An Australian intelligence insider and cybersecurity executive is facing more than a decade in a US jail after pleading guilty to selling a Russian broker his employer's trade secrets.
Peter Joseph Williams faced the US District Court in Washington DC on Wednesday, local time, charged with stealing eight trade secrets — a business term used to describe confidential and often valuable material that gives organisations a competitive edge.
While the specific nature of the information Williams stole has not been made public, prosecutor Tejpal Chawla told the court the products were supposed to be sold "exclusively to the US government and select allies".
Mr Chawla said the 39-year-old "admitted his actions had affected intelligence communities in Australia and the United States".
Williams, a US resident, sat quietly and bowed his head as Mr Chawla detailed his crimes to the court.
The prosecutor said the Australian had been paid about $US1.3 million ($2 million) in crypto currency to sell information to a Russian company he was in "regular contact" with over the course of three years from April 2022.
The court was told Williams knew the Russian company could then sell the information on again to whoever it wanted, including the Kremlin.
Mr Chawla told the court Williams had created an alias, John Taylor, to try to cover up his crimes and would have received more money if he had not been caught.
He said the Australian's crimes had cost his employer about $US35 million.
It was not revealed in court but the ABC has confirmed Williams has a long employment history in cybersecurity and intelligence fields, working for both private and public organisations in Australia and the US.
Most recently he was the general manager for defence subcontractor Trenchant, which specialises in cybersecurity and supplies the Five Eyes intelligence network — comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the UK, US and Canada — with hacking tools.
Multiple sources have told the ABC Williams worked for the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) in the 2010s. The ASD is the national intelligence agency responsible for cybersecurity and foreign signals intelligence and has the capability to conduct offensive cyber operations under the government's direction.
Australian 'betrayed US and its allies'
Williams's guilty plea drew a fierce response from the US government on Wednesday.
"America's national security is not for sale, especially in an evolving threat landscape where cybercrime poses a serious danger to our citizens," Attorney-General Pam Bondi said in a statement released after the hearing.
Prosecutors told the court on Wednesday that authorities notified Williams's employer its trade secrets had been stolen last year and that Williams had led an internal investigation into his own crimes.
Later, however, the FBI launched a probe.
"Peter Williams betrayed the United States and our allies by selling trade secrets," senior FBI agent Alexander Arnott said in a statement released after the hearing.
"The harm caused by his crimes cannot be undone.
"The FBI and our partners will aggressively investigate and hold accountable anyone who threatens US national security."
Williams faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars in the US. During Wednesday's hearing it was revealed he accepted sentencing guidelines that would mean he would spend more than a decade in prison.
Presiding Judge Loren AliKhan warned the Australian he would be deported after any custodial sentence and that she could imprison him for longer.
"It's very important no-one has promised you anything about what I'm going to do [in sentencing]," she told Williams in court.
Court documents filed earlier this month revealed authorities had seized Williams's house in Washington DC as part of the case, as well as funds in multiple bank accounts, a collection of 22 watches, including five fake Rolexes, and high-end jewellery, clothing and accessories.
Williams did not speak much during his court appearance, but told the judge he had been receiving treatment for depression and anxiety.
He will remain under home detention in Washington DC until his sentencing hearing on January 27, but a lengthy jail term appears inevitable.
"Oh, he's going to get a custodial sentence," Williams's lawyer John Rowley told the ABC outside court.
