ExL3Harris executive accused of selling trade secrets to Russia CyberScoop
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By
Greg Otto
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October 23 2025
ppFederal prosecutors have accused a former executive at L3Harris Technologies cyber division of stealing trade secrets and selling them to an undisclosed buyer in Russia according to court documents obtained by CyberScoop ppThe Department of Justice filed charges against Peter Williams an Australian national who served as general manager of Trenchant a specialized cybersecurity division within L3Harris which provides hacking and surveillance tools to Western intelligence agencies The DOJ alleges Williams misappropriated eight trade secrets from two unnamed companies between April 2022 and August 2025 charging that he earned 13 million in connection with the salesppWhile the filings do not specify the nature of the stolen trade secrets nor do they identify the Russian buyer they allege Williams systematically transferred confidential proprietary data over a period spanning more than three years Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of Williams assets including his residence luxury watches jewelry and funds in seven bank and cryptocurrency accounts claiming these were derived from the criminal activityppNeither Trenchant nor its parent L3Harris is accused of any wrongdoing in the federal complaint An arraignment and possible plea agreement are scheduled for Oct 29 in Washington DCppTrenchant formed in 2018 following L3Harriss acquisition of Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs Australian startups that developed zeroday exploits caters to governments in the intelligencesharing Five Eyes alliance These technologies based on undisclosed vulnerabilities are considered valuable assets in intelligence and defense circles sometimes commanding prices in the millions and are tightly held given their national security implicationsppThe allegations against Williams arrive in the wake of an internal investigation at Trenchant earlier this year reportedly prompted by a leak of hacking tools According to multiple former employees interviewed by TechCrunch one former exploit developer was wrongly accused by company officials of leaking the tools particularly exploits targeting products like Google Chrome ppWhether the Justice Departments action is tied directly to this internal leak investigation remains unclear Court filings do not explicitly connect the sale of secrets to the incident or elaborate on overlaps between the two eventsppL3Harris headquartered in Melbourne Fla declined to comment Williams attorney did not reply to CyberScoop requests for commentppYou can read the complaint below p
By
Greg Otto
pp
October 23 2025
ppFederal prosecutors have accused a former executive at L3Harris Technologies cyber division of stealing trade secrets and selling them to an undisclosed buyer in Russia according to court documents obtained by CyberScoop ppThe Department of Justice filed charges against Peter Williams an Australian national who served as general manager of Trenchant a specialized cybersecurity division within L3Harris which provides hacking and surveillance tools to Western intelligence agencies The DOJ alleges Williams misappropriated eight trade secrets from two unnamed companies between April 2022 and August 2025 charging that he earned 13 million in connection with the salesppWhile the filings do not specify the nature of the stolen trade secrets nor do they identify the Russian buyer they allege Williams systematically transferred confidential proprietary data over a period spanning more than three years Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of Williams assets including his residence luxury watches jewelry and funds in seven bank and cryptocurrency accounts claiming these were derived from the criminal activityppNeither Trenchant nor its parent L3Harris is accused of any wrongdoing in the federal complaint An arraignment and possible plea agreement are scheduled for Oct 29 in Washington DCppTrenchant formed in 2018 following L3Harriss acquisition of Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs Australian startups that developed zeroday exploits caters to governments in the intelligencesharing Five Eyes alliance These technologies based on undisclosed vulnerabilities are considered valuable assets in intelligence and defense circles sometimes commanding prices in the millions and are tightly held given their national security implicationsppThe allegations against Williams arrive in the wake of an internal investigation at Trenchant earlier this year reportedly prompted by a leak of hacking tools According to multiple former employees interviewed by TechCrunch one former exploit developer was wrongly accused by company officials of leaking the tools particularly exploits targeting products like Google Chrome ppWhether the Justice Departments action is tied directly to this internal leak investigation remains unclear Court filings do not explicitly connect the sale of secrets to the incident or elaborate on overlaps between the two eventsppL3Harris headquartered in Melbourne Fla declined to comment Williams attorney did not reply to CyberScoop requests for commentppYou can read the complaint below p
