More suicides at U.S. spy, cyber agencies scrutinized by Congress

The seals of the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and the Central Security Service in Fort Meade, Maryland. | BLOOMBERG

Nov 11, 2026

At least 11 National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command workers died by suicide over roughly the past year, according to U.S. officials and public records, a greater number than previously known.

The unusual spate of suicides at agencies that conduct electronic spying and hacking operations on U.S. adversaries has prompted White House and congressional staff to question their leaders behind closed doors, said the officials. While many factors can lead someone to take their own life, the deaths have caused military commanders to take steps to control long work hours and make more mental health support available to intelligence officers and government hackers whose workload has surged in the past year because of foreign conflicts.

From early June to early July, five people who worked for the NSA or Cyber Command took their own lives, a timeline that led the military to link the deaths as a so-called suicide cluster, people familiar with the matter said in August.

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