40 years in prison for ex-CIA coder Joshua Schulte, who leaked hacking tools to WikiLeaks
- The former programmer was found guilty of espionage and other charges in a massive data breach that the US intelligence called a ‘digital Pearl Harbour’
- Schulte, who worked for the CIA’s elite hacking unit, took the cyber tools used to break into systems and sent them to WikiLeaks after he quit his job
A former CIA programmer was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for leaking the US spy agency’s most valuable hacking tools to WikiLeaks.
Joshua Schulte, 35, was found guilty in 2022 of espionage and other charges in what the CIA called a “digital Pearl Harbour” – the largest data breach in the history of the intelligence agency.
“Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most brazen, heinous crimes of espionage in American history,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
“He caused untold damage to our national security in his quest for revenge against the CIA for its response to Schulte’s security breaches while employed there.”
US District Judge Jesse Furman sentenced Schulte to 40 years in prison for espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI and child pornography.
Schulte worked for the CIA’s elite hacking unit from 2012 to 2016 when he quietly took cyber tools used to break into computer and technology systems, according to court documents.
