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Virginia Jenkins Riley
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Virginia Jenkins Riley (June 14, 1929 – November 19, 2008 ), was a self-taught consummate cryptologist for the National Security Agency. She is best known for writing one of the most widely used statistical programs for all cryptanalysis during her time at the NSA.

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Personal life 3 Career 4 NSA Hall of Honor 5 Death 6 References

Early life and education
Virginia Jenkins Riley was born on June 14, 1929 in Chillicothe, Ohio. She came from a family of four. Her parents were Thomas Emmett Clark and Grace Stocklin, and her sister was Mary Hanawalt.

Riley attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for undergrad. She graduated magna cum laude in Romance Language and was an active member of Phi Beta Kappa. Later, she received her MA from Duke University in 1953.

Part of what set Riley apart in college was her love for language. She was an avid writer and public speaker throughout her time at Miami University and Duke.

Riley married her first husband, William Thomas Jenkins, in Ohio in 1953. She later married her second husband, Robert Lee Riley, in September 2002. Together, they built their own home in Rockledge, Florida.

Personal life
Riley greatly appreciated music and often expressed herself in that way throughout her life. She sang in many church choirs, including St. Mary's in Laurel, Lady of Grace in Leisure World and St. Mary's in Rockledge, FL. In addition to singing, Riley loved to play the flute. This passion led her to join multiple musical groups.

As a writer, Riley enjoyed creating word puzzles for local news stations. A few of the publications she free-lanced for were Dell, Penny Press, and most recently, Games magazines. She also edited a 16-page newsletter for her mutual in Leisure World, Maryland.

She liked to keep an active lifestyle by swimming and taking long walks. Riley also valued reading and maintained that as a major part of her lifestyle. She was a lover of animals – cats, especially.

Career
After college, Riley moved to Laurel, MD. This is where she resided for most of her life. While living in Laurel, MD, riley acquired her first position at the National Security Agency. She worked there from 1953 until 1994.

Riley began her career at NSA in 1953 as a linguist. There, she became a self-taught cryptanalyst and computer programmer. Cryptanalysis is the process of deciphering unknown codes without the aid of a key. It studies ciphertext, ciphers, and cryptosystems with the aim of understanding how they work and finding and improving techniques for defeating or weakening them.

Riley programmed information that NSA hadn’t yet created a structure or curriculum form, making her a bit of a pioneer in the field. Here at the NSA, Riley would soon develop material that landed her in the NSA Hall of Honor. No one had done what she’d done up until that point in time, and it is still in use today. She twice received her agency's meritorious civilian service award and was the first female president of three of the agency's learned organizations.

In the 1960s, Riley was on the forefront of transformation at the NSA. She was not yet in the Cryptanalyst Department, but that would soon change. She was one of the designers and programmers of a general program written for the UNIVAC 490 – a 30-bit word core memory machine (computer) with 16K or 32K words. UNIVAC 490 came from a computer Univac Federal Systems created for the U.S. Navy. This was the first computer designed specifically for real-time applications at NSA. Riley created a program specifically made for general use, which became one of the most widely used diagnostic tools available to cryptanalysts of the time.

After this project was completed in the late 1960s, Riley moved up to the Cryptanalysis Department at the National Cryptologic School. There, she continued to develop new methods in cryptanalysis. One of which is the Cryptanalytic Diagnostics. This turned out to be highly successful, as the process was inventive to cryptanalysts of the time. Riley remained in the CA Department and eventually took leadership of it. Once in her new leading role, Riley revisited the new program she developed years prior. She updated and rewrote the entire CA curriculum with the use of newer technologies over time. While leading the CA Department, Riley introduced self-paced as well as computer-assisted training into the NCS.

Later, she became chief of Personnel. With this position Riley reimagined the college recruitment program for NCS. She implemented a new program in which analysts were teamed with personnel specialists. This way, potential recruits on campuses were able to meet and talk with enthusiastic SIGINTers.

Riley became president of three major organizations associated with the NSA: the Crypto Mathematics Institute, the Computer and Information Science Institute, and the Human Resources Management Association. She also helped found each of these organizations. While president, Riley was chosen as a distinguished member of the Crypto Mathematics Institute and the KRYPTOS Society.

NSA Hall of Honor
Riley, along with five other "cryptologic greats," was inducted into the NSA/CSS Cryptologic Hall of Honor in October 29, 2015 at the National Cryptologic Museum (NCM). In addition to her self-taught cryptanalysis and computer programming, Riley was noted as a linguist, cryptanalyst, educator, computer practitioner, and senior manager. She led a multi-faceted career with a wide range of experience.

Death
Riley died of ovarian cancer at 6:00 a.m. on November 19, 2008. She passed away at 79 years of age. She lived in the D.C. area for most of her life up until 2003, when she moved to Rockledge, Florida with her husband.