Identifies collection authorities and environment; incorporates priority information requirements into collection management; develops concepts to meet leadership’s intent. Determines capabilities of available collection assets, identifies new collection capabilities; and constructs and disseminates collection plans. Monitors execution of tasked collection to ensure effective execution of the collection plan.

The DNEA analyzes intercepted intelligence information for metadata and content. They use this data to reconstruct and document target networks to judge the intelligence value and maintain target continuity. DNEAs understand and analyze target implementation of communication technologies and digital network systems. They discover methods and suggest strategies to exploit specific target networks, computer systems, or specific hardware and/or software.