A former director at a US military contractor that sells computer vulnerabilities pleaded guilty on Wednesday to st
ealing and reselling $35 million in trade secrets to a Russian cyber-tools broker whose clients include the Russian government.
Peter Williams, 39, worked at Trenchant, an L3 Harris Technologies Inc
. subsidiary that develops hacking tools and describes itself as an “
nd vulnerability researchers who are charged with building world-class computer security products,” according to the firm’s website.
He was accused of stealing “national-security focused software that included at least eight sensitive and protected cyber-exploit components,” whic
h were meant to be sold exclusively to the US government and select allies, according to the Justice Department.
Williams’ voice broke when he pleaded guilty in Washington federal court. He answered “yes” or “no” to questions fro
m US District Court Judge Loren AliKhan but otherwise stayed silent for the one-hour hearing.
The sales occurred between 2022 and 2025, when Williams improperly used his access to the defense contractor’s sec
ure network to steal cyber exploits, according to the Justice Department.
Williams, a 39-year-old Australian national, worked at Trenchant until August. Williams’ attorney declined to comment.
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L3Harris also declined to comment on the matter. The Department of Justice didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Williams stole and resold $35 million of cyber trade secrets from a US cleared defense contractor to a Rus
sian government supplier, according to a Justice Department statement.
The changes each carry a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000 or twic
e the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense, the agency said.
The Russian cyber-exploits broker publicly advertises as a reseller to various customers, including the Russia
n government, according to the Justice Department, which didn’t name the alleged broker.
John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security,
said in the statement that Williams’ conduct “was deliberate and deceitful, imperiling our national security for the sake of personal gain.”
Williams allegedly resold the trade secrets in exchange for a prom
ise of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. He used the proceeds to buy himself “high-value items,” the Justice Department said.