In 1987, Congress enacted the Computer Security Act of 1987 reaffirming that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a division of the Department of Commerce, was responsible for the security of unclassified, non-military government computer systems. Under the law, the role of the National Security Agency (NSA) was limited to providing technical assistance in the civilian security realm. Congress felt that it was inappropriate for a military intelligence agency to have control over the dissemination of unclassified information.