Information security

Former NSA employee pleads guilty to keeping top secret info at home

A former National Security Agency employee pleaded guilty Friday to keeping top secret U.S. defense material at his home -- the latest in a series of breaches involving workers at the nation's largest spy shop.

Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, of Ellicott City, Maryland, pleaded guilty to willful retention of national defense information, federal law enforcement officials said in a statement.

The guilty plea said that between 2010 and March 2015, Pho removed and retained at his home paper and digital copies of U.S. government documents and writings containing national defense information.

Starting in April 2006, he worked as a developer in the National Security Agency's Tailored Access Operations unit, which is involved in cyber operations. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. His sentencing is set for April 6.