Category Archives: Harold Martin

Former NSA contractor sentenced to 9 years for theft of government info

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Former NSA contractor Harold T. Martin was sentenced Friday to 9 years in prison for his role in a massive theft of classified documents. Martin was responsible for one of the largest leaks of U.S government secrets, after it was found that the former NSA contractor possessed up to 50 terabytes of classified government documents he collected over the course of two decades. Judge Richard Bennett’s sentence falls short of the maximum number of years Martin previously face — 10 years for each of the 20 counts against him — for unauthorized and willful retention of national defense information. However, the sentence aligns with the plea agreement his public defenders reached with the U.S. government. The U.S. attorneys said his theft called for “significant” prison time, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum, which CyberScoop obtained. “The exceptionally grave nature and circumstances of the defendant’s criminal conduct call for a significant […]

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Case against alleged hoarder of NSA documents gets tougher for federal prosecutors

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Prosecutors may be facing an uphill battle in their case against a former NSA contractor who was hoarding classified information in his Maryland home. A federal judge questioned the prosecution and defense in an ongoing case regarding Harold Martin, a former Navy officer turned defense contractor who was indicted for stealing and hoarding secret documents that outline U.S. hacking operations. Martin worked in a supporting role for multiple intelligence agencies — including the NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — during his employment at several different federal consulting firms. Marvin Garbis, a U.S. District Court judge based in Baltimore, is openly challenging the degree of proof that the prosecution must obtain to prove Martin’s guilt. A key question is whether the government must prove that Martin knew he had possession of specific classified federal documents or if he could be prosecuted using the Espionage Act of […]

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NSA contractor pleads guilty to charge of hoarding troves of classified docs

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A former U.S. defense contractor who spent nearly two decades mishandling classified information while working inside the NSA and other American intelligence agencies has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of illegal retention of national security information, the government says in newly filed court documents. Ex-NSA contractor Harold T. Martin could face up to 10 years in prison in addition to a $250,000 fine for the single felony charge. His guilty plea is just one part of an expansive case involving a 20-count indictment handed down in February 2017. The government did not specify whether the guilty plea is part of a plea deal. Investigators found last year that Martin had removed a staggering amount of sensitive material — including documents, removable media and computer files about internal NSA policy and cyber-operations — from various classified environments. More than 50 terabytes of material, some marked “Top Secret,” were recovered as part […]

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NSA contractor pleads guilty to charge of hoarding troves of classified docs

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A former U.S. defense contractor who spent nearly two decades mishandling classified information while working inside the NSA and other American intelligence agencies has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of illegal retention of national security information, the government says in newly filed court documents. Ex-NSA contractor Harold T. Martin could face up to 10 years in prison in addition to a $250,000 fine for the single felony charge. His guilty plea is just one part of an expansive case involving a 20-count indictment handed down in February 2017. The government did not specify whether the guilty plea is part of a plea deal. Investigators found last year that Martin had removed a staggering amount of sensitive material — including documents, removable media and computer files about internal NSA policy and cyber-operations — from various classified environments. More than 50 terabytes of material, some marked “Top Secret,” were recovered as part […]

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Shadow Brokers investigation is focusing on former NSA insider

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The U.S. government’s counter intelligence investigation into the so-called Shadow Brokers group is currently focused on identifying a disgruntled, former U.S. intelligence community insider, multiple people familiar with the matter told CyberScoop. Sources tell CyberScoop that former NSA employees have been contacted by investigators in the probe to discover how a bevy of elite computer hacking tools fell into the Shadow Brokers’ possession. Those sources asked for anonymity due to sensitivity of the investigation. While investigators believe that a former insider is involved, the expansive probe also spans other possibilities, including the threat of a current intelligence community employee being connected to the mysterious group. The investigatory effort is being led by a combination of professionals from the FBI, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and NSA’s internal policing group known as Q Group. It’s not clear if the former insider was once a contractor or in-house employee of the secretive […]

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Intelligence community seeks answers in aftermath of Harold Martin case

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The arrest and then recent indictment of Harold T. Martin III, a 20-year veteran of the intelligence community who is accused of carrying out the biggest theft of classified information in U.S. history, is causing leaders on Capitol Hill and in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to re-examine exactly how the government defends […]

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Former NSA contractor indicted for stealing massive trove of classified documents

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A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday accusing former defense contractor Harold T. Martin III of stealing classified and top secret government documents. Government lawyers say that from 1996 to August 2016, Martin repetitively stole information pertaining to NSA, U.S. Cyber Command, CIA and National Reconnaissance Office operations and capabilities Martin allegedly stored much of this […]

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