The 12 best posters from the very odd NSA archive

  • Published

Long before it was at the centre of a huge spying scandal, the US National Security Agency had the communist threat to deal with - and wanted to make sure its staff did not spill secrets.

A vast archive of posters, apparently for display at the spy agency's offices, has been posted online thanks to a freedom of information request from governmentattic.org.

The website asked for "a digital/electronic copy of the NSA old security posters from the 1950s and 1960s", although confusingly it also got one featuring John Travolta.

Here are some of our favourites. The full, 139-page document, can be found here. , external

1. The ominous one

"Don't TALK yourself to death" - a skull features in an NSA security posterImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

2. The one with the art history

"Mona only smiles about her secrets. Keep smiling" - an NSA security poster featuring the Mona LisaImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

3. The one with the confusing metaphor

"Let security light up your life" - an NSA poster featuring a lightbulbImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

4. The one for sports fans

"Don't fumble - security is in your hands"Image source, NSA
Presentational white space

5. The festive one

"Season's Greetings - PS don't forget security during the holidays"Image source, NSA
Presentational white space

6. The one with the tight trousers

"Security Fever - catch it!" an NSA security poster stars John TravoltaImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

7. The one with someone who doesn't even know what security is

"A good start - be security conscious" - a baby stars in an NSA advertImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

8. The one with the more obvious metaphor

A bear stamped with a Soviet hammer & sickle stars in an NSA security advertImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

9. The one with the bad trip

"Don't blow your clearance mind on drugs" - an NSA security posterImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

10. The psychedelic one

"Secure all classified material" - an NSA posterImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

11. The one that brings you down to earth

"Before you worry about outer space..." planets feature on an NSA posterImage source, NSA
Presentational white space

12. The one with the eager ear

"Don't be tempted by an eager ear" - a elephant features in an NSA posterImage source, NSA
Presentational white space