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Cyber

Prosecutors describe ex-CIA engineer charged in massive leak as 'angry and vindictive'

2020-03-03

[FoxNews] Federal prosecutors said Monday that a software engineer on trial for the largest leak of classified information in CIA history was “prepared to do anything” to betray the agency.

Joshua Schulte is a former CIA coder accused of sending the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks a large portion of the agency’s computer hacking arsenal — tools the agency had used to conduct espionage operations overseas.

His defense attorney argued the man had been scapegoated for a breach that exposed secret cyberweapons and spying techniques.

Prosecutors have said the leak was devastating to national security, as it exposed CIA operatives, brought intelligence gathering to a halt and left allies wondering whether the U.S. could be trusted with sensitive information.

Schulte left a trail of evidence despite learned attempts to erase his digital fingerprints, Laroche said in closing arguments. Schulte became disgruntled at the CIA, he said, and took meticulous steps to plan — and cover up — the 2016 theft.

Schulte, 31, worked for a CIA group in Langley, Va., that designs computer code to spy on foreign adversaries. The so-called Vault 7 leak revealed how the CIA would hack Apple and Android cellphones in overseas spying operations.

The government settled too hastily on Schulte as the leaker, Shroff said, ignoring suspicious activity by one of his colleagues who was ultimately suspended. The prosecution's theory has “giant holes,” she said, including the unresolved question of why WikiLeaks waited nearly a year to publish the archive.

Posted by:Skidmark

#4 Bald IT guy with a goatee.
Shoot him.

Posted by: Skidmark 2020-03-03 22:30

#3 Seriously, traitors should be shot. If we can't make an example of this guy then it will only get worse.

Of course, that assumes we have evidence he's guilty.

Posted by: rjschwarz 2020-03-03 14:28

#2 Prosecutors have said the leak was devastating to national security, as it exposed CIA operatives, brought intelligence gathering to a halt and left allies wondering whether the U.S. could be trusted with sensitive information.

The events of 9/11 were "devastating." The frustration discussed herein point to a lack of a 'plan B' or contingency. Risk of compromise is inevitable and must be taken into account with any intelligence operation or project.

Posted by: Besoeker 2020-03-03 07:53

#1 "Disgruntled"

Yeah, they always use that one. It means he saw what they were doing from the inside and became righteously angry.

The Vault 7 leaks exposed the CIA as being able to plant an electronic signature on hacks to create a false flag. Remember when the CIA claimed Russian hacking due to finding "Russian" malware on infected systems? From Vault 7: CIA can customize the "fingerprints" hacks leave behind and make it look like someone else did it.

The CIA's Remote Devices Branch's UMBRAGE group collects and maintains a substantial library of attack techniques stolen from malware produced in other states including the Russian Federation.

https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/#EXAMPLES

Posted by: Herb McCoy 2020-03-03 07:40

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