Ex-L3Harris exec jailed 7 years for selling exploits to Russia

Former Trenchant manager profited millions from cyber tools reserved for the US

The former general manager of L3Harris's cyber arm will spend the next seven years behind bars for selling trade secrets to Russia.

Peter Williams, 39, was sentenced to 87 months in prison this week after pleading guilty in October to selling cyber tools while in a senior position at Trenchant, a subdivision of L3Harris and a major US defense contractor.

The Australian admitted to stealing eight exploits over a three-year period that should have been provided exclusively to the US and selling them to a Russian bidder.

He said he sold the exploits to a Russian broker "via encrypted means" in exchange for cryptocurrency, which he then used to buy luxury items such as jewelry, properties, and vacations.

Williams acknowledged that his actions led to a $35 million loss to the US and its geopolitical allies, and harmed the intelligence communities of the US and his native Australia.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Williams sold the exploits for up to $4 million in cryptocurrency. A restitution hearing is scheduled for May 12, but his prison sentence also came with an order to forfeit $1.3 million in cash, as well as the crypto, properties, and luxury items purchased using the Russian broker's money.

"Peter Williams stole a US defense contractor's trade secrets about highly sensitive cyber capabilities and sold them to a broker whose clients include the Russian government, putting our national security and countless potential victims at risk," said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.

"The FBI and our partners remain unwavering in our commitment to protecting America's critical technologies, and we will ensure any who attempt to profit at our nation's expense face the full weight of the criminal justice system. 

"Let this be a clear warning to all who consider placing greed over country: if you betray your position of trust and sell sensitive American technology to our foreign adversaries, the FBI will not rest until you're brought to justice."

The Register contacted Williams' legal representatives and L3Harris. The company declined to comment.

Russian exploit broker sanctioned

On the same day Williams' sentence was announced, the US sanctioned Russian exploit broker Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk, his company Operation Zero, and five other individuals and entities for acquiring US cyber tools.

The Treasury confirmed that St Petersburg-based Operation Zero was the recipient of the eight exploits Williams sold, and the company then sold these on to at least one unauthorized user.

Operation Zero had been actively paying for exploits since 2021, a year before Williams started selling to it in 2022. The Treasury stated that the company had offered millions of dollars for exploits, focusing on popular US software and encrypted messaging platforms, which could be used for ransomware and other forms of attack.

Zelenyuk and his company had openly stated that they would only sell exploits to non-NATO countries and had made efforts to develop their own products, such as spyware and ways of exfiltrating personal data from AI products.

Also sanctioned is United Arab Emirates-based Special Technology Services LLC FZ (STS), another of Zelenyuk's companies, which the US believes was established to carry out similar business in Asia and the Middle East.

Other individuals sanctioned include Marina Evgenyevna Vasanovich, Zelenyuk's assistant, Azizjon Makhmudovich Mamashoyev, and Oleg Vyacheslavovich Kucherov.

Both Mamashoyev and Kucherov are suspected of having business dealings with Operation Zero. Kucherov is a suspected member of the Trickbot gang. Mamashoyev's company, Advance Security Solutions, an alleged exploit broker based in the UAE and Uzbekistan, was also sanctioned.

The actions taken by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) this week are the first made under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act (PAIPA), which became law in 2023.

"If you steal US trade secrets, we will hold you accountable," said Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury. "Treasury will continue to work alongside the rest of the Trump administration to protect sensitive American intellectual property and safeguard our national security." ®