The Woman Who Smashed Codes

by Jason Fagone

historian at the Department of Justice, Barbara Osteika, located records of Elizebeth’s old smuggling cases and came to see Elizebeth as a “beacon of hope” for women in federal law enforcement, a trailblazer. An FBI cryptanalyst, Jeanne Anderson, who solves the handwritten code and cipher notes of suspected criminals, found transcripts of Elizebeth’s trials from the 1930s and studied them for guidance on speaking to juries. And although Elizebeth had never worked there, she also won fans at the NSA, where female cryptanalysts rose to distinction after the war, including Juanita Morris Moody, who briefed U.S. leaders during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Ann Caracristi, who became the agency’s number-two official.