'We don't monitor the behaviors of American citizens': New NSA director slams agency critics and accuses Edward Snowden of jeopardizing US counterintelligence NSA Director Michael Rogers delivered his remarks Friday while giving an address at the Politics Aside conference Took over the agency in April after departure of his embattled predecessor, Keith Alexander Rogers said because of Edward Snowden's leaks, groups like ISIS have been 'shutting the NSA out' PR porblem: NSA Director Michael Rogers spoke about the agency's bad image at a conference in California held by the think-tank RAND Corportation The newly appointed director of the beleaguered National Security Agency has excoriated critics for vilifying the department while insisting that the NSA is not keeping tabs on Americans. NSA Director Michael Rogers delivered his remarks Friday while giving an address at the Politics Aside conference, which is hosted twice a year in Santa Monica, California, by RAND Corporation - a non-profit global policy think tank. 'We don't monitor the behaviors of American citizens,' Rogers declared. 'That's not what we're about. That's not our mission. That's not what we're here to do. So we've got to work our way through this.' Rogers, who is a US Navy admiral, took over the NSA in April following the departure of the agency's previous director, Keith Alexander. Following explosive revelations made by former NSA and CIA contractor Edward Snowden that the agency has been eavesdropping on Americans, Alexander famously lied during a congressional hearing in March 2012, denying data collection on US citizens. It was not until July 2013 that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper publicly admitted that the NSA does collect metadata on millions of American phone calls. On Friday, Michael Rogers hit out at Snowden, accusing the controversial whistleblower, who has been living in exile in Russia for more than a year now, of damaging America's counterintelligence efforts, reported Yahoo News. For those who would argue that the media leaks have had no impact, I would argue you don't know what you're talking about. NSA Director Michael Rogers "For those who would argue that the media leaks have had no impact, I would argue you don't know what you're talking about," Rogers said. I'm watching groups change their behavior. I'm watching groups talk about the disclosures and say,"'Look, we can't use this because the Americans are onto it." That's not a laughing matter to me. While Rogers would not go into detail, he noted that ISIS has been 'shutting the NSA out' as of late. Rogers repeatedly lamented that the ongoing national debate over NSA's activities has been 'one-sided and simplistic.' Bete noire: Rogers said because of Edward Snowden's leaks, groups like ISIS have been 'shutting the NSA out' Whistleblower: The former NSA and CIA contractor has been living in Russia for more than a year now He also asserted that the agency he's heading fully complies with the law. The director vehemently defended his staff, saying that the people employed by the NSA are American citizens who come to work every day to carry out an 'important mission.' "They do not, do not, come to work and say to themselves, "Hey, how can I systematically override the laws and the authorities that I've been granted?"" he stated. At one point during his address, a member of the audience stood up and told Rogers point-blank: 'I'm afraid of you.' Rogers retorted: "You just don't know much about us.' The admiral addressed the question of NSA's transparency, or lack thereof, saying that the agency tasked with gathering intelligence cannot be expected to broadcast all of its activities to the world because terrorists groups are listening. Loyal to his staff: Rogers has come to the defense of NSA employees, saying that their goal is not to break the law, but to carry out an important mission "The level of privacy versus secrecy, and the role of the government versus the role of the private person - we have watched that change over time, and it will continue to change," he mused. We've got to sit down as a nation and have a true discussion about what privacy means in the digital age. Rogers concluded his impassioned, often confrontational, speech with a quip, saying that the NSA lures new recruits by promising them that they'll be able to do 'some really neat stuff' that 'you can't legally do anywhere else.'