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Ex-Contractor Jailed for Selling Hacking Secrets to Russia
25 Feb
Summary
- Former contractor Peter Williams received a seven-year sentence.
- He sold company hacking tools to a Russian firm named Operation Zero.
- Williams earned $1.3 million in cryptocurrency from these illicit sales.
Peter Williams, formerly the general manager of L3Harris's Trenchant division, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday. He was found guilty of stealing and selling proprietary hacking and surveillance tools to a Russian firm. Williams, an Australian citizen residing in Washington D.C., admitted to selling seven trade secrets to a Russian broker. The U.S. Treasury Department identified this broker as Operation Zero and subsequently imposed sanctions on the company.
Operation Zero reportedly seeks security vulnerabilities in devices and messaging apps, claiming to sell acquired tools exclusively to the Russian government. Prosecutors indicated that the tools Williams sold could have granted access to millions of computers globally. Williams, who had prior experience with Australian intelligence and military agencies, confessed to acquiring approximately $1.3 million in cryptocurrency from these sales, which occurred between 2022 and 2025.
