA from 2005 to 2014, when—among other things—the US intelligence agency launched PRISM, a controversial surveillance program that collects internet communications from the top tech companies. 

The program was created to help the US stop terrorists and other national security threats. However, the surveillance also enables the US government to access private communications—such as emails, chat and videos—from both foreigners and Americans, sometimes without a warrant. (In 2018, President Trump signed a bill to renew the program for another six years.)

So it’s no surprise the appointment is alarming privacy advocates, including former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed the PRISM program before fleeing the US. On Twitter, he noted that Amazon’s cloud computing business, AWS, supports a vast number of apps and websites across the internet. At the same time, the e-commerce giant sells smart speakers capable of recording your voice commands to millions of consumers.

“It turns out ‘Hey Alexa’ is short for ‘Hey Keith Alexander,’” Snowden tweeted. 

However, Amazon told PCMag it selected Alexander for his leadership and public policy experience as a high-ranking US official who oversaw cybersecurity and national security matters. The company also noted Alexander co-founded IronNet, an IT security firm that works to protect private companies from hacking threats. 

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Amazon didn't specify which projects Alexander might consult on. But the private sector often hires retired federal officials to help them navigate the US government. In Amazon’s case, the company has been building up a government-focused cloud computing business, which counts the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies as customers.

In addition, Amazon is fighting the Pentagon’s decision to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft on claims President Trump manipulated the tendering process.

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About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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