Former CIA Hacker Joshua Schulte Receives 40-Year Prison Sentence

A former CIA officer named Joshua Schulte has recently been sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking classified hacking tools to the whistle-blowing platform Wikileaks. Schulte was also found guilty of possessing child abuse images. The leak involved the CIA's "Vault 7" tools, which are used by intelligence officers to hack smartphones and use them for eavesdropping. Prosecutors have described this leak as one of the most audacious in US history. Schulte shared around 8,761 documents with Wikileaks in 2017, making it the largest data breach in CIA history. Despite Schulte denying the allegations, he was convicted on multiple counts in three separate federal trials. His sentencing included charges of espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI, and possession of child abuse images. US Attorney Damian Williams stated that Schulte committed some of the most heinous crimes of espionage in American history. Evidence presented in court showed that Schulte worked as a software developer in the Center for Cyber Intelligence, which is responsible for cyber espionage against terrorist organizations and foreign governments. Prosecutors claimed that Schulte stole the information in 2016 and transmitted it to Wikileaks, and later misled FBI agents about his involvement. They alleged that Schulte's actions were driven by workplace disputes, as he was struggling to meet deadlines and had earned the nickname "Drifting Deadline" for falling behind schedule on a project. The prosecutors argued that Schulte sought revenge against those he believed had wronged him and caused significant damage to national security while doing so. Wikileaks began publishing classified data from the leaked files in 2017, which immediately and profoundly affected the CIA's ability to gather foreign intelligence, put CIA personnel and programs at risk, and incurred significant financial costs. Despite being questioned by the FBI after the data was published, Schulte denied any responsibility. However, a search of his apartment revealed numerous images of child sexual abuse materials. Furthermore, after his arrest, Schulte attempted to transmit additional information by smuggling a phone into jail and attempting to send a reporter information about CIA cyber groups. He also drafted tweets under the name Jason Bourne (a fictional intelligence operative) that contained details about CIA cyber tools. Schulte has been in custody since 2018.