This Oct. 5, 2011, photo, provided by the U.S. Navy, shows Vice Adm. Michael Rogers. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is announcing that Rogers, the head of the Navys Cyber Command, has been chosen to be the next chief of the ... more >

The National Security Agency has hired its first chief risk officer in an attempt to quell public fear that it operates outside the rule of law.

Anne Neuberger, the former director of the agencys Commercial Solutions Center and aide to the NSA director, has been tapped for the role, the agencyconfirmed in a press release Wednesday.

Ms. Neuberger will work closely alongside all senior leaders at the agency. In her first year, she will focus on creating and maturing a methodology and processes to assess the various risks across different missions and work toward meeting specific objectives assigned by the director, the press release read.

Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the agencys director, said that Ms. Neuberger would be tasked with helping the agency to recognize, integrate, and assess the risk-reward value from multiple perspectives to make more informed, timely, and defensible decisions, the statement read.

Mark Jaycox, a legislative analyst with the Electronic Frontier Foundation who studies the NSA, told technology website Venture Beat that the premise sounds nice, its too early to tell how much clout Ms. Neuberger will have within the agency.

NSA wants to show us that they are making strides towards more privacy protections and a greater self-consciousness of their actions. NSA must do more than create and hire for these positions, Mr. Jaycox said.

A former NSA official told Venture Beat that Ms. Neubergers position would be similar to that of James Clapper, director of national intelligence.

[Mr. Clapper] ostensibly has oversight of the entire U.S. intelligence community. But hes really a talking head with no authority, the official said.

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NSA hires 'risk officer' for oversight; critics fear 'talking head with no authority'