What makes you think the NSA employees felt humiliated?
Maybe they were proud that their work was publicly recognized.
Higher-ups understandably felt frustration that they needed to replace the program, but what makes you think that the employees didn't already anticipate that exploits and campaigns would get burned?
Is there a difference between a vendor issuing a patch or an organization's security response team cutting off access, and a anti-malware company doing its job to research campaigns?
If the NSA employees responsible were proud of the public exposure of their clandestine work, while it was still viable, the NSA hired the wrong people.
Maybe they were proud that their work was publicly recognized.
Higher-ups understandably felt frustration that they needed to replace the program, but what makes you think that the employees didn't already anticipate that exploits and campaigns would get burned?
Is there a difference between a vendor issuing a patch or an organization's security response team cutting off access, and a anti-malware company doing its job to research campaigns?