Cognizant Security Agencies (CSAs) are defined as what?

• A. The five-position numeric code used to identify companies.
• B. The organizational entity delegated by the head of a Cognizant Security Agency to administer industrial security on behalf of the CSA.
• C. The agencies that grant personnel security clearances.
• D. The offices that adjudicate clearance decisions.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how industrial security is carried out under the National Industrial Security Program. A Cognizant Security Agency is the authority that sets and oversees industrial security requirements for contracts involving sensitive information. To handle day‑to‑day security work, the CSA designates an organizational unit to administer industrial security on its behalf. This unit is the entity within the contractor (often the Industrial Security Office) that implements security measures, processes facility security clearances, conducts training, handles incidents, and ensures ongoing compliance with the applicable security directives. That delegated organizational entity is what the question is describing.

So, the best answer identifies the organizational unit given authority by the CSA to run industrial security operations for the CSA. The other options don’t fit because they refer to codes or to agencies and offices charged with granting or adjudicating clearances, not the implementing arm that administers industrial security on the CSA’s behalf.