Ex-CIA Hacker Schulte: 40 Years for Spying & WikiLeaks Leak
Former CIA operative Joshua Schulte has been handed a 40-year prison sentence for leaking a cache of classified hacking tools to WikiLeaks. The charges also included possession of child abuse images. Schulte, 35, was accused of exposing the CIA's “Vault 7” tools, enabling the hacking of smartphones for surveillance.
In 2017, Schulte shared a staggering 8,761 documents with WikiLeaks, marking the CIA's largest-ever data breach. Despite denying the allegations, he was convicted across multiple federal trials in New York between 2020 and 2023.
The sentencing, covering charges of espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI, and possession of child abuse images, took place recently. US Attorney Damian Williams stated that Schulte's actions constituted some of the most audacious espionage crimes in American history.
Evidence presented during the trial revealed Schulte's role as a software developer in the Center for Cyber Intelligence, responsible for cyber espionage against terrorist groups and foreign governments. Prosecutors argued that his leak to WikiLeaks in 2016, coupled with false statements to the FBI, stemmed from workplace grievances.
Struggling with work deadlines and earning the nickname “Drifting Deadline,” Schulte allegedly sought revenge against perceived wrongdoers, causing significant damage to national security. WikiLeaks' publication of classified data from the leak in 2017 had an immediate and profound impact, compromising CIA intelligence efforts and risking personnel and assets.
Following the publication, the FBI interviewed Schulte multiple times, where he consistently denied involvement. Subsequent to his arrest in 2018, a search of his apartment uncovered thousands of child abuse images. Prosecutors revealed that even after his arrest, Schulte attempted to transmit more information, smuggling a phone into jail and trying to share details about CIA cyber groups.
In a bizarre twist, he drafted tweets under the pseudonym Jason Bourne, a fictional intelligence operative, containing information about CIA cyber tools. Schulte has been in custody since 2018.
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