That is a recent shift. They used to take their dual mandate a lot more seriously. In fact that used to be the primary mission, before the offensive cyber comma

That is a recent shift. They used to take their dual mandate a lot more seriously. In fact that used to be the primary mission, before the offensive cyber command was integrated into the dual hat scheme. This was largely a behind the curtains shift, one with minimal input from congress and largely off the radar of voters. The interactions of NSA and NIST reveal that the NSA is not just an offensively postured organization, they are perfectly willing to destroy US security in the large if it allows them to deliver tasty intercepts in the small.