A former CIA officer, Joshua Schulte, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking a vast amount of classified hacking tools to whistle-blowing platform Wikileaks. Schulte was also found guilty of possessing child abuse images. The leaked tools, known as the CIA’s “Vault 7,” enable intelligence officers to hack smartphones and utilize them as listening devices.
Prosecutors have described this leak as one of the most audacious in the history of the United States. In 2017, Schulte shared approximately 8,761 documents with Wikileaks, resulting in the largest data breach in the CIA’s history. Although he denied the allegations, he was convicted on various counts in three separate federal trials held in New York between 2020 and 2023.
Schulte, 35, was employed as a software developer in the Center for Cyber Intelligence, responsible for cyber espionage against terrorist organizations and foreign governments. Prosecutors revealed that in 2016, he transmitted the stolen information to Wikileaks and subsequently lied to FBI agents about his involvement in the leak. It was suggested that his actions were motivated by anger over a workplace dispute.
US Attorney Damian Williams stated, “Joshua Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most brazen, heinous crimes of espionage in American history.” The evidence presented at the trial demonstrated the significant damage caused by the leak, which compromised the CIA’s ability to collect foreign intelligence, put personnel and assets at risk, and incurred substantial financial losses.
Wikileaks began publishing classified data from the leaked files in 2017, further exacerbating the damage done. The consequences of this breach underscore the importance of safeguarding classified information and the potential ramifications of its unauthorized disclosure.
The sentencing of Joshua Schulte serves as a reminder that those who betray their country’s trust and compromise national security will face severe consequences under the law.
