The U.S. Department of Justice reported on Wednesday that Peter Williams, the former general manager of defense contractor L3Harris, had entered a guilty plea to selling surveillance equipment to a Russian broker who purchases “cyber tools.”
The DOJ’s press release on Wednesday stated, “The material, stolen over a period of three years from the U.S. defense company where he worked, consisted of national-security centered software that included at least eight unique and protected cyber-exploit components.” “The U.S. government and certain allies were the only intended customers for those components.”
Williams oversaw L3Harris’ Trenchant business, which creates spyware, exploits, and zero-days – security flaws in software that the manufacturer is unaware of. As part of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence partnership, Trenchant provides its surveillance technology to government clients in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Following L3Harris’ 2019 acquisition of two Australian sister firms, Azimuth and Linchpin Labs, which created and sold zero-day vulnerabilities to the Five Eyes alliance of nations, Trenchant was established.
Read: Singapore Confronts Persistent Cyber Espionage Threat on Core Infrastructure
DOJ Exposes Sale of Cyber-Exploits to Russian Broker
Williams, a 39-year-old Australian citizen who lives in Washington, D.C., sold exploits to an unidentified Russian broker, who offered Williams millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies in return, according to the DOJ.
According to reports, the previous general manager of Trenchant entered into agreements with the broker that called for an upfront payment for the exploits as well as recurring payments “for follow-on” support.
The prosecution did not identify the Russian broker to whom Williams supplied. Still, they claimed that the broker openly presents itself as a reseller of exploits to several clients, including the Russian government.
The broker to whom Williams sold exploits is a member of “the next wave of international arms dealers,” according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Wednesday. According to Pirro, Trenchant lost more than $35 million as a result of Williams’ misdeeds.
U.S. Officials Condemn Breach of National Security
According to U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, “Williams betrayed the United States and his boss by first stealing and then selling intelligence-related software.” “His actions were intentional and dishonest, endangering our national security for his own benefit.”
One of Williams’ lawyers, John Rowley, declined to comment.
Williams, who is referred to in the business as “Doogie,” was charged by the U.S. government on October 14 with selling trade secrets to a Russian bidder.
The government did not describe the nature of the trade secrets or the company from which they were stolen. Williams received $1.3 million for the exploits, according to a document submitted in mid-October.
Guilty Plea, Sentencing, and Fallout from the Case
Williams entered a guilty plea to two counts of stealing trade secrets, each of which carries a ten-year jail sentence. Prosecutors stated that he will be sentenced in January 2026.
Williams is presently under house arrest in the Washington, D.C. region, where he resides, according to writer and host of Risky Business Patrick Gray.
According to Gray, Williams was employed by the leading signals intelligence and eavesdropping organization in the nation, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
Williams dismissed a Trenchant engineer this week for allegedly stealing Chrome zero-days earlier this year. The former Trenchant employee said, because he was working on creating iOS zero-days, he never had access to those tools. Other former coworkers corroborated his story.
I am aware that I was used as a scapegoat. I wasn’t at fault. The exploit developer said, “It’s really easy.” “I worked my ass off for them; I didn’t do anything else.”
