Information security

Former CIA engineer charged with leaking classified information to WikiLeaks

The Justice Department on Monday announced charges against a former CIA computer engineer for allegedly leaking top-secret information on U.S. government hacking tools to WikiLeaks.

In a 13-count superseding indictment, the agency charged Joshua Adam Schulte with illegally gathering classified national defense information and transmitting it to “an organization.” WikiLeaks published the data in March of last year.

“Schulte utterly betrayed this nation and downright violated his victims,” FBI official William Sweeney Jr. said in the release. “As an employee of the CIA, Schulte took an oath to protect this country, but he blatantly endangered it by the transmission of Classified Information."

Prosecutors identified Schulte as a suspect in the leak last month, but did not yet have sufficient evidence to bring charges.