It's probably not that uncommon that people working for companies, governments, or criminal organizations can't talk about their work in public.
One group I remember in particular are mathematicians working for the NSA, etc., who are not permitted to publish their research, then they watch as other mathematicians rediscover their work and get the credit.
I believe the word we seek is humble. Hopefully the lack of wide, popular recognition leads to humble NSA employees. Obviously, the leaks smeared their reputations. It focusses on the negative outliers. You hear about all the shit they were able to prevent seldomly, if ever.
Is this really a bad thing, though? I mean, personally, recognition seems important. I've withheld patenting certain inventions that became commercial products a half dozen times in my life.
That some specific instance of a discovery or whatever becomes the mainstream version is, well, it's irrelevant. Who discovered calculus? It doesn't actually matter because calculus works without some belief system and worship. Traffic routing algorithms? yes, if the person is alive and kicking, being able to lay claim to some algorithm or novel solution is a CV bullet point, but, and i say this with the utmost respect: most people are one hit wonders. If they can ride that "fame" to higher pay or respect, cool. But in the grand scheme, it's irrelevant. Ideas should be spread far and wide, so that people who have a greater understanding can explain the ideas to those without an understanding.
One group I remember in particular are mathematicians working for the NSA, etc., who are not permitted to publish their research, then they watch as other mathematicians rediscover their work and get the credit.