A former senior executive at a US defence contractor has been handed an 87-month jail term after selling zero-day exploits to a Russian broker, according to Infosecurity Magazine. Australian national Peter Williams, 39, was the former general manager of L3Harris cyber-division Trenchant, a company that develops digital surveillance tools for Five Eyes agencies.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of trade secrets, admitted stealing eight “cyber-exploit components” over a three-year period and selling them for crypto payments, with the broker counting the Russian government among its clients. Williams admitted that his actions cost Trenchant/L3Harris $35m and had a “significant impact” on customers including the US and allied governments, with US attorney Jeanine Pirro stating that the crime is a crime of national security.
In addition to the jail term, he was ordered to serve three years of supervised release with special conditions, and to forfeit $1.3m, cryptocurrency, a house, and luxury items. Sanctions branches of the US State Department subsequently designated the broker and associated entities under PAIPA, blocking property and prohibiting most US persons from certain transactions.