Former Defense Contractor Manager Admits to Selling Trade Secrets to Russian Broker
An Australian national pleaded guilty Oct. 29 to two counts of theft of trade secrets, DOJ announced. Peter Williams admitted to selling his employer's trade secrets to a Russian "cyber-tools broker," the agency said.
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Williams stole the material, which consisted of "national-security focused software that included at least eight sensitive and protected cyber-exploit components," from defense contractor L3Harris Trenchant over a three-year period. The cyber-exploit components were meant to be exclusively sold to the U.S. government and its allies, DOJ said.
Williams sold it to a cyber-tools broker that "publicly advertises itself as a reseller of cyber exploits to various customers, including the Russian government," DOJ said. Each count of theft of trade secrets carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000 or "twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense."