Paul J. Richards / AFP / Getty Images
A security contractor working for the National Security Agency was arrested in August in connection with the possible theft of classified computer codes, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Harold T. Martin III, 51, of Maryland worked for the same private firm as NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. He was arrested on Aug. 27, the Department of Justice said.
Martin has been charged with “theft of government property” and “unauthorized removal or retention of classified material or documents or material by a government employee or contractor,” according to a criminal complaint filed Aug. 29.
If found guilty of both charges, he faces up to 11 years in prison.
It was unclear if the documents Martin took were related to a number of NSA exploits and hacking tools put up for auction in August by a group calling itself The Shadow Brokers. The group said it would sell the NSA secrets to the highest bidder in an online auction, and they expected to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in bids.
The New York Times reported the contractor worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting firm where Snowden was employed before he shared classified material regarding top secret government surveillance programs with the media.
“As part of duties while working at the United States government office, Martin had a top secret national security clearance and the ability to access United States government property that was not permitted to be removed from authorized locations without authorization,” read the criminal complaint prepared by FBI Special Agent Jeremy Bucalo. “That property included classified information of the United States.”
According to the complaint, investigators conducted a search of Martin’s Glen Burnie, Maryland residence on Aug. 27, locating “hard copy documents and digital information stored on various devices and removable digital media.”
“A large percentage of the materials recovered from Martin’s residence and vehicle bore markings indicating that they were property of the United States and contained highly classified information,” the complaint read.
Six of the classified documents “appear to have been obtained from sensitive intelligence,” according to the complaint.
The FBI alleged the documents were classified as top secret and if disclosed “reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States.”
Paul J. Richards / AFP / Getty Images
According to the complaint, Martin at first denied taking the documents and files, but then admitted to taking them to his residence in his car without authorization.
Speaking at a CNBC summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, confirmed authorities had “made arrest of an individual who was involved in taking classified information.”
Carlin declined to discuss charges or further specifics, but did say the arrest highlighted the “problem of insider threats.”
“We talk a lot about how someone can gain...access remotely, but as you’re designing internal security programs...we also need to take into account, whether it’s economic espionage or traditional espionage, the focus on those who are trusted within our companies, within our government, who can exploit that trust to cause enormous harm,” he said.
Booz Allen Hamilton and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A message left on a number listed to Martin’s residence was not immediately returned.
Writing on Twitter, Snowden called the arrest "huge" but criticized those focusing on the Booz Allen Hamilton connection between him and Martin.
Read the complaint:
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