The Opportunities—and Obstacles—for Women at NSA and Cyber Command

Working in cybersecurity within the United States intelligence community requires navigating a warren of male-dominated fields. Inequalities persist, but three senior-level women at the National Security Agency and Cyber Command offered WIRED rare insights into how those organizations have evolved—and the hard work that remains to be done.

NSA and Cyber Command agents are by necessity tight-lipped about the substance of their day-to-day work and specific accomplishments. But in talking about their experiences as women in majority-male fields they could be more candid, providing a rare window into their daily lives working on US intelligence analysis and international hacking operations.

Leila Doumanis joined the United States Marine Corps in 2006, first as a signals collection and processing analyst in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning to the US. After a decade working her way up the ranks, she became a cyberspace offensive weapons officer stationed in Japan and ultimately a captain working at Fort Meade, where NSA is also headquartered. Today, Doumanis leads a 700-member combat support team for the Marine Corps Cyberspace Command. Her military progression is exceptional not only for its speed—she's one of the most junior team leads in her department—but for having accomplished it in an overwhelmingly male field with few female role models coming before her.