Edward Loomis worked at NSA for 37 years. With education in Math and Computer Systems, he rose to become a senior Systems Engineer and Computer Scientist at NSA. To help NSA modernize for the digital age, he strung together a number of systems that he had developed, adding Bill Binney's work. This became the THINTHREAD prototype. It was intended to help the Agency leap forward, but instead was seen as a threat because it was more advanced and far cheaper than the Director's TRAILBLAZER program.

Loomis retired in late 2001 and worked another 5 years as a contractor on NSA projects, until his clearances were removed and his home was searched as part of the Times leak investigation. He keeps active kayaking, hiking and gardening, and enjoys collecting art.