The program, called Perfect Citizen, was first disclosed Thursday in a Wall Street Journal article that said the NSA “would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity.”

Raytheon won the US$100 million contract for the first phase of Perfect Citizen, which is funded by the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, the Journal reported.

The NSA confirmed that Perfect Citizen exists. But the spy agency called the newspaper’s description “inaccurate,” saying that the program is “purely a vulnerabilities-assessment and capabilities-development contract.”

” The NSA said. “There is no monitoring activity involved, and no sensors are employed in this endeavor.”

“This contract provides a set of technical solutions that help the National Security Agency better understand the threats to national security networks, which is a critical part of NSA’s mission of defending the nation.