A former cybersecurity company official charged with stealing trade secrets to sell them to a Russian buyer pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of trade secrets in U.S. District Court today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Peter Williams, 39, an Australian national, pleaded guilty to the charges “in connection with selling his employer’s trade secrets to a Russian cyber-tools broker,” the Justice Department said in a press release. The Justice Department said Williams stole “national-security focused software that included at least eight sensitive and protected cyber-exploit components” over a three-year period from the U.S. defense contractor where he worked. The Justice Department didn’t name the company where Williams worked, but reports have said Williams is a former director and general manager at L3Harris Trenchant, which does vulnerability and security work for government clients. “Those components were meant to be sold exclusively to the U.S. government and select allies,” the Justice Department said. “Williams sold the trade secrets to a Russian cyber-tools broker that publicly advertises itself as a reseller of cyber exploits to various customers, including the Russian government.” Each of the charges carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, the Justice Department says, and Williams also must pay $1.3 million in restitution.

U.S. Places Value of Stolen Trade Secrets at $35 Million

The U.S. places the value of the stolen trade secrets at $35 million, according to statements from officials. “Williams placed greed over freedom and democracy by stealing and reselling $35 million of cyber trade secrets from a U.S. cleared defense contractor to a Russian Government supplier,” Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in a statement. “By doing so, he gave Russian cyber actors an advantage in their massive campaign to victimize U.S. citizens and businesses. This plea sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will defend the homeland and bring to justice anyone who helps our adversaries jeopardize U.S. national security. According to the facts admitted in connection with the guilty plea, the Justice Department said that from approximately 2022 through 2025, “Williams improperly used his access to the defense contractor’s secure network to steal the cyber exploit components that constituted the trade secrets.” The government says he resold those components “in exchange for the promise of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. To effectuate these sales, Williams entered into multiple written contracts with the Russian broker, which involved payment for the initial sale of the components, and additional periodic payments for follow-on support. Williams transferred the eight components and trade secrets to the Russian broker through encrypted means.” Williams reportedly worked for the Australian Signals Directorate before L3Harris Trenchant.

Trenchant’s Secretive Security Business

Trenchant was created following the acquisitions of Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies. According to a company web page, Trenchant’s solutions include vulnerability and exploit research, APIs for intelligence operations, “device and access capabilities,” and computer network operations (CNO) products. TechCrunch put that in plainer terms, saying Trenchant “develops spyware, exploits, and zero-days — security vulnerabilities in software that are unknown to its maker. Trenchant sells its surveillance tech to government customers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance.”

The U.S. government has apparently charged a former cybersecurity company official with stealing trade secrets with the intention of selling them to a Russian buyer, according to court documents and news reports. Court documents didn’t name the companies involved in the case, but Bloomberg and TechCrunch said the defendant – Peter Williams – is a former director at L3Harris Trenchant, which does vulnerability and security work for government clients. The Cyber Express reached out to U.S. and defense attorneys and L3Harris for comment on the case and was told by a U.S. attorney that they couldn’t comment on an ongoing case. L3Harris Trenchant is not charged with wrongdoing in the matter. The use of a Criminal Information document to bring the charges suggests the possibility of a plea deal in the case. Williams is scheduled to appear in court on October 29 for an "Arraignment and Plea Agreement Hearing," according to court records.

L3Harris Trenchant’s Sensitive Security Work

Trenchant was created following the acquisitions of Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies. According to a Trenchant information page, “Much of our work is neither public nor publicized. We work with select customers who share our ethical standards and have a formal mandate to operate in this space. Our solutions are driven by holistic analysis of real operational scenarios, yielding capabilities that are tuned to thrive and survive in real-world environments.” “We are a trusted, discreet partner furnishing security products, consultancy, training and integration services to allied governments, defense, security and law enforcement agencies,” Trenchant’s website adds. Trenchant’s solutions include vulnerability and exploit research, APIs for intelligence operations, “device and access capabilities,” and computer network operations (CNO) products.

The Charges: Stealing Trade Secrets

The two-count U.S. Criminal Information document alleges that Williams stole seven trade secrets from two unnamed companies with the intention of selling them to a Russian buyer. The first count states that between roughly April 2022 and June 2025, Williams allegedly “did knowingly steal, and without authorization, appropriate, take, carry away, conceal, and by fraud, artifice and deception, obtain such information, to wit, seven trade secrets ... knowing and intending those secrets to be sold outside of the United States, and specifically to a buyer based in the Russian Federation (Russia).” The second count says that between June 2025 and August 2025, Williams allegedly “did knowingly and without authorization copy, duplicate download, upload, alter, replicate, transmit, deliver, send, communicate and convey such information, that is one trade secret ... knowing and intending those secrets to be sold outside of the United States, and specifically to a buyer based in the Russian Federation (Russia).” Both are Theft of Trade Secrets charges under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(1) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2). The U.S. seeks to collect $1.3 million in forfeited property from Williams.