FBI arrested another NSA contractor involved in theft of secret documents

Pierluigi Paganini October 06, 2016

Once again an NSA contractor is the headlines for the alleged theft of secret exploit codes and highly confidential documents.

The FBI has arrested another NSA contractor over a massive secret data theft.

The US DoJ has charged Harold Thomas Martin (51) with theft of secret documents and highly classified government material. According to a court complaint disclosed on Wednesday ,the stolen data include source codes developed by the NSA to its hacking campaigns against foreign governments.

The DoJ’s chief national security prosecutor John Carlin revealed that Martin was employed by Booz Allen Hamilton. Booz Allen Hamilton is the same defense contractor that employed the notorious Edward Snowden at the time the whistleblower when he disclosed the mass surveillance program conducted by the NSA on a global scale.

The feds are still investigating Martin’s activity, they suspect the man has stolen and leaked highly classified exploit codes developed to hack into the networks of foreign governments, including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

NSA contractor

Martin initially denied the theft, but later he admitted to have done something wrong.

“Mr. Martin, and he initially denied having taken the documents and digital files. The agency later said he had stated that he knew he was not authorized to have the materials. According to the complaint, he told the agency that “he knew what he had done was wrong and that he should not have done it because he knew it was unauthorized.” reports the New York Times.

Below the comment published via Twitter by Snowden.

This is huge. Did the FBI secretly arrest the person behind the reports NSA sat on huge flaws in US products? https://t.co/otgOwB5efm

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) 5 ottobre 2016

Martin was arrested on August 27, in Maryland and the FBI searched for the secret material at his home, in the garage, and in his vehicle.

“During an F.B.I. raid of his house, agents seized documents and digital information stored on electronic devices.” states The New York Times.

“A large percentage of the materials recovered from Martin’s residence and vehicle bore markings indicating that they were the property of the United States and contained highly classified information of the United States,” FBI Special Agent Jeremy Bucalo writes.

At the time I was writing there is no information on how the US authorities discovered Martin’s identity, when he began stealing data, or whether he passed the secret documents outside the intelligence Agency.

It is not clear if the man and his theft are linked to the hack of the NSA-linked Equation Group and the alleged responsible known as the Shadow Brokers group.

“We’re struggling to figure him out,” A US official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

If convicted, the NSA contractor faces up to 10 years in a US jail.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – NSA contractor, FBI)

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